Dame Judi Dench thinks trigger warnings are "mollycoddling" audiences.
The 91-year-old actress believes theatres have gone "too far" with the content advisories issued before a production and insisted the best productions are those which push viewers out of their comfort zones.
Speaking to Brendan O’Hea for her memoir Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, she said in an extract published by The Times magazine: "I think they have gone too far. It’s mollycoddling. If you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre.
"By all means keep the warnings about strobe lighting and gunshots, and obviously there should be age limits for children, but that’s about it.
"Otherwise, where will it end? The trigger warnings before Titus Andronicus would be longer than the play.
"And if you overdo the warnings, doesn’t it take away from the audience’s enjoyment of the story?
"Do you tell them that the butler did it in an Agatha Christie play so as not to shock them?
"Besides, in the safety of a theatre or cinema, I want to be triggered, excited, stimulated, provoked and disturbed, to be taken out of my comfort zone. Isn’t that what makes theatre and films so thrilling?"
The Skyfall actress questioned just where trigger warnings should stop.
She added: "And who knows what might trigger people? Balloons, clowns, buttons … I have a friend who doesn’t like bananas. She feels physically sick every time she sees one. Should supermarkets put up warning signs in the fruit and veg aisle? It drives me wild."
Meanwhile, Judi feels there are few benefits to getting older and gets frustrated when she is asked about retirement.
Asked the advantages of getting older, she said: "Yes, one - they give you a dressing room nearer the stage. Otherwise, forget it.
"And you have to contend with people asking, 'When are you going to retire?' or, 'Isn’t it about time you put your feet up?' No, it bloody well isn’t. 'Retire', 'vintage', 'old' - let’s banish those words. I want to be like Newton Blick, who died in his dressing room after a performance.
"I want to be one of those women who throw themselves out of planes when they’re 100."
And the Oscar-winning actress "loathes" being called a national treasure.
She explained: "[It] makes me sound like a dusty old relic that’s been stuffed away in the back of the cupboard, along with some dinosaur fossils and a broken Roman shield."