Supported by The Irish Times, Mission Critical is a one-day symposium, inviting critics, artists, audiences and readers to have conversations around the future of theatre criticism in Ireland and beyond.  

Featuring a line-up of national and international speakers, thinkers and writers, the event is aimed at the general public as well as those with a professional interest in theatre. Mission Critical will bring great minds together to consider the challenges and opportunities of cultural criticism in the contemporary world and how it can evolve into the future.

This event will offer theatre makers an opportunity to gather, reflect and learn from critics, innovators and specialists about the art of criticism across mediums and platforms. Through conversation, debate and insight sharing, the symposium aims to generate ideas and support for a thriving ecology of impactful, dynamic theatre criticism for artists and audiences into the future.    

Convened by Literary & New Work Director at the Abbey Theatre, Ruth McGowan, guest speakers will include: 

• Arifa Akbar, chief theatre critic for The Guardian 
• Ben Brantley, former chief theatre critic at the New York Times
• Nancy Durrant, co-host of the London Theatre Review podcast and former Culture Editor of the Evening Standard
• Karen Fricker, adjunct professor of Dramatic Arts at Brock University Toronto and editorial director of Intermission Magazine
• Katy Hayes, theatre critic for the Irish Independent
• Jennifer Krasinski, writer and cultural critic
• Cristín Leach, writer, art critic and journalist
• Giuliano Levato, multimedia theatre journalist, producer and founder of People of Theatre 
  
• Roe McDermott, journalist and film critic
• Brendan McEvilly, author, curator and editor
• Helen Meany, journalist, arts consultant and curator as well as reviewer for The Guardian and Arena
• Fergus Morgan, an arts journalist, critic and the Scottish correspondent for The Stage
• Dr Ciara L Murphy, Lecturer in Drama at the TU Dublin Conservatoire
• Fintan O’Toole, journalist, writer and author
• Berginald Rash, clarinetist, curator, broadcaster and lecturer
• Holly Williams, author, journalist and critic, and former staff writer and arts editor for The Independent

Further guest speakers and the schedule for the day to be announced.

This event is supported by The Irish Times, which is a long-time champion of the arts and Irish theatre. It is a media partner of the Abbey Theatre, and Dublin Theatre Festival and its Thinking Stages schools’ programme,  and produced The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for more than 25 years. Through its ongoing membership of Business to Arts, it sponsors The Irish Times Long-Term Partnership Award as well as the Arts Award.