Getting Started Guide: Plays & Acting: Finding Criticism & Reviews

Tips: Playwrights (this will only work for well known playwrights)

• Search for a playwright as a subject (Last Name, First Name) and look through the subheading for things such as Criticism and Interpretation

• Search for the playwright using the keyword search and include the words AND critic* (this finds both criticism, criticisms and critical)

• See the examples below

Tips: Play Title (this will only work for well known plays)

• Search for a play title as a subject

• Search for the play title as a keyword and include the words AND critic* (this finds both criticism, criticisms and critical)

• See the examples below

Tips: Genres

• Try the searches below for broader topics

• Know the date the play came out

• This will help you select places to search

• Know what you are looking for a review or a criticism

Reviews

• Provide opinions on the creativity, entertainment, social and cultural value of a play

• Designed to let a viewer know if the play is worth their time

• Usually fairly short, although in some cases they may be longer

• Are generally found in popular magazines, newspapers and websites

• Generally do not reflect on things like the plays's place in a author's body of work, but focus more of the performance of the play at a particular venue and/or with a particular cast.

Criticism/Critical Analysis

• Are more scholarly in nature

• Are more lengthy

• Discuss plays in a broad context, such as the political, social, historical, or cultural significance of the play

• May compare plays from the same playwright or within a particular genre

• May compare different plays or playwrights, such as when discussing particular themes

• May discuss the play in relation to the writer's body of work rather than as a single play

• May focus on specific aspects of the play such as characters, settings, etc.