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?

Jokes are supposed to be funny. If you found this funny, seek help.

It does not. It says family fun for the whole programming that takes place over several weekends, SOME of which is suitable for a younger audience.
This was so clearly not suitable. I would not stay and listen to an act called Sue Gives a Fuck.
You are being disingenuous. As a parent it is your job to be responsible about where you take your children. And adult entertainment does not have to be confined to late evenings.

I was not there. But children is often used by Drag Queens when referring to an adult audience.
I can't stand Drag Queens. But I also can not stand a manufactured outrage.

Well it’s grooming that’s why it shocked you. The more that language is normalised the more child abuse is normalised and dreams child abusers wishes become reality.

Oh ok we should all just go read a book then come back to the thread eh?

While OP clearly misjudged the event and it’s not suitable for children, I am shocked there are people on here who think ”teach your children to open their legs” is anything other than disgusting.
I have a fairly dark sense of humour and I’m not easily offended but most people drawn the line at joking about sexual abuse of children.

Those people who find this "joke" funny, please explain it to me, because I just can't figure how it can possibly be viewed as such. Seriously. Come and explain why it (presumably) made you laugh when reading the OP.

I was not there. But children is often used by Drag Queens when referring to an adult audience

No. No excuses here. None.

It was an outdoor free event. Running from 7-9pm called Lipsynch1000 vs Man Up!

No show that is outdoor and can be watched by anyone just walking past should be completely unsuitable for families. It doesn't have an explicit content label.

We are funding this shit. Women parading their scarred chests and sick jokes about child rape as entertainment

@Clymene so was it performed in a walkway that anyone walking past on a normal street could see?
Because there are free shows performed in marquees that are aimed at adults during Pride for example.

Yes

Also Pride is finished. This is nothing to do with Pride.

I have just googled. This was not a show you could see just by walking by. It was an outdoor stage you had to enter into. You chose OP to go inside with your children and to stay.

I’d stop posting if I was you @clymeme

it wasn’t a event you could just walk past, if you know anything about the location of the national the only way you’d be just walking passed it would be from a very noisy Waterloo bridge.

also there are very many Pride events yet to happen, some of the biggest such as Birmingham (23rd July) and Pride Cymru in Cardiff (27th -28th August) those are just two examples. If you Google events you’ll see events still happening for pride all over the country, chesterfield, Swindon, Oxford, Malvern just to name a few.

if you’d bothered to Google this event you would have also seen that the National were very much advertising it as a Pride event “to mark 50 years of Pride” but I’m glad you know better than the actual organisers.

if your going to post something at least make sure your information is correct yes not easily disproved by a very easy Google

I’ll defend the event. It was marked as the sort of show it was.

i will not defend the joke

it was disgusting! And actually plays on to the “drag queens are groomers” “LGBTQ people will corrupt and damage our children” we don’t need that. It’s hard enough being able to celebrate our identity.

While the website doesn't look child-friendly - and to me anything Pride related called a Glory festival is not child friendly - the advertisement the OP read said:

After two years off due to the pandemic, the National Theatre’s River Stage mini-festival returns to the South Bank for a month of outdoor live music, dance, performance, workshops and family fun. Weekend evenings will see a varied programme of entertainment take place in front of the theatre, with special take-over weekends from The Glory, HOME Manchester, Hackney Empire Young Producers, Hofesh Shechter and the National Theatre itself.

There is no way this should have been advertised as "family fun". Because that implies that it's suitable for kids.

@mang that description is for the whole vent which includes next weekend. Underneath it is the two weekends with different names that you click on to see what is happening. It is very clear the event the OP is talking about is not aimed at families.
Loads of large events taking place over a few weeks have some events suitable for families and some aimed only at adults.

This place is getting like the Daily Mail.

When an event has some things suitable for families, but not others, it needs to actually say that. "Some events are suitable for families, please call to inquire" or whatever.

And while it might seem obvious to you and me that Sue Gives a Fuck isn't someone ids should be watching, I'm afraid that it is no longer clear to many other people who now think that drag in general is just fine for kids. Because they have been conditioned to think that by drag events like story time, school visits, drag kids events, and so on.

If you blur the lines on what is kid friendly and what isn't, you aren't going to be able to depend on people to know the difference clearly. Is this the drag kids go to where they dance in a bar and have money thrown at them, or the bad, sexualized drag?

See I understand the confusion, and there is a bit of a fault on behalf of the national here @MangyInseam

because this bit “National Theatre’s River Stage mini-festival returns to the South Bank for a month of outdoor live music, dance, performance, workshops and family fun”

is talking about the River Stage Festival AS WHOLE. It runs every weekend over July, with a varied programme. There will be events that are family friendly and even aimed at children.

THIS weekend though was a weekend take over to mark 50 years of pride. I Absoultely agree that this week should have been clearly marked as not family friendly. And I’m not sure it totally does. So I can see why the op thought it would be the same as the rest of the festival. And maybe the National shouldn’t have included it as part of the River stage festival, and had it as a seperate event all together. To help avoid that confusion.

@MangyInseam you think parents need a warning that an act called Sue Gives a Fuck may not be suitable for children?
Honestly?

You just need to read the website. It says clearly what is happening.
And if you were daft enough not to realise, then surely you would have left after the first few minutes? Not stayed to report back your outrage to MN.

This is the overall description for this weekends events.

"River Stage 2022: The Glory weekend
The Glory returns to kick-off the National Theatre’s River Stage for summer 2022, hosted and curated by The Glory’s veritable Grande-Dames of drag and performance, Jonny Woo and John Sizzle.

Bringing favourites from previous years, including; highlights of their drag queen contest ‘LIPSYNC1000’; a classic Saturday night party with Glory DJ’s and performers and the esoteric afternoon sketching of ‘Drag Life Drawing’. The weekend will feature sing and dance-a-longs; a celebration of 50 Years of Gay Pride and star turns from leading Glory artists and DJ sets from our favourite club nights."

And I am assuming the issues raised are with this act.

"Lipsync1000 v Man Up!
7.00pm - 9.00pm
The Glory drag contests for showcasing emerging kings and queens celebrates, all genders and identities in a 2 hour extravaganza hosted by Sue Gives A Fuck and Prinx Chiyo."

NEXT weekend says "River Stage 2022: HOME weekend
HOME returns to the National Theatre's River Stage to bring the best of Manchester (and beyond) to the South bank. Expect music, spoken word, shows for families, drag and DJs."

The families stuff happens next weekend.