Reviewing people you know

I think a Review will always be a subjective thing...it is one person's assessment of a performance. A different person, even on the same night, may have a different assessment. We all have our own likes and dislikes and this will colour our Review, it's what makes us interesting as individuals. Life, and performances, would be very boring indeed if we all liked exactly the same thing! That said, it is very possible to achieve a degree of objectivity in your review, even if you are related to every last person in the cast (!), BUT it takes a strong will and perhaps an acknowledgement of what might be seen as a natural bias. I know of one reviewer here who can't stand farce, but he says so and avoids it if possible. When it isn't possible he grits his teeth, acknowledges the situation and writes a review of the performance. He also, as Na mentions above, suggests how improvements can be made. I don't think he's ever written an unconstructive review in his life, unlike some others I could mention. Savage reviews that just tear apart everything, performers, the script, the set, etc. are completely useless, except for possibly stirring up a controversy and maybe put some more bottoms on seats...not a good way to go about things though. Some theatre scenes are geographically small and as you say, you will inevitably end up reviewing people you know. I guess the trick is to aim to be as objective as possible, as you know. Good luck! Rapunzel "Papa, where is Mama? They tell me she has gone away, where is she?"