Criticism in Crisis: Theatre Reviews in Atlantic Canada

I founded The Way I See It (TWISI), a blog focused on reviewing Canadian theatre, in Toronto in 2007 in response to the Broadwaycentric reviews I saw in the Toronto Star. My initial perceptions of how one establishes and seeks to finance herself as an independent theatre critic were based on the three years I spent in that specific theatre community. When I moved back to my hometown of Halifax in 2011, I was excited for TWISI to find a home there. Now that I am reviewing theatre in Nova Scotia I have come to realize that the circumstances here make being an independent theatre critic considerably more difficult than in Toronto, and yet they also make the work markedly more essential.

In Toronto, one of the biggest assets theatre bloggers have is that they are able to see a wider variety of theatre than their counterparts in print journalism. In a city where it is impossible for one person to see every production, bloggers have the freedom to attend a greater diversity of productions, including independent, developmental, and experimental theatre. In Halifax, it is rare that I attend a show where I don’t see either Elissa Barnard or Andrea Nemetz from the Chronicle Herald or Kate Watson from the Coast in the audience. In this market, my biggest asset is my experience, both my MA in theatre studies and my work as an actor and a playwright. I am the only person in Halifax reviewing theatre who has this background. At the Herald Barnard and Nemetz are called “arts reporters,” not critics. As journalists, their job is to report on theatre as part of the city’s entertainment news. Watson doesn’t consider herself a critic either: “I think a critic brings a different body of knowledge and writes with a different intent.… As a reviewer … my primary function [is] providing information about a play.… What is it about? Do I recommend it? A more detailed review can put a play in more context.”

Our disparate experiences lead to differences in style. Barnard and Nemetz write previews and reviews, both of which promote the events in our community. Halifax is not traditionally a theatregoing city and is home to many emerging theatre companies, so an outlet that is predominantly a champion is a welcome ally for theatre practitioners. Watson gives more constructive criticism in the Coast, although at 150–400 words, she is more pressed for space. As a blogger I don’t have a word limit. My reviews seek to engage with local theatre in a way that both encourages it to flourish and also looks critically and dramaturgically at all elements of the work and situates it within broader social-political frameworks. I also write pieces that explore the ways that we, as a community, can improve the economic and artistic conditions in our city—this presents a complex challenge in Nova Scotia, however, as there are large numbers of theatre artists here, a limited number of active theatregoers, and very few financial opportunities. Barnard, Nemetz, Watson, and I work well together in Halifax, as we present different types of theatre coverage, all of which is beneficial.

The Bus Stop Theatre, a performance venue founded in 2003 that plays host to many of Halifax’s independent theatre companies.

Photo by Amanda Campbell

The biggest challenge that theatre bloggers face in any city is economic. Most try to monetize their blog by selling advertising space, which requires time and a knack for sales, and is contingent on the size of the readership. For me, between being a theatre critic, publicist, administrative assistant, webmaster, and aspiring networking tycoon, TWISI was already more than a full-time job in Toronto, but I didn’t have a salary. When I moved to Halifax, TWISI’s readership had reached 100,000 unique visitors and I was confident it would be a viable business venture. I soon realized, however, that the culture of disseminating and discussing theatre reviews—even those that panned productions entirely—that gave TWISI the free distribution needed...