About Eigengrau

Sometimes body language says it all. At the press night of Penelope Skinner’s Eigengrau at the Bush last night, I was sitting opposite two of our most eminent critics, Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail and Tim Walker of the Sunday Telegraph. Because it was a traverse staging, I couldn’t help but notice that both these grey suits spent most of the play with their noses deep in the playtext. You have to admit, it’s a great image: two Oxbridge, public-school, Eng-Lit-besotted critics with eyes downcast, reading the play and ignoring the production which was going on in front of them! Of course, I can sympathise with them: the blow-job scene was pretty sad, and the self-mutilation bit excruciating. But you’d think they would have watched the rest! So, if you ever need a visual image of the nullity of so-called celebrity critics, just think of these two Tories with their heads bowed and eyes glued to the text!

© Aleks Sierz

Bush Theatre criticism critics Eigengrau in-yer-face theatre Penelope Skinner Quentin Letts Tim Walker

3 Comments

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  Ian Shuttleworth commented

  on Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 2:36 pm

  I think you may be being a teensy bit classist in your assumptions there, Alex. I don't think Tim Walker is Oxbridge, actually - in fact, I'm not sure he has a university background at all.

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  Aleks Sierz commented

  on Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 2:52 pm

  Good point Ian, but I'm a journalist, which means never letting the facts get in the way of a good story...

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  Ian Shuttleworth commented

  on Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 3:20 pm

  Last person I heard say that about facts and good story was Ken Campbell!