In a Screen-Dazzled World, a Theater Critic Has the Antidote

[macbeth]

Posted: 3/8/26 at 8:10am

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/insider/theater-critic-broadway-helen-shaw.html

The Times’s new chief theater critic is taking up the mantle as the industry moves over rocky ground.

[raddersons]

Posted: 3/8/26 at 11:08am

My favorite excerpt that really helps understand Helen’s perspective on reviews:


If I have a philosophy of criticism, it might be the one from that basement: Try to meet the art where it is. There are so many things beyond our control … but somewhere amid all the hubbub, someone is making something, and you need to pay attention. As its best and truest self, criticism is attention, the kind that might extend over decades or centuries, as we all track an artist or a play or an idea.

Hiring Helen is the Times’ first good move in years. Looking forward to some more insightful informative reviews.