Audience reviews as a new norm?

No, probably not yet. But.... I was at a theatre fundraiser last night, and one of the most lucrative fundraising activities was purchasing tickets for the opportunity to dunk a host of local theatre critics. While it was all in good fun, the fervour of some of the "dunkers" got a little personal. Probably not really improving the long-standing tradition of wariness between critics and theatre-makers.

This got my mind wandering to audience reviews - not that I think one needs to replace the other, or that either are really going to provide the ultimate judgement of a piece of work. (I mean, it can be cathartic to dunk a critic - but you don't want to go around dunking every person who didn't like your show, do you?... Do you?).

So I did a little searching - really, not much. Audience reviews generally seem to be available when a particular theatre thinks it's a good idea - although a San Francsico site and an unrelated one in Kansas City have attempted to be both universal and democratic by offering the ability to write reviews of any show that's playing locally.

(And do I need to remind you that many Fringe Festivals make it a point to allow audience reviews?)