Finalists announced for The Stage Critic Search

The Stage newspaper has announced the three finalists of The Stage Critic Search 2015. The three finalists are: Lee Anderson from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire (East of England), Dave Fargnoli from Brighton (South East) and Jafar Iqbal from Cardiff (Wales).

The finalists have been chosen by a panel of industry experts. Joining Alistair Smith (Editor of The Stage), Mark Shenton (The Stage lead critic and Associate Editor) and Natasha Tripney (The Stage lead critic) are Cush Jumbo (actor and playwright), Daniel Evans (Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres) and Stephanie Street (actor and playwright).

The Stage launch critic search competition

The Stage have launched The Stage Critic Search 2015, a nationwide competition to discover and promote talented theatre critics. 

Alistair Smith (Editor) said: "We are thrilled to be launching The Stage Critic Search 2015 enabling us to support theatre criticism at a national and local level in an extension of our policy that theatre matters across the UK. The role of the critic has been much debated of late, and at The Stage we believe wholeheartedly in the importance of excellent theatre criticism.

"Critics do not just to offer opinion and guide audiences to the best work UK theatre has to offer, but are also key to identifying and nurturing new talent. Whether in print, online or broadcast, critics are vital to the lifeblood of theatre, and are the meeting point between the industry and the public. I look forward with my colleagues, and with the generous support of our sponsor TheatrePeople.com, to identifying the new critics of tomorrow."