MaddAddam - Age Guidance

[AllAboutTheJourney]

Morning everyone. I note that the recommended age for MaddAddam is 16+ and just wanted to check if this is indeed ‘guidance’ (as the RBO website suggests) or if we should expect any resistance attending with an under-16 year old.

 

I have read the books and the reviews from the NBC production so I am aware of the content/themes and I am comfortable with my DC watching this production but just wanted to check in advance whether the ROH staff are likely to say anything.

[Sim]

How much under 16 is your DC?

[AllAboutTheJourney]

Sorry that info would have been useful - not much under, a teenager! But not 16. 

[Sim]

14 minutes ago, AllAboutTheJourney said:

Sorry that info would have been useful - not much under, a teenager! But not 16. 

If they say it is 'recommended' then my interpretation is that it is up to the parent to decide whether or not to take an under 16 year-old.  I am pretty sure they wouldn't refuse entry to someone who is 14 if they are with a parent/guardian.  

[AllAboutTheJourney]

Thanks @sim - that's my interpretation too and yes, we will be there too so I am hopeful that's the case. I don't have any issue with an usher checking we know the age recommendation or the content etc, I appreciate why they would want to highlight it, but I wouldn't want to be refused entry. 

Edited November 7, 2024 by AllAboutTheJourney
Pressed enter too soon

[zxDaveM]

Probably not so much about refusing entry, but to prevent litigation of the organisation from said parent, if the child is subsequently traumatised. Bottoms duly covered, and all that

[LinMM]

I hope I haven’t misunderstood your comment zxDaveM but I hope we are not to expect nude dancers in this Piece 😱

Only once went to a Production many years ago now when the dancers were in the altogether and vowed never again lol! 

[zxDaveM]

8 minutes ago, LinMM said:

... I hope we are not to expect nude dancers in this Piece 😱

 

 

um, no

[Sim]

8 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I hope I haven’t misunderstood your comment zxDaveM but I hope we are not to expect nude dancers in this Piece 😱

Only once went to a Production many years ago now when the dancers were in the altogether and vowed never again lol! 

I think Dave just means that by giving a minimum age recommendation, the RBO is covering itself in case an under 16 goes along and is traumatised for some reason!!  By giving the minimum age guidance, they can't then be held responsible if an under-16 goes along and reacts badly!!

[Silke H]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

I hope I haven’t misunderstood your comment zxDaveM but I hope we are not to expect nude dancers in this Piece 😱

Only once went to a Production many years ago now when the dancers were in the altogether and vowed never again lol! 

was that in Germany or by a German company?  Reliable sources (in/around Frankfurt) keep telling me that almost all plays include a token naked person  😄

[bangorballetboy]

The trouble with dancing naked is that not everything stops when the dancer stops.

[zxDaveM]

2 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

The trouble with dancing naked is that not everything stops when the dancer stops.

 

that adds to the gravity of the situation...

[San Perregrino]

4 hours ago, AllAboutTheJourney said:

Morning everyone. I note that the recommended age for MaddAddam is 16+ and just wanted to check if this is indeed ‘guidance’ (as the RBO website suggests) or if we should expect any resistance attending with an under-16 year old.

 

I have read the books and the reviews from the NBC production so I am aware of the content/themes and I am comfortable with my DC watching this production but just wanted to check in advance whether the ROH staff are likely to say anything.

Perhaps it’s a good idea to contact the RBO directly for clarification?

Forum members can only offer opinions and these may be incorrect and not to be relied on. 

[LinMM]

I did understand what Dave was saying originally ….about the guidance advice and being sued possibly but it was his “bottoms duly covered” which made me briefly wonder whether he may know something we didn’t ….about what under 16’s at Maddaddam may be exposed to!! 
I last saw nude dancing in the theatre way back and believe it was Netherlands Dans Theater in early 70’s!!! in London as far as I remember. 
It may have been about the same time as Oh Calcutta ….I think nudity was becoming a bit of a thing at the time. 
Hopefully not to be “rediscovered” by the current generation!!! 

