#criticsofcolour

[timesothercompany]

Conversations about our monuments, museums, screens and stages have the same blind spots as our political discourse.

I’ve been collecting articles in preparation for a community workshop I’m giving on reading art criticism. 

This Op-Ed by Elizabeth Mendez Berry and Chi-hui Yang on culture-writers of colour is from July 2019:

“Think of cultural criticism as a public utility, civic infrastructure that needs to be valued not based just on its monetary impact but also on its capacity to expand the collective conversation at a time when it is dangerously contracting. Arts writing fosters an engaged citizenry that participates in the making of its own story.”

[criticsofcolour]

Critics of Colour in 2019 (and hopefully beyond)

Last week, two thirds of the Critics of Colour team went to see The Convert at the Young Vic. The play—a blistering exploration of faith and family, anchored by great performances and stunning set design—feels like a parable about change. Is change possible, the play seems to ask? Can we change not only ourselves, but also the people and structures around us? How much change do said structures have on the way we try to enact change, whether we accept them or not?

Change has always been a key component of the reasons why Sabrina, Georgia and I decided to come together and set up Critics of Colour. Misty, the play that changed everything, was the catalyst for us to attempt to change a theatre industry that for so long has felt deeply reluctant to shift in even the slightest of ways. 2018 has been a beautiful year for so many theatre lovers who value a diversity in the voices and the stories on our stages, but, as ever, the standard critical voice has often been deeply frustrating for so many.

There have been more plays by and ‘for’ (whatever that means) people of colour than ever before. However to put it bluntly, what hasn’t changed much over the past year are the type of people reviewing this work. If anything, the greater diversity on our stages has made the lack of diversity in our theatre publications more and more frustrating.

Critics of Colour received an amazing reaction when we launched in April—one that, if I’m honest, I was wholly unprepared for. The barrage of emails and the pull between people, press officers, tickets, and Tumblr were far more than any of us anticipated. If we’re honest, the three of us had relatively straightforward aims: 1) get some free tickets, 2) send people of colour to see some shows, and 3) publish the reviews on our blog.

Simple, right? Not so much.  

As [the months went by we found ourselves thinking more and more deeply about Critics of Colour, and wondering if the relatively limited yield we were putting out into the world was enough. It’s been a while, but thanks to the help of some long chats between ourselves and with some lovely, helpful people in the industry (you know who you are), we’ve come to a conclusion. Is Critics of Colour, in its original incarnation, enough? It wasn’t. It isn’t. But soon? We’re hoping the changes we make will be.

So, some news. If it hasn’t been obvious, Critics of Colour has gone, and is going quiet for a few months. There are lots of reasons behind this, but the main one is that we’ve realised that the changes we want to make? They’re much, much bigger and bolder than we first imagined. We don’t only want to publish a few reviews from people of colour on a blog. We don’t even necessarily want to gather non-white writers and help to get them writing for major outlets, or force the white, middle class theatre establishment to consider writers of colour to be ‘as good as’ the big names who have commandeered British theatre writing, often for decades. We want more than change—we want the standard critical voice that reviews British theatre to get flipped on its head, and we want to try to question the very nature of what a review can and should be.

Instead of writers of colour deemed ‘just as good’, we want new voices—from working class, disabled, female, and queer POC backgrounds—to be seen as what they are: necessary. I believe this industry won’t survive if we don’t change the way theatre journalism is seen. Instead of tension-filled take-downs or basic ‘go and watch this’ promo, reviews should always aim to expand conversations about a production, and entice the many people in this country who don’t consider themselves regular theatergoers to jump face first into the magic of the stage. To try and help this along, we will be spending the next few weeks and months applying for various things, doing call-outs for people to get involved, and reaching back into our networks, and making offers to the many amazing writers who have written for us already.

On that note, we’d like to express our massive and overwhelming thanks to everyone who has supported us this year, as well as everyone who offered us tickets or who sat us down for meeting and interviews.

Most importantly, thank you also to the many people of colour who took a risk and sent their writing over to us to publish on the Critics of Colour blog: Marianne Tatepo, Ava Wong Davies, Fabia Turner, Abi McIntosh, Sarudzayi Marufu, Nkechinyere Nwobani-Akanwo, Saalene Sivaprased, Youness Bouzinab, JN Benjamin, Jamel Alatise,Casey Spence, Lucy Chau Lai-Tuen, Mia Georgis, Pearl Esfahani, Nina Reece, Darrel Blake, Naomi Joseph, Roberta Wiafe, Adanna Oji, Jude Yawson, Shamima Noor, and Jamal Simon. Thank you for your words. When we know for certain what is happening next, and what specifically we can do for you, you will be the first people we tell.

This is a statement of intent, but also one of promise. To everyone who’s been so supportive in ways both big and small, see you in the Spring! and we hope to be telling you about some exciting news then.

