The School for Scandal (RSC)
In an age when fake news is rampant, conspicuous consumption thrives and self-presentation are the obsession, the production successfully exposes the paradox that exposing oneself is also a social
Criticks – BSECS online reviews
The eighteenth century was the first great age of criticism. In this spirit, the Criticks website provides entertaining, informative and provocative reviews of events and media that are of interest to scholars of the eighteenth century. These complement the reviews of books that are published in the journal of the Society, Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies.
Plays, concerts, operas, exhibitions, films, broadcasts and online resources are here considered in depth by experts in the field. If there is an event that you would like to see reviewed in these pages, or if you would like to review for us, please contact one of the editors below:
Criticks Editor
Criticks Subject Editors
Fine and Decorative Art: Miriam Al Jamil
Media: Gráinne O’Hare
Music: Brianna Robertson-Kirkland
Theatre: Katie Noble
Bridgerton (Season 3)
There are significant questions of gender and genre here: the category of ‘quality television’ has often been used for cop and hospital dramas, or for high fantasy, which have been historically
Review of Tate Britain Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain, 1520 – 1920
Spanning a monumental four hundred years (1520 – 1920), Tate’s “Now You See Us” rightfully unveils the works of over one hundred female artists and recovers from oblivion a collection of
Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour (BBC)
Whilst being a good laugh and an entertaining watch, this show also challenges us to think about the ways in which we approach eighteenth-century culture and history, and the benefits that can come
The School for Scandal (RSC)
I hope that more theatre companies take note of what the RSC has done with this production: I would love for it to spark more smart, confident, and above all, hilarious eighteenth-century revivals.
Doctor Who – Rogue
As a Whovian I found much to enjoy in this episode, but as a historian I couldn’t help feeling that the lack of contextual engagement was a bit of a missed opportunity.
The School for Scandal (Tilted Wig)
This School for Scandal is indeed a tonic and I thoroughly recommend that you see it.
“Curatorial Conversation” – Black Atlantic (Fitzwilliam Museum) & Entangled Pasts (Royal Academy)
The Fitzwilliam Museum’s Black Atlantic exhibition and the British Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery offer other ways of confronting curatorial complicity in colonialist and racist violence... With
Renegade Nell
Renegade Nell may not be a memorable enough ballad to bear repeating, but it is certainly a ballad worth hearing.
Entangled Pasts 1768–now: Art, Colonialism and Change
The Royal Academy have largely achieved their aim for this exhibition by starting a courageous conversation about ‘art and its role in shaping narratives of empire, enslavement, resistance,