No culture without criticism

THE EDITOR: The somewhat hysterical reaction to Peter Minshall’s informed review of Carnival Messiah suggests that we take time out to consider the role of the Theatre Critic. Simply put, the Theatre Critic is one who is requested to attend a performance, evaluate its content objectively and to have his findings published.

Ideally, this person should be knowledgeable in the history of theatre, be an expert in the art form he is covering, understand the dynamics of theatre production, and be able to express his thoughts cogently and coherently. However, the relationship of theatre critic, community and artist can sometimes be an ethical minefield, and this is where the integrity of the reviewer is questioned and often attacked. It is almost impossible to avoid seeming conflicts of interest. Do the critic and the artist (performer, director, producer etc) have any sort of relationship outside of the night of the show? Is the critic a friend of the artist? What if the critic is also active in theatre? Has the critic had pre-production discussions with the director/artist. And so on. What then is the benefit of a review? For the theatre goer — it is an opportunity to pit one’s evaluation of a shared experience with that of an expert. It may influence the decision to attend the performance or not. For the artist — it is having an assessment of the work, which he may or may not agree with, but it is an opportunity for reflection.

For the producer there could be financial repercussions, positive or negative. Reviews can affect the box office and/or enhance promotional material. (Although one should never forget the efficacy of word of mouth, especially in TT). And then again, what of nation building? A production cannot be reviewed in isolation. Promotional hype can place a production in a special place, put it in the national sanctuary and criticising ‘we ting’ can be considered unpatriotic. We all live in the same small community, work together, discuss concepts, and approaches. Readers and writers have to work through real or imagined biases to get the best out of the offering, which after all is the reason for the exercise. Let us try to be a little more mature in approaching theatre reviews. “Criticism is the means by which society becomes aware of itself. There can be no culture without it.”

MARGARET WALCOTT
Petit Valley