Anyone who has taken the tube in central London lately might be forgiven for thinking that Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey was starring in a production of ‘A Seriously Hot Ticket’.
He’s not, of course. He’s actually been treading the boards in a production of Cock, but the title of the play has been removed from all ads on the London Underground, which kinda defeats the object of advertising the play if people don’t actually know what it’s called.
Instead, the poster features Jonathan’s name as well as that of his former co-star, Taron Egerton (who, to confuse matters further, withdrew from the production in April), alongside a photo of them both and a snippet of The Times review that reads ‘A Seriously Hot Ticket’.
The show’s actual title has been censored by Transport for London (TFL), Variety reports.
A TFL spokesperson told the US outlet: “All advertising running on across the [TFL] estate needs to comply with both our own advertising policy and the Advertising Standards Authority’s codes and rulings. Following advice from the Committee of Advertising Practice, the campaign was amended to ensure it was compliant.”
The decision has been slammed by Cock producer Chris Harper, who said he was “absolutely astounded” by the decision.
“It is 2022!” he said in a statement shared with Variety.
“The word is perfectly acceptable and has many meanings. Mike Bartlett’s hilarious play, which is currently playing at the Ambassadors Theatre where the title is proudly displayed on the theatre, is a beautifully written piece which was inspired by a cockfight.”
According to TFL’s advertising policy, an ad will be deemed unacceptable if “it is likely to cause widespread or serious offence to reasonable members of the public on account of the product or service being advertised, the content or design of the advertisement, or by way of implication,” and/or “it could reasonably be seen as distasteful, indecent or obscene, in its use of imagery, language or otherwise.”
Rocketman star Taron withdrew from his role in the play due to “personal reasons” last month.
The 32-year-old had been beset by difficulties since starting the run in March after fainting during the opening night and then later testing positive for Covid-19.
He has since been replaced by his understudy Joel Harper-Jackson for the remainder of the run until 4 June.