Death of a Theatre Critic

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Ostensibly a tale of murder, anger and revenge, Death of a Theatre Critic has to be one of the most unashamedly navel-gazing productions in Edinburgh this August.

However, Death of a Theatre Critic, an almost state-of-the-nation style examination of the theatre world, is a very interesting piece of writing. It follows the story of director Karlo Menning, whose distress at receiving a critical pasting leads him to murder the critic responsible. Under the veil of this conceit, it is an engagingly philosophical exploration of a wide range of underlying issues with the theatre world, such as the marketisation of the arts, the exaggerated importance afforded to the subjective opinions of a very small group of people, and the inherent irrationality and narcissism of many theatre’s artists. At times, it is a truly brilliant piece of meta-theatre.

But, unfortunately, the key themes of this really quite engaging play become lost as a result of a wholly unnecessary final act. What could easily have been a concise, coherent examination of the position of criticism in theatre instead becomes a messy and overly long quest for Menning’s salvation. As the play follows the shamed director through prison and out into the welcoming arms of his ex-wife, it is clear that playwright Joakim Groth wanted his lead to be remembered not as murderous madman but as a sensitive, tragic and ultimately redeemed figure. It is an unsatisfying and clunky development, and one that comes close to spoiling the integrity of an otherwise engaging and intellectually stimulating production.