Edited November 7, 2024 by LinMM

[Tango Dancer]

2 hours ago, Silke H said:

was that in Germany or by a German company?  Reliable sources (in/around Frankfurt) keep telling me that almost all plays include a token naked person  😄

I've been to a few in Germany that randomly did have nudity including an opera of Don Giovanni (set in a brothel) with unexpected unclothed moments and lesbian snogging between Elvira and Zerlina.  When I was a student in the Saarland a lot of the plays at Saarbrucken theatre there had random naked people.  I think the director thought it was avant garde.  I assumed it was just a thing German theatres did.  

 

I've also seen Javier de Frutos dance a work naked and that was hilarious (not meant to be) because all I could remember of it was that his sausage wobbled so much. 

 

I think most dancers look better with clothes on (although with some costumes it's marginal).  

Edited November 7, 2024 by Tango Dancer

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

I did understand what Dave was saying originally ….about the guidance advice and being sued possibly but it was his “bottoms duly covered”

 

or "covering their asses", as it is more usually expressed

[San Perregrino]

10 minutes ago, Tango Dancer said:

lesbian snogging

…happens all around us in everyday life in London. 

[Sim]

55 minutes ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

I think most dancers look better with clothes on (although with some costumes it's marginal).  

I think most humans full stop look better with clothes on!!  😆

[Sim]

2 hours ago, San Perregrino said:

Perhaps it’s a good idea to contact the RBO directly for clarification?

Forum members can only offer opinions and these may be incorrect and not to be relied on. 

Well actually @AllAboutTheJourney you CAN rely on this forum member (I have been going to the ROH for 40+ years with and without children).  I have just spoken to the Box Office and they reiterated what I said above, namely that their age indication is 'advisory' only and if you think your child can deal with the ballet then it's entirely up to you.  She said the only time they enforce age restrictions is when someone tries to bring in a child under the age of 5.  

 

For anyone not aware, this is from the website, and thus the age guidance:

 

This production contains adult themes, including depictions of violence and sexual violence. 

[AllAboutTheJourney]

10 minutes ago, Sim said:

I think most humans full stop look better with clothes on!!  😆

 

Completely agree, so I'm relieved to see the costume designers have found an interesting way to illustrate the, um, 'blueness' of the Crakers with a nod to the description in the books as opposed to a literal creation of what Attwood describes. Which to be honest I can't think would work at all well in ballet, for the very reason @bangorballetboy mentions! 

 

Thanks all - this has been unexpectedly amusing as well as helpful. And thank you @Sim for checking with the Box Office - I appreciate that. 

[San Perregrino]

40 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well actually @AllAboutTheJourney you CAN rely on this forum member (I have been going to the ROH for 40+ years with and without children).  I have just spoken to the Box Office and they reiterated what I said above, namely that their age indication is 'advisory' only and if you think your child can deal with the ballet then it's entirely up to you.  She said the only time they enforce age restrictions is when someone tries to bring in a child under the age of 5.  

 

For anyone not aware, this is from the website, and thus the age guidance:

 

This production contains adult themes, including depictions of violence and sexual violence. 

 Seems @Sim that you followed my suggestion and checked with the ROH before posting rather than offering an opinion that might be incorrect or inaccurate. 

Edited November 7, 2024 by San Perregrino

[LinMM]

Years ago now …sorry about this but everything seems years ago now….I remember when I was about 14 a few months before 15th birthday I  felt very grown up when my parents let me stay up to see a series of very good films on the Tv …but with very adult material in them…that they trusted I would be able to cope! 
The three I most remember were Ashes and Diamonds, Kanal and Hiroshima Mon Amour. 
I developed a love of all things Polish after that (set in motion a little earlier by The Silver Sword) and  eventually just six years later finally visited Warsaw. 

