HowlRound Theatre Commons: The beauty of art is that it can inspire us to look at the world in new ways. Criticism and wider conversation with audiences does this too. At Middle Child Theatre, some of our favorite criticism in recent years has revealed ideas in our work that is new to us, adding further meaning to what we’ve created. While there’s a lot of art and culture happening in our home city of Hull, UK, there is seemingly little conversation around the work. In May 2018, Middle Child decided to do something about it. We launched a New Critics Programme to develop at least two new theatre critics in the city every year for the next four years.
3 comments:
Middle Child’s theatre critic development program sounds fantastic. I am always amazed how even my parents will make swift judgments about shows from reviews and then when I take them to the show with a bad review they are shocked. It is incredible how subjective reviewers are yet they still hold so much power. This article makes me think a lot about how reviews are conveyed. The article talked about having most of Art criticism in Hull being on social media. I wonder what this does as well. I definitely fall into the click bait trap – even on this blog where I click on articles based on their title and not necessarily the blurb or alleged content. Lastly, in the article, I love the quote “are the reviewers pale male and stale”. I have never heard of this idea before to refer to the stereotypical white cisgendered male. I really like that this idea was raised because I feel like the generational gap between people is growing more and more, which affects the reviews. This, in turn, makes probably if differently reviewed shows close much sooner than anticipated.
I love the idea and goals of Middle Child. Being able to platform a more inclusive and audience based critique space helps everyone who is involved in the theater process. It’s fine when professionals write reviews, as it helps the general public decide which shows to see and what’s worth putting your money into. However, there hasn’t been a good space for the audience to share their opinions until Middle Child. While I believe that critics are highly qualified and that their opinions are more educated than those of the general public, they can also be jaded and biased. In addition to this, the general public’s opinion can be more helpful to the theater industry, as it speaks on behalf of the paying customers and can allude to what is trending and where there are gaps in the industry that theater can fill. After all, the public is who we are catering to, and their opinions matter.
I love the idea and goals of Middle Child. Being able to platform a more inclusive and audience based critique space helps everyone who is involved in the theater process. It’s fine when professionals write reviews, as it helps the general public decide which shows to see and what’s worth putting your money into. However, there hasn’t been a good space for the audience to share their opinions until Middle Child. While I believe that critics are highly qualified and that their opinions are more educated than those of the general public, they can also be jaded and biased. In addition to this, the general public’s opinion can be more helpful to the theater industry, as it speaks on behalf of the paying customers and can allude to what is trending and where there are gaps in the industry that theater can fill. After all, the public is who we are catering to, and their opinions matter.
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