New Poll - Theatre Ratings

Should there be a theatre ratings classification system, like they have for films?

133 participants over 3 weeks.
We seem to have lost a few votes due to an early poll glitch.

42 votes / 36% - No, it's fine without ratings.

41 votes / 35% - Yes, something similar to film ratings

19 votes / 16% - Yes, but who is going to assess a show and assign the rating?

10 votes / 8% - Yes, there should be a new system invented for theatre

4 votes / 3% - undecided


The largest single group say No, but actually the majority say Yes in one form or another.

From the discussions, I think most believe the content ought to be rated...perhaps warnings like "medium level violence" or "adult language" etc. Actual censorship is another argument altogether, and it seems many people are opposed to this, preferring to make up their own mind whether or not to attend. Of course, making up your mind requires being adequately informed in advance of the type of content to expect...does this diminish the surprise value, or enhance it? What's the effect on audience attendance figures when a show proclaims "Warning: Contains Nudity" ..?

When warnings like this are produced, it's usually the show's publicity department responsible...but it is probably an adequate example of self-managed ratings. Should shows be required to disclose their content? It seems most people say yes, and it's probably not hard to give basic warning of potentially offensive material.
I don't think it will have too much effect on audiences if they know a bit of what to expect, rather than being surprised. I know that everybody dies violently at the end of Hamlet, and that advance warning doesn't much effect my enjoyment of the piece.

As to deeming the precise nature of what may be held to be offensive, that could be harder....sex, violence, language, nudity, religious material, political viewpoints, racism, sexism, ageism, drug use, mistreatment of animals....or just bad blocking...


The Poll-tergeist

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