Homeless Critic Gets Nastier

I think that I am not being ambitious enough with the homeless critic project. Since the majority of readers seem to think I'm joking, I might as well push the boat out.

Push the boat out? Cliché... who do I think I am, Matt Trueman? I'll be starting reviews with dictionary definitions next.

Edinburgh is not coming out of this project well so far: as I was saying to my designer – she's suggested a set that divides the venue into two, one side good guys, the other the baddies – people are Glasgow have been very quick to offer me a room. But apart from a pair of friends (both in the writing business), there has been a lack of offers from Edinburgh.

Let Robocritic explain.

The Vile Arts has done 300 previews on the dramaturgy database. That makes their output miles ahead of any other blogger: most newspapers would struggle for those numbers.

If ten per cent of those who have had a free preview said the homeless critic could have a night on the couch, that would have given him a complete Fringe.

The List does right by him, so he has not asked it for help. So does the BBC. The issue isn't simply financial – although that is a concern. The issue is whether the discourse about the importance of critics ever manifests into actually supporting their work.

Thank you, Robocritic. Ghost Derrida would like a word.

Take the word homeless. Without a context, it has no meaning. Let me begin by giving you a dictionary definition... only kidding. But let's have a look at the semiotic system that results in homelessness.

The Fringe causes a spike in housing rental prices during August. That is because lots and lots of theatre people come to town. Some of them go broke because of the costs, but they also impact on the rental market in the city.

If the homeless critic could afford it, he would rent a place. But he can't. This is your fault. I'm not talking about the obscure chain that also means you are responsible for the famine in Africa – although you did that, too. Your presence here has increased the rent.

If you weren't here, though, the homeless critic would be staying in Glasgow. So there is, at least, an irony.

Again, thanks to the post-mortem post-modernist. I am working my experiences into a show for 2016. Check in for further dramaturgical up-dates.