The Stage Reviews
Dreadful Writing
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Posted 10 May 2008 - 06:51 PM
I know The Stage is not famed for the quality of its reviews, but Mark Shenton, Heather Neill, Aleks Sierz and John Thacker can all come up with well written, succint reviews, given the constraints of space. This one for 'Funny Girl' by Michael Sell (?) uses terms out of a substandard GCSE Drama review... http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.p...0651/funny-girlI think it's rather disappointing that our industry newspaper can't come up with better than this.
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Posted 10 May 2008 - 07:34 PM
I agree...this review is appalling. It also makes me wonder whether Michael Sell actually went to this prodution or not as there isn't much about it 
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Posted 10 May 2008 - 07:53 PM
Speaking of 'strange' reviews, take a look at this one for Noughts and Crosses when it was playing in Liverpool. http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/art...s_feature.shtmlI've never read a review where the reviewer managed to get so many actor/character names wrong! Apparantly Jude was played by Richard Madden (Richard Madden played Callum), Louise Callaghan played Meggie (she didn't, she played Lynette), Tyrone Huggins played Callum (he didn't, he played Kamal), and best of all there was a 'sterling effort from Freddy White as the frail Lynette'. Freddy White played Jude. Maybe the reviewer lost her programme and had to write her review from memory? But at least she liked the play.
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Posted 11 May 2008 - 06:51 AM
I think that was more a case of the reviwer had been drinking too many of the free drinks at the after show party! 
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Posted 16 May 2008 - 02:19 PM
QUOTE(Boob @ May 10 2008, 07:51 PM)  I know The Stage is not famed for the quality of its reviews, but Mark Shenton, Heather Neill, Aleks Sierz and John Thacker can all come up with well written, succint reviews, given the constraints of space. This one for 'Funny Girl' by Michael Sell (?) uses terms out of a substandard GCSE Drama review... http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.p...0651/funny-girlI think it's rather disappointing that our industry newspaper can't come up with better than this. I would hope that this would fail a GCSE drama exam or has the standard dropped this far?
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Posted 16 May 2008 - 05:27 PM
QUOTE(Trev @ May 16 2008, 03:19 PM) I would hope that this would fail a GCSE drama exam or has the standard dropped this far? You're being hopelessly optimistic here. It probably wouldn't do all that badly at A Level. Incidentally, the syllabi for Drama/Theatre Studies are pretty dreadful- rather than a normal essay, you have to use 'personal engagement' (it made me feel... etc.), and you are compelled to take 20 pages of notes into the exam, which as a reasonably intelligent person, irks me greatly! More on topic, it's amazing that nobody thought to read this review before going to print/online alternative, and if they did, I ought to apply for a job writing for The Stage... Alfred Hickling's reviews annoy me too- they're not badly written, they're just vacuous; usually a 4 paragraph plot summary followed by a brief description of one of the actors, or an even more vague adjective summing up the production. One wonders if AH ever goes to the theatre, or if he reads the reviews of his contemporaries and compiles his 'opinions' based on wikipedia. Sorry for the stream of consciousness, needed to get a couple of things off my chest!
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Posted 17 May 2008 - 01:02 PM
QUOTE(David @ May 16 2008, 06:27 PM) You're being hopelessly optimistic here. It probably wouldn't do all that badly at A Level. Incidentally, the syllabi for Drama/Theatre Studies are pretty dreadful- rather than a normal essay, you have to use 'personal engagement' (it made me feel... etc.), and you are compelled to take 20 pages of notes into the exam, which as a reasonably intelligent person, irks me greatly! Well it's changed since I did mine then, and it was a pretty quick change since they'd only just changed it then. Mine was the first year on the new system as far as I know. We weren't allowed any notes and it was certainly 'normal' essays we had to write.
"Condoms don't even go with lasagne"
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Interests:Music, lyrics, what people are thinking when they write lyics and songs and if they are all based on real life situations, listening to someone play acoustic guitar, books - fiction and non-fiction, films, people, comedy, talking, banter, real life, football, our way of life (i.e. in Glasgow, when asked what school you went to, really people just want to know if you're Catholic or Protestant), dance - not me personally but I like watching it done properly, people with raw talent, make up, writing, drawing, fashion and style. Interesting people with good stories. Natural wit. The theatre and everything to do with it. From the make up and costumes to the actors and performers themselves.
Posted 19 May 2008 - 10:40 AM
QUOTE(Boob @ May 10 2008, 07:51 PM) I know The Stage is not famed for the quality of its reviews, but Mark Shenton, Heather Neill, Aleks Sierz and John Thacker can all come up with well written, succint reviews, given the constraints of space. This one for 'Funny Girl' by Michael Sell (?) uses terms out of a substandard GCSE Drama review... http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.p...0651/funny-girlI think it's rather disappointing that our industry newspaper can't come up with better than this. I would like to think I could do better for my final piece  . I could barely call this a review, its simply just stating facts. It's like the reviewer read the captions on posters and paragraphed them.
Call me Heather.
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Posted 18 July 2008 - 02:29 PM
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I'm left incredulous by yet another dreadful review in today's The Stage (re: Street Scene). While I can pass over George Hall's comment that the score 'finds Weill at his less than best' as a difference of taste, saying some of it sounds 'like hand-me-down Puccini' is cheap, although one wouldn't deny the influence of the Italian composer on the score.
Furthermore, I shan't be posting a link to this because Hall reveals two major dramatic plot points from the second act.
Yuk yuk yuk.
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Posted 18 July 2008 - 06:38 PM
Oh I HATE reviewers giving plot away! I have a nasty feeling Nicholas de Jongh has ruined 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' for me, but I won't go investigating on the offchance he hasn't. Grrr!
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