Fawlty Towers: The Play hit with trigger warnings
Bosses at Leeds Heritage Theatre slapped recent performances of Fawlty Towers: The Play with trigger warnings as the show contains "adult themes" and "controversial topics".
The Fawlty Towers stage show has been hit with trigger warnings.
Leeds Heritage Theatre chiefs issued alerts for the stage adaptation of John Cleese's iconic comedy when it was performed at the venue as part of a nationwide tour last week.
Audiences were warned that Fawlty Towers: The Play contains "adult themes" and "controversial topics" and imposed an age limit of 14 years and over.
An alert on the theatre's website said: "Triggers and advisories: Violence, strong language, adult themes, controversial topics, gun shots, smoking, smoke and fire."
Cleese adapted the 1970s comedy for the stage by combining three classic Fawlty Towers episodes – The Hotel Inspectors, Communication Problems and The Germans – and the show is now touring the UK after receiving great reviews when it launched on London's West End in 2024.
The Monty Python star previously revealed that he was in favour of trigger warnings in an age where "everyone is super sensitive".
Cleese, 86, previously told radio station LBC: "I'm all in favour of warnings. Everyone is super sensitive at the moment and I think it's just a mood that will pass in another couple of years.
"But the point is to warn people, because if they've been warned then they cannot watch it. If they haven't been warned they can start saying you shouldn't have.
"If you're going to have people getting upset about things, just tell them, 'You might get upset about things.'
"I think it's very silly but right at the moment it's better to throw them a small bone and to give warnings, you know, sexual content or violence, not that anyone's ever suggested we shouldn't watch a programme because it was so violent."
John created Fawlty Towers with his first wife Connie Booth for the BBC but declared that he would never work with the corporation again last year as he thinks that the channel's bosses are "clueless" about comedy.
He said: "The people organising comedy have never been very good but at the moment particularly at the BBC they are clueless. I don't think it is a lack of talent – except among the executive classes. Those classes have no idea what they are doing."
