Theatre

What makes me a theatre critic?

by GemmHirst

I started out as a theatre reviewer/ critic in 2012 when I did the Young Reviewers Chronicle Competition. It was from there that I caught the reviewing bug and started to write about theatre,music and all things Culture for a range of publications and my blog.

So I have been reviewing since 2012, now it is 2017 that is a long time to be writing about theatre. However I still don’t class myself as a professional I am merely a small blogger who likes to write about theatre. I am a nobody in terms of national theatre critics such as Mark Shenton or Lyn Garnder.

It was only recently that I got back into reviewing for my blog as I was not sure if I wanted to have reviews on my blog or even if my blog (or myself) was worthy of having writing reviews.

And  every time I review a show, I find myself questioning who am I to have an opinion of theatre.

Everyone is a critic

 Then again I suppose everyone is a critic, now with social media everyone can tweet an opinion of something and I suppose anyone can have a blog like me and review a show or a piece of music or even a TV drama.

I guess it comes down to what qualifies you as a reviewer, I studied Performance Arts, Dance, Drama and English at school and I have been reviewing over 6 years now. I liked to think that I know my stuff and the more theatre I attend and write about, the more I educate myself in the world of writing about theatre.

Could somebody with no experience or knowledge of theatre review a performance? Thinking about it they probably could but perhaps the quality of the review it not be as strong in comparison to a more experienced critic. And then again, who am I to review theatre, could I be classed of someone with no experience in comparison to a professional?

 

Don’t worry I am not going to stop reviewing theatre on my blog or any other platform, this was just a thought I had about the industry of theatre critics.

What do you think? Are you a fellow theatre critic/reviewer like me how do you feel about your reviews in comparison to professionals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

17 thoughts on “What makes me a theatre critic?”

  1. I’m not a professional but I’d say our views are also valid because if we enjoy there’s a whole group of people who would definitely enjoy it as well. It’s an interesting topic, thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Katie- Thanks for commenting 🙂
      Ah so you mean- because we are like any other audience member- other readers who are potentially going to see the show will trust our review?

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      6. Well I’m not sure I mean a professional critic would have seen a lot and would probably recorgnise what others would enjoy, but a random reviewer would just as trustworthy as they would have just watched it for enjoyment.

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      7. So what about myself for example who has been reviewing theatre since 2012 and has been experiencing theatre since I was young. I’d like to think I have an accredited opinion.
        It is interesting you mention critics recognise enjoyment and bloggers watching for enjoyment. It would be interesting to here what you think the role of a theatre critic/ blogger/reviewer is?

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      8. I guess because a critic is doing their job they would have experience in reviewing it, I guess their role is to watch something and make a judgment on how it deserves to be expected

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  2. I started a blog for theatre reviews yesterday and, as soon as I published my first review, I was filled with that fear of being unqualified! But I guess every critic must start from somewhere, and I think we can add so much to discussions because of our differences – our different ages, backgrounds, experience etc. Theatre is for everyone and the reviewing body should reflect that!

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      2. A very succinct review- well written 🙂 well done. Was this your first time at the theatre or seeing Kneehigh? I have seen many of their shows before 🙂 What was your experience at the theatre being press like?

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      3. yes, was my first time seeing Kneehigh but i’d heard quite a lot about them before. What have you seen them in?? And I found it fun but also pretty nerve-wracking and found it quite embarrassing taking notes during the show haha…do you take notes when you review?

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  3. It’s interesting that critically acclaimed plays and movies don’t always meet with popular acclaim. It’s easy for even an unschooled eye to spot when things go wrong or are badly executed. I think if you’re attending shows regularly you’re probably looking for things that are out of the ordinary along with the assessing the quality of the plot, dialogue, acting and all the other things that go into making entertainment entertaining.

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