Kate Chapman, the interviewer, was joined by Lyn Gardner. Lyn is a journalist and novelist who contributes reviews and articles to The Stage and has written for The Guardian. This event was captivating and informative as Lyn shares her career work as a theatre reviewer.
With Kate Chapman’s engaging question, Gardner’s past works especially in theatre was really inspiring to hear. At the time she first started her career theatre critics were mostly men. It was nice to see Lyn Gardner’s open-minded work and opinions as a woman. It feels liberating to hear the change of theatre through the evolution of social media which allowed theatre to be kept alive and allowed everyone to review in various ways. Lyn’s passion to theatre section is clear to see as she is hopeful in the cultural shift from printing press to social media.
Lyn made a very good point about how the theatre communities’ role is to create greater diversity. People in traditional theatre should make sure they work with people who “are not like them” and “sound” like them.
Those who are into journalism and reviewing, this event was worth attending. We can learn a lot from past histories of theatre production. The advice I would take, quoted from Lyn in response to being a theatre reviewer, “You are not taking an exam […] you need to respond with every part of your being.” Once again, a great interview by Kate Chapman and I wish to see more conversations and learn more about the theatre industry.
-Danniella Itorma
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