Matti Linnavuori[1]
The Performance Reviews section continues to fulfill the two basic tasks that international criticism sets for itself.
On the one hand, critics report from performances and festivals in their home countries. Since Critical Stages has already reached its 8th issue, it means that the journal has been steadily following some major directors, playwrights and festivals for some time now. It is a pleasure to read critics who, over the years, have fine-tuned their tools of receptivity toward these theatre-makers. Also, I invite you to take a look at earlier issues and compare how certain directors have been understood or misunderstood by different critics.
On the other hand, critics continue to report from visits to foreign festivals. The journalistic novelty in this issue is a correspondence about the Sarajevo festival, where the dialogue alternates between English and French, the two languages of IATC.
It would seem that festivals manage to produce a spirit of artistic survival against declining funding in times of economic difficulties. It is invigorating to enjoy that atmosphere, critically of course.
[1] Matti Linnavuori (born 1955) edits the Performance Reviews Section for Critical Stages. He is a freelance theatre critic for Finnish newspaper, Satakunnan Kansa. He has also written and directed radio plays for YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company.
