Critical lockout

Over at his Superfluities Redux theatre blog, New York writer George Hunka has penned a damning assessment of contemporary Western theatre criticism – and a call for an end to the critical apparatus as we know it:

“Given the place of the reviewing and critical community in the post-capitalist ideology that maintains journalists, the business community and artists as closely-aligned participants in the discipline, maybe we should place a moratorium on criticism and reviewing as well.”

He suggests sending theatre critics from all the major publications on one-year paid vacations. Then goes on to offer this slightly more practical solution:

“The other alternative, and perhaps more practical, is not to admit reviewers into one’s productions, not out of fear but out of a mistrust and bad faith that arises from the reviewers’ own public writings and comments. Ultimately this means that productions would need to live out the length of their runs with neither positive nor negative reviews, and the lack of publicity which accords to them.”

Check out the full post: On Horror and Criticism.

2 thoughts on “Critical lockout

  1. To give credit where it’s due, Ian, my own thoughts were sparked by those of Jana and Andrew, who provide far more extended commentary in their own posts, which shouldn’t be missed. My own addition is sheer play.

  2. Noted. Thanks George.

    I wonder what it would be like to live a life of theatre in this critical vacuum . . .

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