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
As part of the 36th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, this fourth of four panel discussions waslivestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 30 March 2012 at 7:30 a.m. (Los Angeles) / 9:30 a.m. (Chicago) / 10:30 a.m. (New York) / 14:30 GMT / 15:30 (London-BST) / 16:30 (Berlin-CEST) / 20:00 (Mumbai).
Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. This week: Peter Marks of the Washington Post.
Our New York Times Critic Watch continues, and we have some insights on what readers really want from theatre critics – and we want to hear your thoughts too!
Mark Jackson responds to the outcome of the Theatrical Salon he helped organize on Criticism, and what the resulting conversation taught him about how theatrical artists interact with the idea of criticism.
The relationship between critics and artists can be complex and fraught, but it doesn't have to be. We recount a touching story in which the critic-artist relationship is built on understanding and growth.
Meiyin Wang contrasts Electricity, Originality, and Authenticity in the context of the 2012 Under the Radar Festival, and how selected productions challenge these concepts.
Mark Jackson, a theater maker in San Francisco, talks about the founding of Theater Salons, a series of informal talks about theater between differnet theatermakers in the area, and the lessons he has learned from them.
Zora Howard’s Hang Time demands a deep contemplation of empathy. Ciaran Short discusses the way the play’s warping and flattening of time creates space to explore Black men’s capacity for gentleness, intimacy, and the mundane—even when forced into a suspended state.
Amanda L. Andrei crossed continents to see Carolina Bianchi and Cara de Cavalo’s Chapter II: The Brotherhood in search of transformation. She traces the play’s shape and the horror of recognition it prompted through its focus on abusive men in theatre and the traumas they leave in their wakes.
Amid flareups of anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa, The Last Country offers a much-needed platform for migrant voices. Tonderai Chiyindiko discusses the production, its origins in oral history data, and the conversations it generates.
Now more than ever, we need artists to challenge assumptions and imagine new futures.
This series of four talks, organised by ArtsEquator, attempts to ask some big questions. Being in the middle of an unpredictable global crisis precludes easy answers. Burning Questions offers a space for regional voices to dialogue and discuss some of the unasked questions facing the arts community.
Each of the dialogues in this series speaks of the connection between political activism, creativity, and spirituality— and highlights the importance of intergenerational knowledge-sharing for the future of the Live Arts and Theatre sectors of the UK.
Aley O’Mara reflects on Daniel Winder’s Hamlet and speaks to the lead—trans actor Jenet Le Lacheur—about the titular character in this production being nonbinary and transfeminine.
