Ranty thread warning: I recognise that streaming theatre is valuable for many reasons, but I do not love the sense from some corners that it somehow proves regional theatre's work valid *because it makes it available to London people*

Oh, it was good enough for the uncultured peasants, but look, it finds favour in the rarefied eyes of the London culturati!

It's worth remembering most London critics - with notable exceptions like Lynn Gardner and Tasha Tripney - rarely see anything outside London, a summer jaunt to Edinburgh aside (often for very valid reasons, like cost / childcare / job commitments).

So treating London acclaim like it's some golden prize, and London opinions like they come from some oracle on the hill, devalues regional theatre and all that it offers, and pandering for London likes is undignified folly.

Like, I'm not prepared to cede that seeing 25 celebrity Ibsens and a load of mediocre David Hare plays makes someone the unassailable authority on what's good in theatre and maybe we should stop pretending it does.

[Rant ends]

*pours one out for all the people who started following me for cross-stitches at the start of the pandemic and are now thinking, wait, I didn't sign up for this shit*