Content Warnings

At the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, we believe in preparing our audiences - especially families and educators - with the information they need to feel comfortable and confident at the theatre.

This page offers guidance on content that may be helpful to know in advance, including language, themes, or theatrical effects such as haze, strobe lighting, or loud noises. While our productions vary in tone, we aim to give you a heads-up about anything that might raise questions for younger audience members or be startling for some viewers.

SPOILER ALERT! Some of these descriptions may contain plot points that may give away key moments.

If you have specific questions about a production, feel free to reach out to us directly. We're happy to help you plan your visit.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, filled with romance, magic, mistaken identities, fairy mischief, and playful chaos. This production is intended to be welcoming to families and general audiences of all ages. The information below is provided for parents and guardians who would like more detail about the play’s language, humor, romantic themes, and use of magic.

This advisory is based on the content of Shakespeare’s play and may be updated as production details are finalized.

Language and humor:

  • Use of the word “ass,” both in reference to Nick Bottom’s magical transformation to a donkey and as repeated comic wordplay.

  • Comic teasing, name-calling, insults, and jokes related to appearance, intelligence, and social status.

  • Shakespearean language that includes mild innuendo and double meanings.

Romantic themes:

  • Multiple romantic pairings, love triangles, and scenes of romantic pursuit.

  • References to marriage, chastity, virginity, and the marriage bed, in Shakespearean language.

  • Mild suggestive humor related to attraction, desire, and physical affection.

  • A magically enchanted romantic attraction between Titania and Nick Bottom after he has been transformed with the head of a donkey. This is presented comedically.

Other content and themes:

  • A father attempts to force his daughter to marry a man she does not choose, and she is threatened with severe consequences if she disobeys.

  • Fairies, spells, enchantments, and magical interference are central to the plot.

  • The overall tone is comic, with no graphic violence central to the play.

  • Characters argue, chase one another, threaten confrontation, and prepare to fight, in a heightened and comedic style.

  • The play-within-a-play, “Pyramus and Thisbe,” includes a comic depiction of death by sword or dagger and exaggerated grief.