All our best,

Bridget, Sabrina and Georgia

[email protected]

[criticsofcolour]

Critics of Colour: Reviewing Theatre Workshop [Marianne Tatepo]

Notes on the first Critics of Colour workshop written by: Marianne Tatepo

Ultimately, what makes us human is the moments when, through actions and words, we are told: ‘You are seen; You are heard; You matter’. In an age of VOD and live streams, the uniqueness of theatre lies in its use of physical immediacy to that effect. The stage invites us to focus, to suspend our disbelief and take on actors’ palette of emotions and dilemmas as our own. To withhold this experience from any segment of society is to prevent that group from experiencing one of the most immersive, enduring and humanising artforms that exists. Enough of us believe this that we are asking the performing arts industry to broaden its spectrum of stories. But this simply isn’t enough – who gets to authoritatively discuss these narratives matters equally. To that effect, on Saturday 28th April, 30 out of the millions of us who believe this gathered at Platform in Southwark to gain insider knowledge and tackle issues of representation and access to the theatre world. Welcome to Critics of Colour.

Purpose

Organised by journalist Bridget Minamore, playwright and poet Sabrina Mahfouz and arts producer Georgia Dodsworth, the event was an opportunity for participants to familiarise themselves with other people who are often the only <insert non-Caucasian ethnicity> in the room out of hundred-person projects, discuss past experiences without judgement, plan and organise ways to be considered for upcoming writing opportunities.

Hot tips: research

Looking at plays holistically was a really important talking point. Actors are central to theatrical productions – alongside creative directors and playwrights, they are usually the stars of the show. But what about everyone else whose hours of work, like a good editor, are invisible yet everywhere? Recognising the costume or sound designer who adds value to a production can bring in a new story angle. Researching past plays they have worked on may help if pitching for an interview with them, by nurturing excitement in both parties from the get-go. Worth noting: when interviewing, keeping things on the record ensures that the artist is being represented truthfully and that nothing gets lost in transcription.

Money

‘How much?’ That is a question asked too seldom, or too little too late when it comes to words. The lack of money talk is one of the biggest barriers to access when ‘paid gig’ can mean anything from £20 (a bus pass) to £350 (half the rent). For people of colour, this is often compounded by the fact that our mere presence creates the expectation of gormless gratefulness. But having a good understanding of pay scales for different types of pieces is essential to a prosperous career as a critic and can inform the ambition of a piece (for instance, Bridget went on a walk in the Peak District as part of her feature writing for the play Black Men Walking by Testament). This section was a gold mine and essentially an interactive NUJ pay grid chat but with juicy anecdotes thrown in.

Pitching

We talked about key publications that cover theatre (e.g. the Guardian, Exeunt, The Stage, the Telegraph), as well as the different types of writing. Reviewing is the critic’s home but it is just one of many forms. The concept of reviews is broadening – even a complimentary Tweet can be seen as praise. But beyond a breakdown of the performance itself, features and interviews offer variety. Bridget drew from examples of her writing to emphasise the appeal of feature writing, which enables critics to cast the net wider when assessing why a play or performance is engaging, powerful, timely, or ideally, all of the above. Feature writing goes from the specific to the general (e.g. critiquing Girl from the North Country by discussing Bob Dylan’s legacy as a modern bard, family secrets, financial and economic depression) to consider how themes in plays impact society on a wider scale. Conversely, interviews are a good opportunity to focus on the work of specific artists and mark milestones or herald future successes. Crucially, what is the piece trying to say? Clarifying this informs the best form to use and saves everyone time.

On the night: the reviewer’s mental checklist

Note-taking varies from writer to writer; Arriving early is an opportunity to take in the venue and get the best seats possible if unreserved; During the play, having a checklist that covers the basics (acting, writing, lighting, music, design, costume, sound, movement) can be helpful, but the most important thing to do is scribble notes about what that truly stands out; Enjoy yourself. Or don’t. Just say why – it’s all critique.

Critical analysis of reviews

People of colour jump through endless hoops to get a foot in the door. Once in, we deal with all manner of  ‘how did you get this far?’s, our talent under scrutiny from front of house to creative director. Just a few days ago, a talent agent wrote in a Facebook group: ‘I'm bored of breakdowns asking for BAME actors. Casting them because of the colour of their skin because it adds that va va voom to the cast list, or their skills in performance? (...) It's putting talented “white” performer's [sic] out of work. I think it stinks. Thoughts?’

Thoughts? One of the highlights of the workshop was analyzing writing that uses coded – or, in the case of the above quote, blunt – language that undermines ethnically diverse voices but overlooks the work. Divided into half dozens, we looked at criticism of work by people of colour from the past year and how even positive reviews can be peppered with problematic language. Sabrina and Bridget reminded us of the fact that no one is neutral and all of us – seasoned white critics and POC bloggers alike – come to a piece of art with our worldview and ours is equally valid. Critics of Colour asks not just for more but also better, broader representation of this reality.

The workshop, which will hopefully be a blueprint for future events led by local facilitators in the UK, provided our group of writers, policy advisors, editors, dramaturgists, playwrights, actors, and students with a toolkit for becoming the theatre critics of tomorrow. The talent? It was already there.

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Marianne Tatepo // www.mariannetatepo.com

Marianne Tatepo is a Belgo-Cameroonian writer who works in book publishing. She has previously written for publications such as the Guardian, Brooklyn magazine, the Bookseller and Konbini.