Meet The Critics
Artists and audiences know little about those that review their work. Here, eleven of the country's leading critics introduce themselves. Plus: three shows to see next week.
Hello, and welcome to The Crush Bar, a newsletter about theatre by Fergus Morgan.
This is the free Friday issue, which usually contains an interview with an exciting theatremaker or an essay on a theatre-related topic. This week, though, it features quickfire Q&As with some of the country’s leading theatre critics. After that, there are your usual three recommendations for next week: two in London, one in Scotland.
In case you missed it, here is this week’s issue of Shouts and Murmurs, which is a weekly round-up of the most interesting writing about theatre elsewhere…
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How much do you know about theatre critics?
How many could you name? Who do they write for? What do they like? What do they not like? What shows have they championed? Who are they beyond their byline?
As regular readers know, I was at a symposium hosted by the Abbey Theatre in Dublin recently, where writers from Ireland, the UK, the USA and Canada met to discuss the current state of criticism. A report will be published at some point early next year, which should make for interesting reading, but one thing that stuck out to me was how little artists and audiences knew about the people that review them.
In popular culture, critics are often characterised as sneering elites (Anton Ego in Ratatouille) or failed creatives (Ted Wallace in The Hippopotamus). Inside the industry, they are frequently labelled privileged, bitter or vindictive, sometimes publicly. In comment sections, they are regularly abused as ignorant or out-of-touch.
In my experience, though, with few exceptions, none of that is true. In my experience, critics are knowledgeable and witty. They are curious, in both senses of the word. Above all, they are deeply, deeply passionate about theatre and want to see shows succeed. They are not bad people. They just have strong opinions and tight deadlines.
For several reasons - fostering healthier dialogue, building a richer critical conversation, and, well, sheer curiosity - I think it would be good if we got to know these much-misunderstood species better. And so I sent the country’s leading critics a quick Q&A, offering them the chance to introduce themselves. What was the first show they loved? What devices make them groan? Which artists do they admire?
This is a busy time of year, so I didn’t expect many to reply. They have, though, leaving me in the slightly awkward position of having way too much content for one newsletter. I know how fragile critics’ egos are, though, as I have one myself, so I didn’t want to leave anyone out. Welcome, then, to an extremely long newsletter, in which eleven of the country’s leading critics offer an insight into their life and work…
Dominic Cavendish
Who do you write for and where do you cover? The Daily Telegraph, and I go all over the place!
What was the first show you loved? Brian Cox in Titus Andronicus with the RSC at the Barbican in 1988.
What was the last show you loved? Jobsworth at the Park Theatre.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Rebecca Frecknall, Rupert Goold, Ryan Calais Cameron. And I love almost all actors.
What theatrical devices make you groan? People walking in slo-mo, especially wielding umbrellas.
What do you love about your job? That I get to scamper around the world capital of theatre.
What frustrates you about your job? The lack of work-life balance and sleep.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? A satirical snipe about Stewart Lee went, um, viral.
What is a fun fact about you? I’m a Polish citizen.
Arifa Akbar
Who do you write for and where do you cover? The Guardian, across the UK, sometimes abroad.
What was the last show you loved? Alice: Return To Wonderland at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, which I saw last night.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Lesley Manville, Ola Ince, Omar Elerian, Samuel Beckett, Lucy Prebble… I could go on…
What theatrical devices make you groan? Slo-mo scenes.
What do you love about your job? The speed and adrenaline, which focuses my mind. Travelling around the country when the trains are working.
What frustrates you about your job? The speed and adrenaline, when it makes me nervous about doing justice to a show in my write-up. And travelling around the country when the trains are delayed.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? Yes. Lots of noise on social media and emails from male directors who feel terribly wronged. Ignore, ignore, ignore.
What is a fun fact about you? I am very scared of the dark.
Sarah Crompton
Who do you write for and where do you cover? Theatre for WhatsOnStage, dance for The Observer, culture in general for various publications, including Vogue.
What was the first show you loved? Jonathan Pryce in Comedians by Trevor Griffiths. I was quite young when I saw it and quoted it for years.
