←Recommendations of Trigger Warning

Extremely interesting piece that should be staged if only to have audiences take pause to look at how their reactions can be just as triggering as the material of the standup comic in question. One of the functions of humor is to poke holes and expose the absurdity of our lives. But some poking can irritate as well as illuminate. At what point can personal offense be wielded as a weapon against those they oppose? Marc Paykuss imagines a very real answer here, and it isn't pretty.

Marc Paykuss' play Trigger Warning reminds us that there is only a hairline between humor and offense. And sometimes we have to truly listen to one another to understand both.

Marc Paykuss takes an unflinching look at today’s college culture that attempts to shield students from speech (from guest speakers, entertainers, etc.) that may be upsetting. Art, in the case of this play stand-up comedy, has a point of view. It’s not intended to be neutral. Some people will be offended. But they have a choice whether to consume it. TRIGGER WARNING will certainly promote discussion, but only if theater groups actually believe that’s what good theater is about.

In today's hypersensitive age, when college students incessantly proclaim their feelings of oppression and victimization, and will censor anyone who makes even a mildly "offensive" statement, we need plays like this to remind us (to quote one of Mark Paykuss's characters) that "it’s healthy to laugh at our own problems." The students in Paykuss's bitter short play who demand "safe spaces" for themselves are all too eager to destroy the career of the comedian they've hired. Are comedy and satire still possible today? Remember Orwell: “Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."