Shouts and Murmurs - January 16, 2024

The Enfield Haunting is scarily bad, the Arts Council's funding model is broken, and these audiences just will not learn to behave themselves!

Hello, and welcome to Shouts And Murmurs, a weekly email for paid supporters of The Crush Bar, written by me, Fergus Morgan.

Every week, I round up the best - and worst - theatre writing elsewhere, from reviews, to interviews, to features, to opinions, as well as any other fun or interesting theatre-related stuff I come across. It will mostly be UK-based, but I’ll keep an eye on international stuff, too.

This week, there is a glance at an online conversation about ACE’s broken funding model; a look at the reviews of The Enfield Haunting, The Last Show Before We Die, and a few other productions; a round-up of the best interviews and features of the week, featuring Beth Steel, Matthew Baynton and more; a Substack recommendation; and a puzzle for you to have a go at.