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?

This is exactly what I meant with my initial post: the OP was jumping to conclusions and wanted to run to MN to slag off those scary drag queens and gays... again. There is literally at least two threads or more about this per week in the main categories other than the "Feminist" boards. All these Serena Joys trying to regulate women into being handmaidens. They're voting for their own demise while trying to oppress others. MN is a breeding ground for it.

Sorry, I meant to also say that I think the OP was disingenuous with this post and knew exactly what they were doing. The OP was trying to stir up the mob again.

It literally says family fun!

Complain!
to the National Theatre
also to any commercial funders
NT get a lot of funding from the Arts Council, so complain to them to
Mayor of London
NT is in the Vauxhall constituency, so Florence Eshalomi is the MP for that area, and/or complain to your own MP

I think instead of complaining you should actually be grateful because now you know what drag acts are actually about. They are no place for children. They parody and sexualise women. A drag Queen story time is no place for a child. Just as stripper story time wouldn’t be either.

I would complain about that comment under the title ‘safeguarding complaint’ and I would copy in Lambeth Council who will issue the theatre with their premises / performance licence.

It is likely that the NT booked the act without having seen it in its entirety, and even if they had, some ad libbing can occur.

Totally unacceptable, and I very much doubt the NT would endorse or support it if they knew that would happen in a family show.

I find it weird how some people find the Ricky Gervais jokes about transwomen disgusting but are completely fine with jokes suggesting kids be open to sex.

Tells you everything really. If the people who think they are supporting trans rights want less pushback then they need to start challenging some of the less savoury parts of their movement- otherwise it looks like you are actively supporting grooming children.

I disagree with a lot of posters here. The description literally says family fun. I’m always up for my kids seeing things a bit different from the normal kiddie fare so might have thought this a good option. I’d make a complaint

@JingsMahBucket

The only Serena Joys around here are the ones reducing women to ‘uterus owners’ and ‘menstruators’ and forcing rape victims out of their safe spaces for being bigots (not wanting to be rape counselled by men).

Which one of us is proscribing behaviour for women and making demands about what can and cannot be said and done on pain of exclusion or violence? Yes, that’s right- the ‘be kind’ group who say they support trans rights. What they really support is doxxing, harassing, screaming at women who have their own opinions about themselves, their bodies and how they can talk about themselves.

Everyone should be free to be what they want. But they cannot impose their ideas on other and force other groups to conform to their self imposed behaviour standards. Surely this is the founding principle of a liberal society.

And before your jump on me @JingsMahBucket

I support trans people to be who they want, dress how they want, love who they want. To be free and safe and loved. To define themselves in a way they feel comfortable.

I just wish that groups that campaign on their behalf would extend the same courtesy to women, children and the disabled.

People saying the joke was inappropriate need to read Lenny Bruce's memoir.

You might then understand.

Neither here nor there whether it was for kids or not, that comment just isn't acceptable for anyone.
Don't give 2 shits where it was told it's just rank and NO ONE should be trying to justify the unjustifiable 🤮🤮.
Rotten morals

'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'

Regardless of whether it was marketed as a family event or not, this is never acceptable.

This is not ok - complain to the NT.

And no, Drag Story Hour isn’t harmless fun. Drag is a nasty, mocking, misogynistic caricature of women. And now you’ve found out, first hand, that it’s a child abusers dream - eroding boundaries, and exposing children to adult sexualised content.

Any parent who condones this is negligent in my view.

The OP lucked out and got a 2 for one deal with strippers included (yea to radical cosmetic surgery!!!) and supports that bit of the show.

OP, how did the audience respond to that line?

🙄

It's a free outdoor show. It's not inconceivable that children will be here, especially as the bbc is pushing the drag agenda so hard.

And jokes about CSA aren't funny. Ever.

I support trans people to be who they want, dress how they want, love who they want. To be free and safe and loved. To define themselves in a way they feel comfortable.
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I just wish that groups that campaign on their behalf would extend the same courtesy to women, children and the disabled.

Absolutely

I would complain about that comment under the title ‘safeguarding complaint’ and I would copy in Lambeth Council who will issue the theatre with their premises / performance licence

This.

Frankly, the OP's attendance and understanding of the intended audience is irrelevant.

WHOEVER was watching - the comment about children was vile and should be reported.

Hiding in plain sight. That's a repulsive joke. The measure for whether a joke is offensive or not is whether it punches up or down. If it attacks the vulnerable, minorities or people who are powerless, it's a shit joke. Children are powerless against people who sexualise them and teach them to obediently perform sex acts. There is no humour in this. I would complain if I'd heard that. The person who told the joke is utterly tone deaf.

It’s the Bristol debacle all over again. It is becoming perfectly obvious that the so-called MAPs are rushing to get involved in the bandwagon for so-open-minded-their-brains-fell-out parents keen to expose their toddlers to drag.

Yanbu, that is not a joke. It's disgusting! Definitely complain.

I think a formal complaint is needed.