Overview

• The Berlin Theatertreffen, running May 2–18, 2025, will include content warnings for 60% of its productions, addressing themes like racism, sexual content, violence, loud noises, and strong lighting effects.
• Festival director Nora Hertlein-Hull highlights a growing audience expectation for such warnings, viewing them as a tool to inform rather than censor.
• Major theaters like Berliner Volksbühne and Theater Magdeburg confirm that decisions on content warnings are made on a production-by-production basis.
• Critics argue that content warnings may undermine the power of art to overwhelm and provoke, a sentiment echoed by actress Judi Dench in 2024.
• Audience reactions, such as nausea reported during the opera 'Sancta' in Stuttgart, underscore the real-world impact of sensitive content and fuel the ongoing debate on freedom versus safety in the arts.