Following the recent attempt to keep critic Quentin Letts out of the The Audience, Mark Shenton explains why this PR tactic is rarely successful.
Critics and the theatres we cover exist in a delicately arranged and finely managed relationship. Our jobs depend, after all, on the theatres and producers that make work for us to write about. And they depend, to an extent (though far from entirely), on our coverage to attract audiences. So we need each other.
Typically, theatres employ a go-between to manage this relationship for them: either an in-house press officer, who builds trust and a relationship with us and their theatres, or an external third party PR individual or firm managing a number of clients. The latter may have strength in numbers – there's often an assistant (or two) to take care of necessary things like arranging press nights, while the lead publicist will liaise with the stars on interview opportunities and so on.
But it's not just about tickets and interviews. Just as crucially, PRs are also the conduit of information between the theatre and the world, managing the flow of publicity announcements to publications... Keep reading on The Stage
Critics and the theatres we cover exist in a delicately arranged and finely managed relationship. Our jobs depend, after all, on the theatres and producers that make work for us to write about. And they depend, to an extent (though far from entirely), on our coverage to attract audiences. So we need each other.
Typically, theatres employ a go-between to manage this relationship for them: either an in-house press officer, who builds trust and a relationship with us and their theatres, or an external third party PR individual or firm managing a number of clients. The latter may have strength in numbers – there's often an assistant (or two) to take care of necessary things like arranging press nights, while the lead publicist will liaise with the stars on interview opportunities and so on.
But it's not just about tickets and interviews. Just as crucially, PRs are also the conduit of information between the theatre and the world, managing the flow of publicity announcements to publications... Keep reading on The Stage