Joe Egg in today's West

Would it be right for amateur theatre to be evaluated by the same standards as professional and semi-professional theatre? Or would it be fair for a reviewer to give more lenient reviews to amateur productions, knowing that they are made by people who do not devote their full time to the product and that the amateur productions may not have the same budget or levels of experience behind them? Now, I know there are going to be one or two people who think "Oh but Amateur theatre is just as good as professional theatre!" Well, I'm sure in some cases there audience members who have enjoyed amateur theatre even more than they have enjoyed a professional show. What I would say though, is that people should be encouraged to see professional and semi professional work, because in general it is of a higher standard. The West Australian does a good job of reviewing and promoting good theatre, and kindly warning audiences about theatre which may not suit everyone. There are a lot of people whose first experience with theatre is sitting in a community hall and suffering through a few hours of a couple o' hams saying lines from a dusty script in the right order. I'm not by any means saying that all amateur theatre is like that... but certain portion is. On the other hand: Does the West Australian cover amateur football games? Open age beginners Latin dance competitions? What about junior synchronised swimming on a regular basis? A line has to be drawn somewhere over what will and what won't be covered by any newspaper. I think drawing it at actors being paid is a good place. Plus- Actors SHOULD be paid. By promoting work which pays actors, The West Australian is promoting actors getting paid. Creating more of an industry here.