I started writing theatre reviews in 2015, for the site Plays to See, where I was also a member of the editorial team. All my reviews for them can be found here.
In recent years I’ve felt more and more disillusioned by traditional review formats, and I stopped writing reviews in late 2018. Although I still love theatre, and want to write about it, I’m interested in exploring embedded criticism and other non-traditional modes of writing and responding. (If you’re interested, I wrote a kind of manifesto about arts criticism that you can read in my Tinyletter archive.)
Below are some examples of theatre criticism & writing I’ve produced recently.
CRIPtic Showcase 2021
I was asked by Jamie Hale to be a notetaker and blogger as part of CRIPtic’s 2021 development programme; you can read my blogs on the CRIPtic website.
The Niceties at Finborough Theatre
I worked on this production as one of two embedded critics, producing a spoken and written response to the play.
On 11/10/19, we hosted a post-show Q&A with the playwright and actors, which you can listen to on Shanaé’s blog.
After the Q&A, Shanae and I had another conversation about the play’s themes, which we transcribed here.
run softly: a response (Medium)
Part review of Run Softly, a performance piece about the Thames; part meditation on my relationship to London and its river.
On Failure (Medium)
A follow-up to my initial piece on Ask Me Anything by The Paper Birds (below).
Spaces of Authenticity: Ask Me Anything (Medium)
This piece of embedded criticism is the product of my spending a week in rehearsals with devised theatre company The Paper Birds.
the strap-on play (Tinyletter)
Thinking through Martin Crimp and Katie Mitchell’s When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other at the National Theatre.
imagined touch, real intimacy (Tinyletter)
This Tinyletter is about Jodee Mundy’s performance piece Imagined Touch, which addresses disability, art, and intimacy.