“The vox pop reviews project aims at contributing to a dialogue about performance in Melbourne, but at a more grass-roots sort of level – finding out what punters think of the work, not just the reviewer,” says Melbourne Writer, Dan Giovannoni. It’s a different kind of conversation – we want people to start at Theatre Alive, find out what’s on, check out what a few people have said, go see the show, and then let what they read on the site kick-start a conversation between them and their peers.
“The vox pop project came from a need to make Theatre Alive work for the sector – that is, basically, that people’s mouths do the most work. Conversations between friends get people along to shows – even terrible word-of-mouth reviews have made me go and see something, just so I can make up my own mind – and Theatre Alive wants to be part of that conversation. Short, snappy reviews and vox pops that can be tweeted and spread via social media seemed to be a logical step.”
As an artist himself, Giovannoni finds Melbourne’s arts community welcoming. “I think Melbourne fosters artists really well, particularly in the early stages of their careers. I can only speak from my own experience, in theatre, but there is a really solid network, a community, that is incredibly supportive and diverse, is smart, and makes some amazing work, which in turn pushes you to work harder. I think Melbourne has also established itself as a city that embraces its cultural side – so not only can you make work, but people want to see it.”
Over the years there’s been much conversation about what it takes to be a reviewer – do you need to be entrenched in the industry and the work, have some expertise, or whether the fact that you’re a consumer is enough. “I think that if you have something to say, that’s all the qualifications you need. People don’t need to listen, of course, but as soon as you start saying one person is more qualified to review than another, you get into tricky territory. I think what Theatre Alive is offering is a little different. It’s trying to tap into that thing that we all do naturally when we walk out of a theatre or a cinema or a gallery – to critique, assess, debate. That’s what Theatre Alive is trying to generate, a grass-roots discussion about work. I think this is brilliant, mostly because otherwise – if we nominate only an elite few to review and talk about art – then art is taken out of the hands of people. I’d love my work to be well received and reviewed by ‘those in the know’, but that’s one bum on one seat – I’d much rather hear the thoughts of fifty people who occupy fifty seats. Those critical voices are much needed and exciting, but Theatre Alive is aiming to offer another voice.
“Doing vox pops at the end of a show mean you can really get a feel for what the crowd was thinking. Sometimes you know it’s a killer show and everyone loved it – that’s great. The best vox pops, though, are the ones where the audience are divided. Then you’re cooking. It means anyone reading that vox pop on Theatre Alive knows the show has inspired debate. And isn’t that half the reason you go and see stuff sometimes? So you can make up your own mind?”
For those considering offering up their opinions in the Theatre Alive Vox Pop, Giovannoni says, “The challenge of being a practitioner and a reviewer is something that you’re always a little weirded out by. Approaching it with a mind to stimulate conversation means you’re not going in there to rip the shit out of someone, you’re doing it because you want a healthy, thriving community that can talk about itself critically.”
