Romeo and Juliet audiences have been given an entire page of warnings about suicide, fake blood and stage fighting for a new prodution at Shakespeare’s Globe.

       The double suicide of the star-crossed lovers has been deemed a mental health issue in a guide reminding viewers that the actors playing Romeo and Juliet do not really die at the end of the play.

       Theatregoers have been warned about “moments of violence” in the 400-year-old tragedy featuring duels between the rival Montagues and Capulets, and cautioned about the presence of fake blood on stage.

       A full page of warnings has been issued in a guide to the new Globe production, and audience members are directed to the Samaritans if they have been “affected by any of the issues raised in this production of Romeo and Juliet”.

       An online programme states: “This production contains depictions of suicide, moments of violence and references to drug use.

       “It contains gunshot sound effects and the use of stage blood.

       “If you have any questions or concerns about these elements, please contact our Box Office team for further information about the production.”

       Specific warnings about key scenes in William Shakespeare’s play have been issued, with one stating: “At the end, Juliet shoots herself. This is not real.”

       Another warns: “Near the end of the play, when Romeo drinks poison, the actor pretends to vomit and convulse. This is not real and he is not hurt.”

       In a page of cautionary “show notes”, audience members are told that: “There is stage fighting in this production. The violence is not real and should not be copied.”

       The notes add that: “There is stage blood and vomit in this production. It is not real.”

       The tragedy first staged in 1597 has been repeatedly reproduced for the stage and screen, including in Baz Luhrmann’s modern retelling starring Claire Danes and Leonardo Di Caprio.

       The Globe has said its latest version seeks to address “problems young people face today”, with its lead characters transported to a Verona where a “system favours the few, and aims to deromanticize the trope of lovers’ suicides.

       The theatre on the banks of the Thames where the original Elizabethan Globe once stood has said content warnings are standard practice in most areas of entertainment, and the grittier nature of their production makes them warranted.

       A spokesperson for the Globe said: “We at the Globe believe a 400-year-old play can be reinvented and remodelled in a multitude of ways.

       “For our 2021 production, Ola Ince has taken an anti-romantic reading of Romeo and Juliet. Historically productions of the play have romanticised suicide – this production tackles the tragedy head on.

       “As we’ve chosen to focus on mental health, we want to provide information to those who may need it, as is standard practice in entertainment today.

       “The audience see a young couple very much in love, and go along that journey with them through Verona, but the suicide moment is detailed and ‘real’ looking and feeling. Less stylistic, it’s quite stark.

       “The audience get a real sense of the loss of life of two you people who thought suicide was the only way out.”