a VERY short note - made longer

Everyone. Do whatever you have to to see The 39 Steps. It is hilarious. Its also playing in NYC, so its not like you have to come here to see it. Though you could. That'd be fun too.

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So I've seen a lot of shows here now. Read reviews for all of them, both before and after seeing them (some were in previews still). Still can't get my head around this acting from the outside in thing - Caiti might be able to shed some light on that...

But one thing I've noticed is that its a serious thing here. Its serious business. Its not even like NYC and Broadway. I mean, its infinitely better, for one thing - more options, better options, better atmosphere..
They (being the critics) also have no problem absolutely ripping a show apart - in very astute and not-mean ways, but just being exactly critical. Its actually a little unsettling, to be honest. The headline for the Telegraph's review of Complicit:

Complicit at the Old Vic, review: a play about torture? It certainly was

Sorry for the type font change - that's how it was on their site. But I mean... WHOA. I don't know that I've seen a review that starts throwing punches like that right from the start. It wasn't a very good show, by any means, but still.

That might, in the long run, be a bad thing - too much criticism leads to jaded audiences. But there are people going to everything all the time. If its a bad show, you know it because it doesn't sell out. Everything sells out if its good. It isn't where you have a critically lauded show that falls through the cracks because it didn't have a star performer or writer or director (coughcough Passing Strange). Yes, people line up for stars (would I have lined up for David Tennant and/or Patrick Stewart in anything? Absolutely. Not afraid to say it.) but they also line up for theatre in general.

we need the arts like this in America... we really do.