What was the last show you loved? All My Sons in the West End. Devastatingly good.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? I am honestly nearly always excited to go to the theatre. I love too many actors to list, and feel a thrill of interest every time I see a new play. Recently, I’ve been inspired by Alice Birch, Ava Pickett, Beth Steel. I like work by women. But I also adore Roy Williams, James Graham, and David Eldridge. Directors? Rob Icke, Ian Rickson, Rebecca Frecknall, Alexander Zeldin… the list is too long…
What theatrical devices make you groan? None if used well. Everything if used badly.
What do you love about your job? It is constantly stimulating and keeps me on my toes. I learn something every time I go to the theatre and I like that. I am also, very often, hugely entertained.
What frustrates you about your job? Too much to see, too little time…
Has a review ever caused you trouble? I was the only person who didn’t adore Girl From The North Country, and I got teased about that.
What is a fun fact about you? I am as obsessed with sport as I am with the arts. I also recently took up running. Very slowly.
Clive Davis
Who do you write for and where do you cover? The Times. London and regions.
What was the first show you loved? The Playboy of the West Indies at the Tricycle.
What was the last show you loved? The Assembled Parties at the Hampstead Theatre.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Janie Dee.
What theatrical devices make you groan? Clumsy background music. See: All My Sons in the West End.
What do you love about your job? It is a form of adult education with no student loans.
What frustrates you about your job? Online commenters who don’t read reviews properly.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? I won’t mention the title, but a playwright once accused me of being rude about the physical appearance of the actors. I was actually responding to a line in the play…
What is a fun fact about you? I spend part of each week on a narrowboat.
Andrzej Lukowski
Who do you write for and where do you cover? I’m employed by Time Out London as the theatre editor and lead critic, though I dabble here and there freelance.
What was the first show you loved? Kneehigh’s Nights at the Circus
What was the last show you loved? Ivo Van Hove’s All My Sons
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Caryl Churchill, Rob Icke, Patsy Ferran.
What theatrical devices make you groan? Accentitis: when everyone inexplicably has a different, put-on accent in a revival of a classic play. Double groan if this involves light relief characters from Birmingham or Eastern Europe.
What do you love about your job? I love that is is my job to respond to work that is essentially outside my control or that of my employer, which means it is quite hard to become institutionalised. I think a lot of people’s jobs can involve them being entirely consumed by the inner workings of the company they work for. Conversely, I think there is this image of critics as a bunch of lone wolf oddballs, and I actually love the fact that I am part of a team and a group of colleagues.
What frustrates you about your job? In all honesty, it is a very privileged job to have and my frustrations are largely to do with the precarious state of journalistic institutions and little to do with the work I see. To some extent, I feel like an anthropologist documenting an alien civilisation in an unusually sassy fashion: you don’t get frustrated with the aliens if their folk rituals aren’t to your exact taste. Please, nobody think any longer on this metaphor. It definitely cannot take it.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? What is trouble? I think because I’m male and relatively obscure then I tend not to ruffle too many feathers, and I like to think I have a quite considered way of writing that maybe shuts down accusations of being heartless. Obviously I annoy people all the time, but I imagine I get less than a hundredth of the hassle somebody like Arifa at The Guardian gets.
What is a fun fact about you? I am Time Out’s NUJ rep. Join a union, people!
Susannah Clapp
Who do you write for and where do you cover? The Observer
What was the first show you loved? As a critic, Shockheaded Peter at West Yorkshire Playhouse.
What was the last show you loved? All My Sons. Worth it for Paapa Essiedu alone.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Simon Stone, Lynette Linton, Caryl Churchill, William Shakespeare, Ronke Adékoluéjó, Eileen Atkins, Luke Thallon…
What theatrical devices make you groan? People waving chairs above their heads.
What do you love about your job? It expands your ears, eyes, heart and brain at its best.
What frustrates you about your job? Underwritten scripts.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? I often cause my own trouble by thinking I should have done better.
What is a fun fact about you? I am fanatical about The Archers.
Sam Marlowe
Who do you write for and where do you cover? These days, The Stage, and I’m London-based.
What was the first show you loved? Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love.
