tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post2455350466680227607..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: Criticism and audiencesAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-20260017642728054042006-12-05T18:18:00.000+11:002006-12-05T18:18:00.000+11:00No critic would leave a performance that they were...No critic would leave a performance that they were enjoying half way through on the grounds that they knew what the rest of the production would be like. Why do it for one that you're not enjoying? The critic that does so betrays their subjectivity.<br />I seem to remember seeing Mr. Schlusser's production of The Government Inspector and wanting to leave after an extremely tedious expository Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-8303693479444893102006-12-05T04:50:00.000+11:002006-12-05T04:50:00.000+11:00Yikes. I have to 'fess up, here. Chris didn't ask ...Yikes. I have to 'fess up, here. Chris didn't ask me to make public any of his email, so I probably shouldn't have mentioned his name and have done him a disservice by doing so. Because, as he says, it's only a small part of what he communicated to me.<br /><br />I was hoping that more people would see the show and take part as an audience because of the discussion and not in spite of it.Ben Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16654820455368893078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-21216724957485764032006-12-04T11:07:00.000+11:002006-12-04T11:07:00.000+11:00Last night I made it to Requiem's last performance...Last night I made it to Requiem's last performance, and to be honest, I'm really quite very rather somewhat confused at the debate here - I'm not sure that we saw the same show, Alison. I did see another Melbourne lad (who knows his theatre inside and out and who does read this blog) in attendance, so give us your thoughts, CK! I don't want to be alone here in arguing that the initial (non)Born Dancin'https://www.blogger.com/profile/04511582990120568825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-89928326829095805772006-12-02T23:12:00.000+11:002006-12-02T23:12:00.000+11:00As you know, Alison, I'm not a theatre person. To...As you know, Alison, I'm not a theatre person. To offer an equivalent cinema perspective, I don't think critics have much influence on the success or otherwise of large cinematic releases. Where there's critical mass, word-of-mouth suffices. But for small films like The King and Em 4 Jay (and I can't be accused of any bias here), a mediocre review by (especially) both David Stratton and Paul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-90038002344704975622006-12-02T17:30:00.000+11:002006-12-02T17:30:00.000+11:00Hi Chris - well, I did qualify what I said, saying...Hi Chris - well, I did qualify what I said, saying that I didn't know the whole context of it. But that was certainly an implication that could be read into what was on Ben's blog, and I'm very glad (actually, intensely relieved) to hear that's not how you feel. <br /><br />All the same, I have long thought that critical influence on audiences is often exaggerated. There's no doubt that there is Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-59319771601468791352006-12-02T17:15:00.000+11:002006-12-02T17:15:00.000+11:00Hi Alison,
Once again you've devoted your blog spa...Hi Alison,<br />Once again you've devoted your blog space to only reading part of a comment from me, just as you devoted space to watching only part of our show. <br />I'm not trying to shut down debate. Debate about theatre is a wonderful thing! My comment to Ben is that I only wish people would stop trying to comment on a show that they have not seen. The solution is simple for those who live Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-24297484123001301022006-12-02T16:03:00.000+11:002006-12-02T16:03:00.000+11:00Hi Chris - yes, quite. Short seasons can be a prob...Hi Chris - yes, quite. Short seasons can be a problem in this way, because there often isn't time for the word of mouth factor to percolate through. But really, word of mouth is the thing.<br /><br />I have only the cheapo (read: free) site stats, so it's a bit hard to estimate general percentages, since they only track details on the last 100. There's quite a large international component (Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-18001756833495441512006-12-02T15:28:00.000+11:002006-12-02T15:28:00.000+11:00With all due respect to your undoubted influence, ...With all due respect to your undoubted influence, Alison, if a rave in the Age can't stop a slide in audience numbers at this point in a season, word-of-mouth must be <i>terrible</i>. <br /><br />It's a truism in Melbourne theatre, that reviews can only speed-up or slow down (as the case may be) the reception of a play. A rave might cause a spike in audience numbers at a bad show, just as a Chris Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18215203610745043810noreply@blogger.com