The Performance Critic is a professional service provided by interdisciplinary artist and dramaturg Lee James Broadwood to theatremakers and live performance artists desiring expert feedback on their work.

The Performance Critic has been active for six years now, releasing reviews both publicly on this site and privately to requesters. During this time, the service has been available in London and Brighton, UK, and in Nantes, France. It was also available across the entirety of the UK during the 2020/21 "lockdowns". Currently, the service is available for London theatres exclusively. However, critical analyses are still provided for requesters across the UK and the globe for livestreamed and recorded performances as part of my dramaturgy services.

The reviews that appear on this site are not commercial reviews or promotional content but critical analyses that assess the integrity and efficacy of live performances and their origin texts. They are intended to benefit the overall craft and creative awareness of the theatremakers and performance artists who request them, not for publicity [though accessible to the public]. Critical analyses assess all aspects of the work, including acting and performing techniques and styles; choreography, dance and movement; story and plot development, structure and continuity; lighting, sound, set and costume design/operation; written texts; and more. In such an assessment they discuss what was original, poignant, articulate and coherent about the performances in study; what was not; and why. It is also common that they suggest alternative routes that could have been taken to avoid unwanted tensions, awkwardness, blandness or fallibility. Critical analyses, unlike commercial reviews, do not provide the reader with subjective responses to or general synopses of performances, nor do they intend to promote work to readers or to celebrate the past, present and upcoming successes of the creatives involved. They are offered for dramaturgical and pedagogic purposes only and consider solely the performance itself.

All reviews are written by Lee James Broadwood.

The Performance Critic's Standard Service provides requesters with a free critical analysis of 1,000 words. However, additional notes and support or private reviews may also be requested at £7.50 per 250 words. The privatisation of public reviews will also incur charges at these same rates, where the word count of the review in question is rounded up to the nearest multiple of 250. All reviews are offered subject to the provision of a complimentary ticket to your performance, as per industry standards. The cost of a ticket to your performance cannot be deduced from the amount required for the release of a private review.

The Performance Critic is on Twitter, yes! @PerformanceCrit Alternatively, you can follow Lee James Broadwood on all social media platforms, where reviews are shared amongst other exciting content: @ljbroadwood

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