19,799 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 17, 2018 20:17:51 GMT
Funny article about the cliched words that *some* reviewers (no-one on here, obvs 😉) might find themselves falling back on.. repeatedly. exeuntmagazine.com/features/theatre-reviews-decoded/They missed out “Life affirming” - I came out thinking my husband isn’t that bad after all... “Thought provoking” - I spent the whole two hours planning my ocado list for this weekend... “Sung through” - I thought my ears were going to bleed... Which ones are you guilty of and what else is missing? |
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Post by lynette on Sept 17, 2018 21:04:14 GMT
I havent read the article yet but I hate 'relevant' which usually means there is something mentioned in the Guardian
just read it, v good!
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Post by bobbybaby on Sept 17, 2018 21:41:09 GMT
‘Woke’ - the only time I’ve ever used it was for The Magic Flute. As in - I woke when the queen of the night gave her famous aria.
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237 posts
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Post by harrietcraig on Sept 17, 2018 21:43:13 GMT
For a prime example of this kind of criticism, look no farther than Ben Brantley's New York Times review of a just-opened off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya ( Uncle Vanya review). Seeing this "devastatingly intimate" production, in which "everything has the sheen of unmediated transparency", left Ben "shivery, teary-eyed and stunned" (although not too stunned to remind us that he has seen "at least a dozen versions" of Uncle Vanya, as if that were a big deal for a professional critic). |
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Post by lonlad on Sept 18, 2018 0:19:02 GMT
Um, a dozen UNCLE VANYAs is quite a lot for anyone, critic or otherwise; thank you for alerting me to this production which sounds tremendous, I must say, and Jay O Sanders is a marvel.
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on Sept 18, 2018 8:32:16 GMT
For a prime example of this kind of criticism, look no farther than Ben Brantley's New York Times review of a just-opened off-Broadway production of Uncle Vanya ( Uncle Vanya review). Seeing this "devastatingly intimate" production, in which "everything has the sheen of unmediated transparency", left Ben "shivery, teary-eyed and stunned" (although not too stunned to remind us that he has seen "at least a dozen versions" of Uncle Vanya, as if that were a big deal for a professional critic).
It's not as if Brantley is a cliché monger using the same catch phrases over and over again. He's actually a rather brilliant writer, whatever you think of him as a critic.
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19,799 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 18, 2018 10:28:36 GMT
”Definitive” - thank god I never have to see another production of this again.
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19,799 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 18, 2018 10:29:42 GMT
“Pared back” - no set and a cast of 3 plus a woman on a mini moog.
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Post by dani on Sept 18, 2018 11:47:13 GMT
Just to point out that it is neigh-on impossible to churn out 100+ reviews a year without repetition of language. I read a lot of reviews and completely agree with this. A word like thought-provoking or spectacular does useful work. It's interesting to note that the people who have written this Exeunt article are all guilty of exactly the sins they condemn. Do they know? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 14:35:55 GMT
I honestly don't think they're condemning, I think they were just writing a vaguely humorous article about the terms that they and other critics use a lot.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2018 14:40:56 GMT
"Vibrant" = Noisy
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Post by bobbybaby on Sept 18, 2018 16:36:05 GMT
‘Groundbreaking’ - the male lead has agreed to get his kit off.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 19, 2018 10:43:16 GMT
'Searingly emotional' - tedious misery-fest
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Post by Dawnstar on Sept 19, 2018 17:43:33 GMT
For operas: "passionate" = chairs are thrown
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