What was the last show you loved? The Maids at the Donmar Warehouse.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? debbie tucker green, Jamie Lloyd, Paapa Essiedu
What theatrical devices make you groan? Lazy expositional narrative delivered in direct audience address shoehorned into a play, scene changes behind a curtain or in the dark, handheld mics just for the sake of it… I could go on…
What do you love about your job? The variety, a different story every night.
What frustrates you about your job? The scarcity of artistic risk-taking in the industry.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? Often. Anyone who becomes a critic thinking it will make them popular is delusional.
What is a fun fact about you? I front an indie-rock band.
Mark Fisher
Who do you write for and where do you cover? I work freelance and review theatre primarily for The Guardian. A few years ago, I extended my patch from exclusively Scotland to incorporate a large area of England as well. I also write for The Scotsman and The List, and sometimes do workshops based on my book How To Write About Theatre.
What was the first show you loved? I got particularly excited about Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, which I saw on a preview performance at the Liverpool Playhouse, sitting on the back row of the circle. At the time, I was thrilled by the combination of politics, comedy, tragedy and music.
What was the last show you loved? Eat The Rich by Jade Franks at the Edinburgh Fringe felt like a festival discovery and appealed to the Blood Brothers fan in me. I’m a sucker for comedy combined with class war, especially when it comes from Liverpool.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Robert Lepage, Peter Brook, Wils Wilson, Dominic Hill, Matthew Lenton, Theresa Heskins, Arti Banerjee.
What theatrical devices make you groan? A large number of new plays finish with a single-note sound effect followed by a blackout. A large number of mediocre productions finish with a raucous song-and-dance number that tricks the audience into thinking they’ve had a good time.
What do you love about your job? I like writing and I like theatre. It’s not far off a hobby. I’ve been immensely fortunate in that. I also like observing not just the plays but the audiences and the places where they take place. I feel like a cultural anthropologists.
What frustrates you about your job? It would be nice if newspapers and theatre were more central to people’s lives.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? A long time ago, the late Kenny Ireland was on the cusp of banning me from Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum after comments I’d made (and he’d misinterpreted) about the theatre’s free previews. Somehow, I talked him down.
What is a fun fact about you? I host a monthly podcast for pop group XTC. It is nothing to do with theatre, but at least one playwright and one critic are listeners.
Holly Williams
Who do you write for and where do you cover? I’m the editor of Exeunt, a fellow theatre Substack covering the UK and beyond, which is home to loads of different writers, and I also write for Exeunt a lot. As a freelancer, I review shows mostly across the North and Midlands, mostly for The Times and The Stage, sometimes for The Telegraph. I also write features for lots of places, like BBC Culture, The New York Times, The i Paper, etc.
What was the first show you loved? A production of The Tinderbox at Theatre Hafren in mid-Wales sometime in the early 1990s. God knows who made it, but I was very enamoured of the three giant dog puppets…
What was the last show you loved? I rewatched Dear England when it came to Sheffield recently. It is still just a beautifully constructed play and a hugely entertaining night out, even for a football ignoramus like me.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Tim Crouch, because he is all of those things and always exciting.
What theatrical devices make you groan? Overly woke Gen Z character bingo: stroppy about climate change, obsessed with pronouns, wearing big sloppy cardigans…
What do you love about your job? Every day is slightly different. You never see the same show twice.
What frustrates you about your job? Money, money, money, or the lack thereof. And being at the mercy of British trains. I waste a lot of time battling train Wi-Fi or delays and get far too stressed about it.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? I’ve had some pretty feedback in my time, but the trouble these days is mostly the overthinking in my own head. Although there are reviews going back a few years where I wish I’d been less impressed by my own zingers and a little kinder…
What is a fun fact about you? I have synaesthesia. Ask me and I’ll tell you what colour your name is. Fergus is yellowy.
Tim Bano
Who do you write for and where do you cover? The Financial Times, The Standard, The Stage, Time Out, the brilliant London Theatre Review podcast (like and subscribe!) and whoever else is nice enough to commission me.
