City and Sound

About City-Sound

How one critic listens to stages, streets, and speakers across the contemporary arts.

A close-up photographic view of an intricate theatre program and a pair of elegant opera glasses resting on a dark, glossy armrest between two empty velvet seats. The program’s cover features abstract shapes and rich jewel tones instead of readable text, ensuring visual sophistication without words. Soft, warm aisle lighting grazes the velvet texture, creating delicate highlights on the brass detailing of the opera glasses. Shot from a slightly elevated angle with shallow depth of field, the background dissolves into a bokeh of dimmed house lights and the distant stage. The mood is refined and contemplative, evoking the quiet focus of a critic preparing for a performance.
A grand, empty proscenium theatre captured in photographic realism, with plush deep-red velvet seats leading the eye toward an illuminated stage. The stage curtain is half-drawn, revealing a hint of ornate set pieces and polished wooden floorboards. Warm, golden overhead stage lights cast a gentle glow, creating soft reflections on brass railings and subtle shadows between the seats. Shot from the back of the stalls at eye level, the composition uses leading lines to emphasize depth and grandeur. The atmosphere is sophisticated and anticipatory, as though moments before a premiere, with a slightly shallow depth of field keeping the focus on the stage while the balcony tiers blur elegantly.

Why These Reviews Matter

City and Sound views theatre and music as living conversations between artists, audiences, and cities. We value context, representation, and clear, candid criticism shaped by my years inside rehearsal rooms and venues.

About me
A dramatic, photographic shot of a minimalist stage set seen from the wings, with towering black curtains framing a single spotlight circle on the bare wooden floor. In the pool of light stands a solitary, empty chair and a discarded, crumpled script made of textured off-white paper with no legible text. Overhead rigging and cables recede into darkness, hinted at by subtle reflections. The lighting is sharply directional, with strong contrast between illuminated and shadowed areas. Captured from a low, three-quarter angle, the composition suggests hidden vantage points known to theatre insiders. The atmosphere is introspective and slightly mysterious, echoing the analytical depth of a serious review.
A close-up photographic view of an intricate theatre program and a pair of elegant opera glasses resting on a dark, glossy armrest between two empty velvet seats. The program’s cover features abstract shapes and rich jewel tones instead of readable text, ensuring visual sophistication without words. Soft, warm aisle lighting grazes the velvet texture, creating delicate highlights on the brass detailing of the opera glasses. Shot from a slightly elevated angle with shallow depth of field, the background dissolves into a bokeh of dimmed house lights and the distant stage. The mood is refined and contemplative, evoking the quiet focus of a critic preparing for a performance.
A grand, empty proscenium theatre captured in photographic realism, with plush deep-red velvet seats leading the eye toward an illuminated stage. The stage curtain is half-drawn, revealing a hint of ornate set pieces and polished wooden floorboards. Warm, golden overhead stage lights cast a gentle glow, creating soft reflections on brass railings and subtle shadows between the seats. Shot from the back of the stalls at eye level, the composition uses leading lines to emphasize depth and grandeur. The atmosphere is sophisticated and anticipatory, as though moments before a premiere, with a slightly shallow depth of field keeping the focus on the stage while the balcony tiers blur elegantly.
A dramatic, photographic shot of a minimalist stage set seen from the wings, with towering black curtains framing a single spotlight circle on the bare wooden floor. In the pool of light stands a solitary, empty chair and a discarded, crumpled script made of textured off-white paper with no legible text. Overhead rigging and cables recede into darkness, hinted at by subtle reflections. The lighting is sharply directional, with strong contrast between illuminated and shadowed areas. Captured from a low, three-quarter angle, the composition suggests hidden vantage points known to theatre insiders. The atmosphere is introspective and slightly mysterious, echoing the analytical depth of a serious review.