Theatre Criticism ─ Changing Landscapes

The world of theatre criticism is rapidly changing. Its form, function and modes of operation in the 21st-century have long surpassed the boundaries of its discipline and have significantly influenced the fields of arts marketing, theatre production, theatre history and aesthetic theory alike.

In this collection of essays, academics and critics trace the history of theatre criticism from its early beginnings in the 19th-century and the growth of the newspaper industry to its position in our present-day internet-dominated world. The recent rise in self-appointed theatre critics and bloggers is challenging the conservative profile of the professional critic and changing the focus of discussion around live performance. While often received with suspicion from mainstream newspaper critics, this new generation of bloggers is providing interesting intellectual and ideological perspectives on a well-established field.

This book features 20 internationally commissioned contributions from scholars and arts journalists and is structured into 5 sections: histories and theories of theatre criticism; cultural and political contexts of theatre criticism; genres of theatre criticism; practices of theatre criticism; and critics' voices. Together, the contributors provide a broad-ranging and comprehensive overview of the various issues concerning theatre criticism today including histories, politics, cultural variations, changing functions, practices and emerging new media-specific genres.

The book features a general introduction by its editor, Duska Radosavljevic.