What was the first show you loved? Pre-critic, it was probably Les Mis (getting paid to review it a decade later was a nice ‘I’ve made it’ moment), but the first show that made my mind explode as a critic was Mr Burns at the Almeida. An older woman (who is still a critic) stood up at the end and loudly said, ‘Give me All My Sons any day,’ and I loved it even more.
What was the last show you loved? Paddington The Musical. Cute bear.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Sondheim, Luke Sheppard, Rebecca Frecknall, Lesley Manville.
What theatrical devices make you groan? Slo-mo. Too many chairs on stage. Unearned riffing in musicals.
What do you love about your job? Sitting in the dark and not having to talk to people. Also, trying to grapple wit ha big and complex piece of work quite quickly, and trying to form coherent thoughts and putting them into coherent words. Also, championing a piece of work that is really good is a nice feeling.
What frustrates you about your job? Pay hasn’t increased in about a decade. Press nights always start late. The number of cash-grab musicals we have to see.
What is a fun fact about you? N/A.
Nick Curtis
Who do you write for and where do you cover? The Standard. Previously The Independent, Time Out and Plays & Players magazine. London. I also do The London Theatre Review podcast with Nick Clark, Nancy Durrant and Tim Bano.
What was the first show you loved? I can still picture Frances de la Tour’s Saint Joan at the National Theatre vividly, but I probably first loved Spike Milligan in Treasure Island, the Wimbledon Theatre panto.
What was the last show you loved? All My Sons at Wyndham’s in the West End.
Which playwright/director/actor’s work are you always excited to see? Too many to name, but James Graham, Jamie Lloyd and Ronke Adékoluéjó for starters.
What theatrical devices make you groan? Drums, swirling coats and dry ice. See: The RSC, 1988-2010-ish.
What do you love about your job? Constant hope, constant stimulation, and I get to go work in beautiful, fascinating and highly functional buildings.
What frustrates you about your job? When someone else has a better turn of phrase.
Has a review ever caused you trouble? A certain blogger tried to start a social media pile-on because I “didn’t understand” musical theatre. We’ve never even spoken and he still avoids my eye at press nights.
What is a fun fact about you? Nicholas Wright once took something I’d set and gave it to Michael Gambon as a line in his play Cressida.
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Three shows to see next week
Christmas Day - Almeida Theatre, Oxford, until January 8
Sam Grabiner’s Verity Bargate Award-winning play Boys On The Verge Of Tears was a huge hit at Soho Theatre last year, winning the Olivier Award for Best Production in an Affiliate Theatre. Now, Grabiner’s next play, which focuses on a Jewish family gathering over Christmas, premieres at the Almeida Theatre, in a production from James Macdonald starring Samuel Blenkin, Nigel Lindsay and more, which runs until early January. You can read my interview with Blenkin in The Stage here, my chat with Grabiner last year below, and get tickets via the button below.
Revenge: After The Levoyah - Soho Theatre, until January 24
Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of Nick Cassenbaum’s riotously funny, political-satire-cum-action-thriller two-hander Revenge: After The Levoyah, which is set in 2019 and follows a pair of Jewish siblings who get embroiled in a chaotic plot to kidnap then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. It was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, then ran at the Yard Theatre in January. Now, it is back at the Soho Theatre. You can read my interview with Cassenbaum here and get tickets via the button below.
Dancing Shoes - Traverse Theatre, until December 20
Stephen Christopher and Graeme Smith’s three-handed comedy first ran at Oran Mor as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint’s Spring season earlier this year, where its story of recovering addicts finding solace and friendship via a viral dance video earned glowing reviews. Now, Brian Logan’s production arrives at the Traverse Theatre, where it runs until just before Christmas. You can get tickets via the button below.
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Thanks for reading and supporting The Crush Bar
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The Royal Court Theatre, Francesca Moody Productions, Raw Material Arts, Jermyn Street Theatre; Hampstead Theatre; Storytelling PR; Premier Scotland; Ellie Keel Productions; The Women’s Prize For Playwriting
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That is it for this week. If you want to get in touch about anything raised in this issue - or anything at all - just reply to this newsletter.
Fergus
Need to know what play everyone just saw that had slow motion in it....