EOTO: Theater Reviews in the UK

Theater criticism dates back all the way to ancient Greece when Aristotle's Poetics explored elements of, techniques for and his own "rules" for different works, which included theater productions. 

At that time, many theater productions were what we know as Greek tragedies. These plays were written by Greek legends including Aristophanes, Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. However, over the years theater has developed into something even the Greek playwrights could not have imagined. Because of this, theater criticism has also evolved over the years. 

A large part of this growth took place in the United Kingdom because of how instrumental the U.K. and its people were in advancing the world of theater. After all, one of the greatest playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

                                             Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
This is a portrait created of William Shakespeare.

There is so much history when it comes to theater, but I want to briefly highlight some major points about theater in its early years in the U.K. Theater really started making roots in England in the 10th and 11th centuries. A fun fact is that a lot of theatrical productions actually came about because of church services and wanting to tell stories from the Bible. Britain's first playhouse was built in Finsbury Fields, London in 1576. It had an incredibly original and unique name of "The Theatre." 

In the 16 years following this first theater, many open-air theaters were built in the U.K. During this time, there was no such thing as a fully enclosed theater, as most theaters are today because there was no electricity for lighting, so the sun had to be used.

In 1564, William Shakespeare was born. He wrote many great plays such as King Lear, The Tempest, of course the famous Romeo and Juliet. Many of these plays were staged at the infamous Globe theater.

                                                                                                              Christie's 
This scene depicts theater in 18th Century London.

In 1737, there were laws passed in Britain that prohibited sedition, profanity and libel. The Licensing Act of 1737 was one of these motion by the British government. This act made it so that only two theaters, the theaters at Drury Lane and Covent Garden in London, were allowed to put on plays. It also established a rule that all play scripts had to be approved by Lord Chamberlain before a performance could take place. 

This act greatly affected the still developing "world" of theater in the U.K. by censoring artists and creating what became known as two types of theater, those that were legitimate and illegitimate. 

Subsequently illegitimate and legitimate theater reviews were published. The 1700s were a difficult time for all journalists in England for that reason. It was a time characterized by censorship and little to no freedom of the press. With England as an example, it is no wonder that the United States established freedom of the press under the First Amendment within the Bill of Rights, which were ratified in 1791.

Even for someone considered the best playwright of all time, William Shakespeare still had his critics. English author Frances Meres lifted Shakespeare up in his work and said he was the best writer in comedy and tragedy of all time. 

A fellow playwright of Shakespeare's time, Ben Johnson, did not see Shakespeare as positively. He believed that Shakespeare' tragedies lacked the three fundamentals of classical drama, the unifying aspects of time, place, and action. Johnson also though Shakespeare's writing was not civilized enough and was too vulgar. 

                                                                                   Wikipedia
Hamlet Written was by William Shakespeare.

From studying Shakespeare myself, I will say this is true. However, the Reinesaance was a time characterized by indignity and vulgarity, so one cannot blame Shakespeare for writing this way. 

However, even Johnson had a level of respect for Shakespeare because it is said that he wrote a eulogy for him entitled, "To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare." 

Another man named Robert Greene, would gossip about other writers, one being Shakespeare. He accused Shakespeare of plagarism for copying another writer's style.

One thing that was really different from criticism today was many of the critics wrote in books, not on newspapers and websites as articles we read today are in. However, in the later 1600s, the printing press rose to popularity and newspapers began circulating. 

                                                           review.gale.com
Hanna Kiiskilä graduated from the University of Turku.

Hanna Kiiskilä  of the University of Turku Fineland, analyzed criticisms from the 19th century, when The Times rose to popularity in the U.K. She described the theater criticism articles as "brutally honest." 

Kiiskila said that illegitimate theater reviews focused more on movement, visual, and musical features of performances where legitimate theater reviews evaluated more about the words actually being spoken by the actors. 

These honest reviews set a prescedent for even today's theater critics. Critics pride themselves on being honest and transparent in their works.

In the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, new types of theater very different from Shakespearean drama began to emerge. In the late 1780s, meoldramas, short scenes with musical accompaniment, rose to popularity. In the 19th century, pictorial dramas became popular because audiences enjoyed its historical accuracy. 

Cup and saucer dramas also became popular in the 1800s, which had plots that touched on serious issues on the day. These different types of theater allowed for different criticisms that stayed true to being honest.

                                      Hurst Media Company
The Sunday Times is a popular U.K. paper.

In the 1900s leading up to today, theater continued to keep up with the times and adapted to become more modern. Critics continued to keep up with the times as well. John Peter was the Chief Theater Critic for the Sunday Times from 1967 to 2010. 

Peter's work had the ability to influence people'e opinion on shows and whether or not people should buy tickets. He was just one of many critics of his time, others being Michael Billington of The Guardian and Michael Coveney of The Daily Mail. 

Jumping to modern day, an article by David Hurman of The Critic, stated in 2020, that as these great writers either pass away, he wonders who will take their places. 

He notes that the British press is on a decline and raises the question of whether or not theater criticism will stay relevant in our modern world. Only time will tell. Overall, I really enjoyed studying theater criticism in the United Kingdom.