The Great Acting Blog: “Why Criticism Is Positive”

The Great Acting Blog: “Why Criticism Is Positive”

If a production was insipid or the actors incompetent, why pretend otherwise?

We live in an age where we’re supposed to be “positive”, and criticism is seen as snarky and negative. But I see nothing wrong with intelligent, precise and genuine criticism. Infact, it is a positive because you are, in effect, saying the work could be better than it is, it’s an invitation to get stronger (and you never know, the listener may even take your criticism on board and act on it). Nobody wants to hear their work be criticised of course, but how positive is it to lie to someone by telling them their work was great when infact we actually thought it was weak? And if we don’t know the people in question, then there really is no risk of offence, so there are even less barriers to speaking out. When the work in question is critically acclaimed however, there is a tendency to just go along with the praise even if  we don’t agree with it, to do so makes life easier, but we must resist this tendency and argue for our own point of view.

To criticise when it is easier to lie, is a true act of leadership. You are risking unpopularity by being honest, but ultimately you are going out on a limb to argue for the culture you want to be part of, for the work you want to see, and for the life you would like to lead.

The refuse to criticise, to refuse to take a stance, to just sit on the fence all the time and agree with everyone, is a failure to take responsibility.

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