Judith Mackrell on star-rating reviews Who do I write for: dancers or audiences?

'A disturbing but fascinating precedent was set last June, when the New York magazine Village Voice "let go" of its distinguished critic Deborah Jowitt, apparently on the grounds that she didn't write enough bad reviews. For four decades, Jowitt's coverage of the New York dance scene had been almost unequalled in its breadth and detail, yet the Voice decided her descriptive, essentially non-judgmental style was no longer suited to the times; most readers now want and expect star-rated verdicts on every show.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/feb/12/critics-notebook-judith-mackrell

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GIG ALERT: Voicebox Wrexham

Celebrate 11 years... (11 YEARS!) of Voicebox with an absolute class creative cabaret of Wrexham's Arts Scene with the infamous Voicebox Open Mic with your host Natasha Borton! This month we have a very special takeover with Parthian Books. Parthian is an independent publisher based in Cardigan, Wales. Since its foundation in 1993, Parthian has published some of the best-known works of contemporary Welsh literature. Parthian's motto is “A Carnival of Voices in Independent Publishing”. Monday 11th November at Rough Hands Tap, Wrexham Entry is £5 (£3 concessions) Doors: 7pm Open Mic 7:30 - 8:30 Susie Wild - 8:45 - 9:15 Patrick Jones - 9:15 - 9:45 Penblwydd Hapus Voicebox Headliners: Susie Wild is author of the poetry collections Windfalls and Better Houses, the short story collection The Art of Contraception listed for the Edge Hill Prize, and the novella Arrivals. Her work has featured in many publications including Poetry Wales, Ink Sweat & Tears and The Atlanta Review and...

THE STAGE REVIEW | CINDERELLA @THE RIVERFRONT

Cinderella Published Monday 5 December 2011 at 12:39 by Susie Wild Even in the year of a Royal Wedding, not every modern girl wants to grow up to be a princess. In Newport, however, Will and Kate fever appears to have taken hold and many women and girls in the audience are dressed up as exactly that, settling down to believe in fairytale dreams. Hiss & Boo’s production keeps the ancient story traditionally soft, sappy and relatively unchanged, and a more contemporary world is instead only hinted at with the Ugly Sisters’ Primark bags and occasional, catty LOLs. The cast of Cinderella at the Riverfront, Newport The romantic leads Nichola Lagan (Cinderella) and Rob Wilshaw (Prince Charming) are suitably saccharine and prove strong on vocals, but the song choices are often weak. Still, it is a saving grace that the show hasn’t suffered too much under the influence of X Factor. Instead, it leans towards the stuff of real magic with a flying horse, firework...

BBC Arts Blog: Women's writing celebrated at the xx minifest

Women's writing celebrated at the xx minifest Friday 26 October 2012, 12:04 Laura Chamberlain Share Facebook Twitter COMMENTS Tagged with: arts and culture , writing , poetry Writing by and for women will be celebrated this weekend as the xx minifest of women’s writing 2012 takes place in Cardiff. This inaugural festival will take residence at Chapter Arts Centre this Saturday, 27 October. It aims to publicise the range and diversity of writing by women from Wales in the English language, and encourages both men and women to attend and take part. This one day minifest will act as a "taster session", as a more extensive literary programme is already being planned for 2013. I put a few questions about the festival to Susie Wild, one of the co-organisers of the xx minifest. Wild is a writer, an editor at Parthian Books and she also organises the Cardiff Literary Salon , and will be holding a special edition of the literary gatheri...

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