Nicholas Dromgoole has been a prominent and respected drama and dance critic for most of his adult life. Who better therefore to take the reader through the role of this often misunderstood animal?

This concise guide to the role of the critic will surely prove to be a great addition to the bookshelves of all theatre lovers.

'A thoughtful and enlightening book.... Scholarly but accessible... there's plenty for performing arts creators to think about' - Susan Elkin, The Stage

'Dromgoole carves a travelogue through a changing landscape of models of thought...gliding elegantly into postmodernism and inviting current critics to remember it's the audience that dictates taste first and foremost, declaring that critics ought to be a humble breed of cultural operators.' – Exuent Magazine