Here, you’ll find content about the art and practice of theatre criticism. Many pieces grapple with questions of how to diversify the field, making it more accessible for young people, queer folx, and critics of color. This section also contains all the pieces of criticism in the Journal, which we call “NewCrits.” NewCrits analyze productions and go beyond “thumbs up, thumbs down” reviews, placing the work(s) in question in a larger, broader context—whether that’s the context of the time or place it’s done in, the artists’ body of work, or its genre. Are you interested in writing a NewCrit? Check out our guidelines and best practices!
The Latest
Essay
Black Survival and Cyclical Fate in Hang Time
by Ciaran Short
4 June 2026
Essay
On a Theatrical Pilgrimage to See Carolina Bianchi and Cara de Cavalo's Chapter II: The Brotherhood
by Amanda L. Andrei
6 April 2026
Essay
How The Last Country Amplifies Stories of Immigration and Belonging in South Africa
Chris Garza discusses Intermedia Arts and Freestyle Theatre’s recent production about the politics of skin in the United States, which makes the audience question the validity in saying the US is a “post-racial” society.
Crystal Skillman’s play Geek is everything that is wonderful about geek theatre, an Off-Broadway subgenre that has become increasingly mainstream over the last ten years.
Jeff Augustin’s Cry Old Kingdom takes place in Haiti, 1964 during François "Papa Doc" Duvalier's reigme. Dani Snyder-Young reviews the 2013 Humana Festival production with an eye towards its theme of sacrifice, and the actor-audience power dynamic.
Lily Janiak takes a look at San Franisco-based Mugwumpin’s The Great Big Alsoas it explores the new frontier: what that meant to the first American settlers, and what the frontier means now.
A career as a theatre critic may not be directly linked to accolades and acclaim. Jason Zinoman meditates on the nuanced benefits of critically thinking about art full-time.
If critics evaluate theatre in consideration of who’s the primary audience and the function of the piece, theatre has the potential of bettering itself from criticism.
A call to bring the art of criticism to HowlRound, utilizing respectful dialogue to foster more in-depth conversations about the theatre we work hard to make.
Tomorrow's Weekly Howl will focus on the state of criticism in the theater, spurred on by Sherri Kronfeld's recent article, the many comments its garnered, Rob Weinert-Kendt's response.
Sherri Kronfeld asks why theater critics are more often than not theater practitioners, and argues for more inclusion of these hybrid theater maker/critics in the theater criticism scene.
Matthew Gushick explains the necessity of having a sense of play in creating any kind of theater, and how it is the vital key in creating ultimate captivation in an auidence.