Is Portuguese theatre criticism still relevant?

Abstract

Recent debates indicate that cultural journalism in Portugal is currently going through a deep crisis. What is certain is that the pages dedicated to Culture are becoming progressively diminished, while news and entertainment become central pieces in most national newspapers and magazines. This paradigm shift has produced an even greater impact in the specific field of theatre criticism. Is theatre criticism still relevant in Portugal? Are Portuguese theatre critics an endangered species? In the present article, we examine the place and importance of theatre criticism and critics in the current Portuguese journalistic panorama. In this sense, the data of the present study comprised a series of in-depth interviews with 12 theatre-related individuals, which allowed us to obtain innovative opinions about theatre criticism and its critics. Taking this into account, in the present article we seek to argue and sustain the idea that theatre criticism comprises journalistic, aesthetic, cultural, artistic, sociological, historical and even economic dimensions, very specific and of great relevance, only able to be revealed through theatre critics and their dual role as journalists and aesthetes.