Reviews

I've been sitting back and thinking about the way people react to reviews - be it reviews of shows we're in or shows we've seen. People tend to have one of a couple of reactions when it comes to reviews - we either agree vehemently with what has been said or we completely disagree. This can be whether we are a part of the cast/crew etc or just a casual attendee to the performance. I know that I am certainly guilty of it from time to time. And yet, we whinge about critics' qualification to write what they do. We whinge they didn't come to our show or write an equally positive review for what we've done in the past. We whinge about their OPINION if it differs from our own. And we seem to forget that a review is essentially someone's opinion, written down (as eloquently as possible) and shown to others via some form of media [internet, newspaper etc]. It doesn't have to agree with our own, and (in my personal opinion) reviews from both sides can be welcome - "negative" reviews, when constructive, can allow for growth of the production and performers whereas positive review can show that you are heading in the right direction performance wise. I understand people not liking reviews that stab at the production without actually providing any methods or things that could improve the show. Many people complain that some reviewers do the opposite - "everything is amazing" or similar, which I understand - it's not a 'fair' review if its one sided, as people don't find the ability to improve within it. I'm not sure what the overarching point of this post is. Perhaps just to side with the reviewers - opinionated feedback is useful. And how many of us would complain if reviews ceased being written. Reviews bring attention to the shows we take part in. People will take a good review as reason to go to a show and a bad review as a chance to challenge someone else's opinion. Perhaps it's time to thank those people who write reviews - whether we like it, or not.