This is not a review...because Guy Webster isn't objective

Last month, I was told that the team behind a production of Songs for A New World in Melbourne did not want me to review them. I sit down with their producer, Benjamin Samuel to discuss why.

Hi Guy,

Hope all is well?

Songs for a New World on Friday is a no-go :(

The producer contacted me today with concerns about your "objectivity
and motivations for reviewing theatre" and requested another reviewer.
….he has now created an environment, where I don't think we can
provide an objective review, based on his concerns. I won't be covering
the show at all.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - but I won't have producers dictate
who we send to review. It has left a sour taste in my mouth..,

About a month ago I received the above email from an editor at Australian Arts Review in response to a pitch I’d sent to review a production of Songs for A New World to be staged at Chapel off Chapel by the independent theatre company, Soundworks Productions. Their response stung.

Those two lines - ’concerns about your “objectivity” and “motivations for reviewing theatre” - meant that there’d been a conversation about me as a reviewer and my past criticism that had come to a pretty damning conclusion. I swirled those two words around in my mouth: ‘objectivity’ and ‘motivations’. Fucking ow. Had they seen my critical review of their most recent staging of Parade and thought it biased and uncritical? What were these concerns about my ‘motivations’? Should I give up and leave the country?

So I sent their producer an email (which I sent to my editor first for approval), because I hate not knowing. And because theatre is a tiny world and I want to be part of any conversation about my reviewing practice if I can.

Hi Mr. Samuel, 

Sorry to be emailing you out of nowhere (and happy Grand Final Day if that's on your radar!). I know you have recently raised some questions about me reviewing your upcoming production of Songs for A New World. I just wanted to be absolutely clear that I take theatre reviewing extremely seriously. From my first review six years ago to now, I've worked really hard to improve my writing, knowledge and understanding of criticism. I take no review lightly, and while I can understand why you might have had queries about me specifically, I want to emphasise that I have worked tirelessly and in earnest (and continue to) to try and make myself the best reviewer I can be.

If you had any specific questions or queries for me, I would be so so happy to meet up or call if you would be comfortable. Obviously, this would not necessarily be so that I could review Songs for a New World again but to open up a dialogue between us if need be. It's important to me to chip away at the long-held separation between critics and productions (acknowledging that I, like many reviewers, work in theatre in between teaching and studying).

And if you need any more sense of my other reviewing work, I have a little newsletter on contemporary theatre criticism that also offers links to my reviews in Time Out, Limelight and Australian Book Review.

The producer, Benjamin Samuels replied quickly, and kindly.

Hi Guy,

You’re a terrible reviewer. Never contact me again.

Kidding. Imagine.

Hi Guy,

I appreciate your candour and your willingness to engage in a discussion. There's so much more I'd like to learn about theatre reviewing. 

I realise that the concerns I raised may have come across as unusual. I'm relatively new at the 'producing' game and there's a lot I'd still like to explore and achieve within the world of live theatre production. At Soundworks, I always strive to create an inclusive, positive and fulfilling creative process for all involved in our shows (especially emerging creatives), as well as a memorable experience for our audiences. I'm still unsure about how I should measure the benefit of a theatre review. 

I acknowledge the wealth of knowledge and experience which you bring to theatre reviewing and am interested in hearing your perspective - perhaps we can grab a coffee sometime. There is certainly a separation between critics and productions - I wonder how that gap may be bridged and I'm open to a discussion about it to understand how we (Soundworks) might be more open to criticism, especially as a relatively new theatre company. 

Thank you again for reaching out. I really appreciate your openness to starting a dialogue.

Ben Samuel

--

Producer

We organised to meet up. The conversation was difficult, rigorous and warm. We discussed questions surrounding a reviewer’s responsibility to independent theatre companies, a producer’s responsibility to their team and imagined different ways of using the relationship between reviewers and producers to deepen criticism.

Here it is below. Enjoy.

Note: Soundworks’ production of Parade will be restaged in Sydney at the Seymour Centre next year.