Arts struggled, but critics must take off their gloves | Culture

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Have you seen anything good lately? It’s a mundane conversation, but often a reliable way to find the next play or movie worth watching. The answer will be honest, and it really matters, although more than likely an acquaintance’s tastes won’t exactly mirror yours.

According to many published reviews, we should all now be trying to see Andrew Lloyd Webbers’ theatrical production of Cinderella, or the revival of Anything Goes at the Barbican with Robert Lindsay, or the new horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II in theaters. . And if we were at the Royal Albert Hall Ball last Tuesday when the lead male role in Tristan und Isolde had to be replaced in the second half by another singer in the cast, well, then we really hit the jackpot of the experience. .

But the reliability of these recommendations has been called into question by recent whispers. Many suggest that the critics are being too kind as the shadow of the pandemic finally lifts. Is there maybe some underground pact to encourage audiences to come back with concert cheerleaders?

If so, then the reviews are doing us a disservice. Rave reviews of A Quiet Place Part II likely expressed understandable relief to be allowed to rewatch a big budget movie in a theater, as Telegraph reviewer Robbie Collin admitted. But critical faculties should not be suspended.

The supportive response to Cinderella also comes with a long history. Lloyd Webber and his crew at the Gillian Lynne Theater struggled to raise the curtain on a spectacular show through thick and thin. Still, many in the industry quietly raised an eyebrow at the warm blanket of praise thrown at the cast.

Of course, it makes sense to want to boost the artists who have suffered so long in the cold breath of the coronavirus. And potential theatergoers should perhaps be reminded of the reasons for spending money on the risky business of going out for entertainment.

However, it is dangerous for theatrical and film productions to be treated with children’s gloves at all times. She fuels the nefarious idea that the performing arts are a special case, a delicate flower not sturdy enough to be persuasive on its own. If the theater, which can be a bad night, and the cinema, which is sometimes a boring waste of money, aren’t held accountable for their perceived mistakes, then the whole business becomes what it is often blamed for: a conceited insignificance.

I have seen several things over the past year that have really delivered. Seductive films such as Joanna Hoggs’ sequel to The Souvenir, a jazz concert in a church hall, and an opera production in a parking lot. And certainly the fun was enhanced by the novelty, after months of watching only television. After all, every audience experience is inevitably affected by the mood of the outside world.

When the Albert Hall crowd rose to applaud tenor Neal Cooper, nephew of boxer Henry Cooper no less, for singing the role of Tristan as well as his as Melot, on such short notice, their need to recognize the emotion of the moment was human and good.

So I understand that this primordial impulse is kind now. Jay Rayner, food critic for this newspaper, even made it a principle. Last year he controversially decided it was his duty to only tell readers about good places to eat while the hospitality industry was still reeling from the lockdown. Now I’m just writing about less of them, I’d rather emphasize the positive, he explained.

But is a cinema or a theater the same as a restaurant? A paid party is a big deal for most people and the choices are usually quite limited, even in the West End. And while an individual reviewer clearly doesn’t speak for everyone, and while it sounds pompous, if a production doesn’t perform, it should always be pointed out without fear. It allows for a real conversation. (By the way, even the rudest viewers I’ve spoken to say Anything Goes is really so good: a remedy for dark days that doesn’t cut corners.)

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