REVIEW: THE CRITIC by John Hill at The Calder Bookshop & Theatre 16 November – 10 December 2022

 ‘There is simply not enough material here to sustain an audience’s interest.’ ★ ½

The Critic by John Hill tells the story of a 50-something theatre critic, Hugh Moncrieff (Gary Heron) who has recently begun the process of standing for election as an MP in his local constituency. Later, Hugh is visited by a young woman from his past (Gemma Pantaleo) who threatens to expose his secret. What follows is the agonisingly slow revelation of this secret, over the course of two hours.

The writer makes the wise decision to set the play in one small room, which suits the intimate Calder Bookshop and Theatre well. However, the success of such a piece depends upon quick, witty dialogue and a snaking, illusory plot. The dialogue here is all-too conventional, and the plot unfolds in much the way an audience member might expect. In addition to this, unfortunately, the play is too long; there is simply not enough material here to sustain an audience’s interest. The play is billed as a black comedy, which perhaps explains some of the more tired conventions, but this tone is neither established nor maintained.

Heron and Pantaleo exhibit great energy in their performances, which helps to sustain this production. Ultimately, though, the directorial style matches the writing in terms of lack of polish. The audience sits in darkness awaiting unnecessary set and costume changes, whilst painfully aware of the sounds of the actors moving around offstage. The play makes significant physical demands of it’s cast, which are played out uneasily, as though the actors do not feel fully confident, which in turn undermines the audience’s trust.

The play places an extreme importance on the work of the theatre critic. In Hill’s play it is the critic who stands in the way of the play’s success, more so than any other aspect of the industry. This is not unreasonable. British theatre is characteristically guilty of allowing a limited group of industry insiders to decide what theatre is made and by whom. With this in mind, the titular character, grown mercenary by success, is a prime candidate for revenge by Pantaleo’s scorned playwright. That a middle-aged man, holding social and cultural capital, is depicted to be the singular career blocker for an up-and-coming bisexual, female playwright, is worthy of exploration. Unfortunately, this dynamic is never fully utilised, which is a particular shame in a small, independent venue, perfectly placed to bring political, adventurous theatre to London’s audiences.



Likewise, the story communicated by Fin’s small set are similarly key to unpacking the missed potential of this play. Tellingly, given the venue, it is Hugh’s bookshelves that do much of the work in establishing the political and social motivations of the writing. Among the titles included on Hugh’s shelf are a Margaret Thatcher biography, placed front and centre. Alongside it, works by Bond and Beckett are casually accompanied by two of the seven Harry Potter books. These titles seem to wink at the audience, suggesting an exploration of a contemporary theatre industry, once typified by Bond and Osbourne’s angry young men, now populated by a generation of playwrights and theatre makers born too late to have experienced Thatcherism at its height, weaned instead on Harry Potter and Blairite Labour. As we later learn, Hugh is himself a product of a difficult upbringing. Now that he has ascended to prominence, he appears to gleefully pull up the ladder beneath him. As a starting point, the play functions to introduce us to these ideas, unfortunately the power of the statement is compromised by weaknesses in the writing and production.

THE CRITIC by John Hill at The Calder Bookshop & Theatre

16 November – 10 December 2022

Directed by Sally Ripley

Box Office https://calderbookshop.com/What-s-on

Reviewed by Natalie Mackinnon

Natalie is a writer and playwright from Edinburgh. She is a graduate of the Lir Academy for Dramatic Arts in Dublin and the Traverse Young Writers group in Edinburgh. Her writing has been performed on stage in the UK and Ireland and has been adapted for radio by the BBC.