London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Sex education theatre show for children cancelled after ‘violent threats’

Sex education theatre show for children cancelled after ‘violent threats’

The Family Sex Show organisers receive abuse over UK production aimed at children as young as five
A theatre show that promised to reimagine sex education by discussing the issue in a frank and open manner with audience members as young as five years old has been cancelled after “violent threats” were made against its organisers.

The Family Sex Show was due to tour this spring but was pulled from venues after what its creators called a series of “violent and illegal threats and abuse” were directed at the company and venues by “a small group of people with extremist views”.

The show had been in development by Josie Dale-Jones since 2017 and promised to confront subjects including boundaries, gender, relationships and masturbation in a production aimed at families that included some nudity.

After the show was announced and news of its content began circulating online, a petition was started, which claimed the production was “wholly inappropriate and is a blatant attempt to sexualise children and break down their natural boundaries”.

ThisEgg, the company behind the production, said in a statement that audiences were given information about the content before booking, so could make an “informed decision” about the show.

An online comment piece for The Critic magazine claimed The Family Sex Show could lead to inappropriate conversations between children and adults about sex and “is creating a gap, nay, a canyon, for predators to enter”.

The Guardian understands threatening and abusive calls and communications were sent to the venues hosting the show and ThisEgg, which led on 14 April to the cancellation of the performances.

The show had been due to visit the Tobacco Factory in Bristol and the Norfolk & Norwich festival in May, but just an invitation-only date in Bath remains, “ahead of subsequent public performances in the future”.

Made in collaboration with the School of Sexuality Education, the production would have offered free family workshops before the performances, which included sex educators available to answer questions. There was also a spin-off podcast.

The company added it would have offered “safe and positive learning to children, young people and guardians about rights, bodies, sex and relationships, advised by safeguarding and educational specialists”.

Its statement said: “We believe that what has happened is reflective of structural and societal attitudes towards relationships and sex education as well as art, culture and who is allowed to create and what we are allowed to engage with in the UK.”

In an interview with the Guardian in early March, Dale-Jones discussed the possibility of a backlash. “We know we will get people who don’t want it to happen,” she said. “There aren’t many of them, but they shout loudly. The main thing is looking after the company, the venues, their staff and the audiences.”

ThisEgg said its creative team would continue to work on the showso it was “ready for a time it might be able to meet a public”. It also apologised to those who had bought tickets and said it wanted to respond to “the events of the last few weeks”. “Removing work that celebrates freedom of expression from stages cannot be the answer,” it added.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
×