The company received a complaint from a teacher who watched the production of the romantic comedy in Stratford upon Avon and decided it was too sexually explicit for young children.

The RSC says it will offer refunds to schools who decide to cancel

As a precaution the RSC has sent letters to schools around the country who have already booked tickets. The company says the director's interpretation of some scenes could be described as "bawdy".

This bawdiness in the RSC's production includes a romantic encounter between the character Titania and Bottom, who is dressed in a donkey costume - a scene which a spokeswoman for the company describes as "physical" rather than sexually explicit.

But a group of 11-year-old pupils from a primary school in the West Midlands were so upset by what they saw as the explicit sexuality in the performance that they left at the interval.

The children had been studying A Midsummer Night's Dream as part of the literacy hour, intended to improve reading and writing, and had wanted to see a stage performance of the play.

The RSC says that so far 26 school groups have seen the play without any complaints, but the company wanted schools, particularly those with younger children, to make "an informed choice" about the style of the play.