To be LIVID at the National Theatre?

[helpmeunderstand04]

I was at the National Theatre festival this Saturday which was advertised as outdoor live music, dance, performance, workshops and family fun. I thought great, perfect way to spend a Saturday.

We were there from 6:30 and the drag act on stage was promoting inclusivity and had, what started as a great message. They said...

'We need to teach our children to open their hearts, teach our children to open their minds and to teach our children to open their legs'. The last line was said with the same tone as if it was a risque joke.

Both me and DP are just disgusted by what we saw. We couldn't believe it. This act had a short dress on and their bulge was showing through out. It was just plain weird. Fine in a club, not at a festival literally targeted as being good for families.

From then the evening just got weirder. There was a drag queen and a drag king contest. Great! I literally had never seen drag king acts and was really excited and thought it was great representation and diversity.

However, with every single drag king act they took their clothes off. No drag queens take their clothes off, but the drag kings did and were showing their scars from their mastectomy/gender affirming surgery. I do get the message that they are proud and don't need to hide and really I do agree with that. But it just felt weird that women who now identify as men are still having to take their clothes off, where as the drag queens didn't remove one item of clothing.

AIBU in feeling angry at the marketing team at the national theatre?

@alphapie textbook. Same posters, same misandry, same bigoted views. If you don't mention misogyny in your first two sentences you're a man or a MRA.

I fully agree with you that they should stay in their line over on FWR. They get enough airtime over there without every thread being derailed here.

Oh look another one trying to shut down the discussion and send us off to keep quiet.
We say NO. We will safeguard our children. The more people who can see you trying to shut down the discussion down the better. Sunlight, sunlight everywhere today.

Nah, you're the one reaching @beautyisthefaceisee along with any excuse to minimise and bat away anything an everything that is dodgy, sexist, misogynist and downright disturbing if it is uttered by one of the sacred caste.

If Jim Davidson or any comedian of that ilk had said this you would be so outraged your combustion would be seen from the moon.

Your, and others, desperate attempts to make this 'joke' seem absolutely acceptable and meaningless aren't fooling anyone.

Your, and others, desperate attempts to make this 'joke' seem absolutely acceptable and meaningless aren't fooling anyone

This, in spades.

We say NO. We will safeguard our children. The more people who can see you trying to shut down the discussion down the better. Sunlight, sunlight everywhere today

...and we'll keep it on you.

We see you.

Lesbians aren't trans, either, but its all under the same.

Neither lesbians nor gay men are included under the handy image graphic supplied by Stonewall of those who fall under the 'Transgender Umbrella', but Drag Queens, Kings and crossdressers are. Do try to research what you are defending otherwise you end up looking rather silly when you are, inevitably, proven incorrect.

Oh look another one trying to shut down the discussion and send us off to keep quiet

They just can't hack being disagreed with, can't stand the light being shone on their stance and therefore must shut down the discussion, always the ones that start the insults, snide comments and derogatory labels.

I fully agree with you that they should stay in their line over on FWR. They get enough airtime over there without every thread being derailed here.

Fortunately neither you nor your sidekick are the Gods of MN might be nice if you stopped acting as if you are.

Misandry is not real.

I was at the National Theatre festival this Saturday which was advertised as outdoor live music, dance, performance, workshops and family fun. I thought great, perfect way to spend a Saturday. We were there from 6:30

From the OP - outdoor, family fun, 6.30.
No way was that act family fun. If there were children there (and it appears there were both from OP's posts and the engagement of the performer with the audience) then the material needs to be tailored accordingly. Not to mention the "joke" which was outrageous - and no, a comedian cannot hide behind a screen of "but it's comedy".

Can't believe some of the comments I've read from @alphapie - tells me all I need to know about their agenda.

I fully agree with you that they should stay in their line over on FWR. They get enough airtime over there without every thread being derailed here.

Laughable given the constant efforts to derail topics on the FWR boards 😂

The act started at 7pm at the earliest.
There is zero evidence children were there.

From drag queens?as this is what the OP is about.

Well given you do it here, you shouldnt mind

How are people derailing a thread to discuss what a performer said by discussing what the performer said and giving their opinion on it? You just don't like the opinions you are hearing, tough, suck it up buttercup.

It’s so pathetic to deem those of us who think things like this are wrong as Daily Mail readers or right wing. Tedious and so predictable. And wrong actually. Maybe Mary Whitehouse had a point and realised where things were heading. I suspect she was much maligned.

The act started at 7pm at the earliest. There is zero evidence children were there

Irrelevant.

The 'joke' is the problem.

@beautyisthefaceisee drag queens making crude sexual jokes about children.
I do remember comprehension and critical thinking aren’t your strong points though.
sunlight everywhere.

The folx who insist that joking about teaching our children to spread their legs is fine are also the ones who don't want Mumsnet users to chat about this. Surprising? No. Disturbing? Yes.

Do please provide this evidence.

Drag is not appropriate for kids, it's adult entertainment.

The joke was disgraceful

The act the OP is talking about starts at 7pm on the programme on the website. OP did not have her children with her. No children present have even been mentioned.
That will be because it was obvious to everyone there that it was an adult show. Even the announcement that Sue Gives a Fuck is next would have made any adult leave who is not up for that kind of stuff.

Someone claimed that drag is a "child abuser's dream"...

How many drag artists have been found to be child abusers? It would have to be a few before I could confidently claim the culture is an abuser's dream.

Most people you see found guilty of child abuse haven't been drag artists, so I'm just wondering what evidence we're going off here?

The OP says ‘lots of babies and children were there yesterday.’

I thought she said there were lots of babies and children on the Southbank, not the show?

@MaryMcCarthy doesnt take long to find some names. William Travis Dees, Kristian Churchill, Brett Blomne, Brice Patric Rysdian Williams, Robert Clothier. Also make sure you look up the rainbow dildo monkey. Decide if you think that was appropriate for children.

Well said. Crazy how some people are tying themselves in knots to excuse that disgusting “joke”.
Re: subculture and words having different meanings - why use the word “children” in that particular context? And then pretend not to see how problematic that is?
And re: teenagers - who exactly needs to “show them how to open their legs”?