Almost a half century of criticism…
I reviewed my first movie in 1977 as a 16-year-old cub reporter on the daily News and Star newspaper in Carlisle. Imagine my absolute joy that I had a free pass to both Studio 1-4 and the Lonsdale cinemas allowing access as a reviewer to all films shown in the city. I can distinctly remember sitting alone in a cinema for Bob Fosse’s ALL THAT JAZZ and Scorsese’s NEW YORK NEW YORK and many other art house films while the cinema managers were oblivious to the fact I was legally too young by two years to actually see X certificate films!
I wrote a dissertation on film censorship for my NCTJ journalism exam and travelled to London to interview the BBFC film chief censor James Freeman.
My first taste of theatre came at the Theatre Royal Newcastle, a two-hour drive away. The late 1970s were golden days with the Royal Shakespeare Company bringing their entire Stratford output to the north each year en route to London. The Theatre Royal and tiny Gulbenkian Studio in Newcastle hosted an embarassment of riches, featuring a company that included Judi Dench, Juliet Stevenson, Zoe Wanamaker, Jonathan Price, Alan Howard, Patrick Stewart and Michael Pennington to name but a few. I have never forgotten the superlative Much Ado About Nothing in 1976 set in the days of the Raj and starring Judi Dench and Donald Sinden; and Pam Gems’ Piaf prior to its West End transfer.
My first Broadway show was the incredible Dreamgirls at the Imperial Theatre in 1982 starring Tony winning Jennifer Holliday. Later trips to New York in the 1990s saw me take in Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria, RENT, Avenue Q, and A Chorus Line among others.
I was one of two staff film critics employed by TV Times Magazine in the 1980s and later Film Editor of SKY Magazine from the launch issue in 1987. We covered every new release each month and I saw up to four films a day in tiny 30-seat preview cinemas in the basements of Wardour Street – the Crown, the Bijou, the Rank, Columbia and Warners, Mr Young’s – with my fellow critics including Barry Norman, Mark Kermode, Alan Jones. I was offered the Deputy Editor role at EMPIRE magazine but turned it down.
In the early 1990s I was a theatre critic for BOYZ and QX magazines.
Reviewing has taken a back seat since 1995 when I launched Kevin Wilson Public Relations, a boutique West End PR agency. For 29 years I have kept my opinions to myself apart from posts on Facebook (and never posting negativity).
This year I was honoured to be asked to be a judge alongside Clive Davis, #1 Theatre Critic of The Times for the Theatre Book Prize. Reading so many books inspired me to read again and I now always have a handful on the go at any time, reading at least a chapter of each every morning.
I have now decided to launch My Cultural Life bringing together my reviews of everything from theatre to TV, film, books, food and gallery exhibitions. I hope you enjoy reading…
Kevin Wilson, November 2024
