View and review in the netherlands: the role of theatre critics in the construction of audience experience

Abstract

This article deals with the role of theatre reviews in spectators' choice behaviour and theatre experiences. The results come from an investigation of the expectations and experiences spectators had of Mijn Elektra, a production by a Dutch theatre company. What has surprisingly emerged is that although critics are supposed to play an important role in the art world, they actually turned out to have hardly any influence on the choice behaviour of theatre‐goers in the Netherlands. This can be an advantage for a company, because in the case of Mijn Elektra the audience was much more positive about the play than the critics. A bigger effect, however, is that newspaper reviews have on the perception of a performance spectators have attended, at least if they read the review after having seen the show. This appears to be particularly true for unfavourable reviews.