[Sim]

29 minutes ago, San Perregrino said:

 Seems @Sim that you followed my suggestion and checked with the ROH before posting rather than offering an opinion that might be incorrect or inaccurate. 

An opinion by its nature cannot be incorrect or inaccurate.  An opinion is just that, an opinion, not a fact.    I have been paying attention to age guidance for many years, having been bringing my daughter to the ROH (and other theatres) since she was a child, so I am very aware of its nature, i.e. that it is advisory only.  Unless I am sure about something, I don't present it as a fact.  I merely checked with the BO to assuage a forum member's concern, and did this of my own volition in order to be helpful.

[alison]

2 hours ago, Tango Dancer said:

When I was a student in the Saarland a lot of the plays at Saarbrucken theatre there had random naked people.  I think the director thought it was avant garde.  I assumed it was just a thing German theatres did.  

 

I don't remember much (apart from perhaps what I suspect was the German version of Run For Your Wife) a little way up the road from you!  But perhaps it was a different era.

[Tango Dancer]

1 minute ago, alison said:

 

I don't remember much (apart from perhaps what I suspect was the German version of Run For Your Wife) a little way up the road from you!  But perhaps it was a different era.

 

I don't know, maybe it was a particular director who liked that sort of thing.  I went to a lot as a student because we got very cheap tickets and the quality was variable.  I remember Mephisto (male and female nudity and a woman dancing naked on stage), The Merry Nibelungen (operetta with topless women), Hamlet (naked Ophelia and weird naked male bonding between Hamlet and Horatio) and some other lesser plays that were boring apart from the nudity.  Most of the operas were fully dressed at least.  

[stucha]

10 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

The trouble with dancing naked is that not everything stops when the dancer stops.

 

A quote made famous by Sir Robert Helpmann IIRC

[Scheherezade]

On 07/11/2024 at 14:27, bangorballetboy said:

The trouble with dancing naked is that not everything stops when the dancer stops.

On 08/11/2024 at 00:36, stucha said:

 

A quote made famous by Sir Robert Helpmann IIRC

 

Either way, this is very definitely not something I want to think about! 

[Emeralds]

On 07/11/2024 at 11:19, AllAboutTheJourney said:

I note that the recommended age for MaddAddam is 16+ and just wanted to check if this is indeed ‘guidance’ (as the RBO website suggests) or if we should expect any resistance attending with an under-16 year old.

 

There shouldn't be any resistance as the wording says "suitable for 16+" rather than "Only audiences over 16 permitted" or "under 16s prohibited". It looks like guidance for the viewer or parent rather than a restriction. (Long time ago, there wasn't even any guidance on the ballets and operas at all; nowadays theatres are expected to offer it.) As Sim says, I doubt they will be asking for ID- unless the youngster you are bringing looks under 5! 

Edited November 9, 2024 by Emeralds

[Mary]

Hmm -  16+ - it won't be suitable then for me, for sure.

Paddington was 'PG' and I was hiding under my seat.

 

[FionaM]

Having not read the books I will be approaching this show with some trepidation,  

[MAB]

It was televised, I watched one episode and couldn't make head nor tail of it.

[Sophoife]

On 08/11/2024 at 05:51, LinMM said:

I remember when I was about 14 a few months before 15th birthday I  felt very grown up when my parents let me stay up to see a series of very good films on the Tv

 

My mother let me stay up to watch I, Claudius at the age of 12 in 1978 when it was shown in Australia (I'd read the books the year before). It was culture. She didn't watch it herself. Nor had she read the books.

 

 

Edited November 10, 2024 by Sophoife
Added last sentence.

[Sim]

14 hours ago, MAB said:

It was televised, I watched one episode and couldn't make head nor tail of it.

I think I am the only person on Earth who found The Handmaid’s Tale (book and TV adaptation) boring, so I haven’t tried to read this one. I read a synopsis and was losing the will to live by the third line.  
 

I wait with bated breath to see what the ballet says to me. I’m not going to do any background reading prior to seeing it.