Audiences attending Slave Play in London’s West End are offered “self-care tips” to help them cope with the show’s plot and sexually explicit themes.

• Tips from the show include breathing to induce calm and “grounding exercises”

Producers of a controversial play have been accused of “infantilising” audiences by giving them advice on how to breathe.

Audiences at Slave Play in London’s West End, which opened last night, are being offered “self-care” tips to help them cope with the production’s plot and sexually explicit themes.

The play – starring Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington and Denzel Washington’s actress daughter Olivia Washington – tells the story of three interracial couples who undergo couples therapy, which includes role-playing on a fictional slave plantation.

Tips can be accessed via the website for the production, which is being staged at the Noel Coward Theatre.

The guide says: “Breathing is a great way to induce a sense of calm. Try inhaling for 4 to 6 seconds, holding your breath for 4 to 6 seconds, then exhaling for 4 to 6 seconds.”

The website also offers “grounding exercises,” which include doing a “body scan” to “notice how your body parts feel” and moving your fingers.

Additionally, spectators are advised to connect with nature, to “plant their feet on the ground, their backs supported by a chair.” The theater also announced that the hall would remain open for 15 minutes after the show to offer the audience a “space for reflection.”

The London production of the play, which opened on Broadway in 2019, caused an uproar in February when it announced that two performances could be reserved for black audiences so they could watch without being hindered by the “white gaze “.

Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent, said: “It has become normal to infantilise an adult audience by communicating to them the idea that they might well be traumatised by exposure to drama.”

And Professor Jeremy Black, author of A Brief History Of History, said: “Should we all issue trigger warnings? Having written histories of both slavery and the slave trade, I wonder if I should be wrapping them in warnings?

A spokesperson for Delfont Mackintosh, owner of the Noel Coward Theatre, said: “We have provided a link to the play’s website, where the producers have posted information, support and resources for members of the public who would like to find out more before their visit.

The producers of the play declined to respond to the Mail on Sunday’s requests for comment.