Cambridge Footlights launch ‘sensitivity reading’ service

Here’s something that will make John Cleese splutter on his cornflakes. The Cambridge Footlights – whose alumni include Peter Cook, Clive James and David Mitchell – is now recruiting for a new ‘sensitivity reading’ service to ensure that ‘all student comedy’ is as ‘inclusive and welcoming as possible’. This is ‘to check for potential oversights regarding racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism, or any other kind of sensitive or upsetting material’ to suggest ‘things that could be rephrased or improved, or things that should be cut.’

The new ‘optional request for any student-written comedy’ will involve a member of the Footlights Committee offering to vet submissions and conferring with the other members of their panel as to any necessary changes. A briefing document for members seen by The Spectator stresses that this is ‘an opt-in service and is not at all compulsory’ and promises that ‘this is not a joke deletion service… we would seek to maintain all the humour and hopefully we’re qualified to do this.’