Genres of Cultural Journalism: Theatre Review

Abstract

This paper focuses on cultural journalism and its main species. After a brief review of the main genres of the cultural writing press, I will dwell on the theater chronicle, trying to see what style of writing is circumscribed and what are the main steps in writing a theatre review. Based on my 23 years of experience as a journalist in the daily generalist and specialized cultural press (Cultural Magazine of the Romanian Writers' Union, ARCA), I dare to say that the secret of any theater review lies in the balance between the information transmitted and the journalist's comment, between the statement and the argument displayed. Being a personal judgement, therefor subjective, the article can rise dissatisfaction among directors, actors, set designers etc. who do not always resonate with the journalist's verdict. My paper will provide several personal examples of approaching the theater show, situations that I have faced over time, all to shed some light on writing the theater review. From a stylistic point of view, I will try to see how theatre review differs in the overall press coverage. The editorial style of the theater review could be circumscribed to the journalistic style, having at the same time an accentuated aesthetic dimension. This brings it closer to the language of literature.