October 25, 2017

Lyn Gardner: Criticism needs to change, it’s not fit for purpose in the 21st century

Editor    posted 25 Oct 2017, 10:43 AM

Lyn Gardner: Criticism needs to change, it’s not fit for purpose in the 21st century

[The Stage, 23 October 2017: Lyn Gardner is a theatre critic and associate editor of The Stage]

British theatre has changed radically during the past 20 years, mostly for the better. Curiously one of the things that has not really changed is mainstream criticism.

Mainstream critics such as myself still write about theatre in a tradition that stretches back to the 19th century and beyond.

Obviously, I’m not about to fashion my review of the Sherman’s Cherry Orchard in the form of a haiku; my editor would not be best pleased.

For most mainstream critics their reference point – and critical hero – would still be Kenneth Tynan rather than Megan Vaughan. But if theatre has changed, then perhaps the way that it is written about and discussed should change too. It’s not just a question of form, it’s about who has the platforms and how they use them (or rather how editors allow them to use them). [More]