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2019 Emerging Critic Aridhi Anderson

Introducing our first emerging critic mentee for 2019, Aridhi Anderson. Welcome Aridhi – Team Aisle are so excited to have you on board. Aridhi will be with us for three months, attending many shows and discussing them with the team.

Aridhi is a theatremaker who has been writing, directing and performing in New Delhi since 2007 and in Melbourne since 2016. Her original works include The Bet, Ophelia’s Inner Monologue, Jezebel, Parenthesis, and The Next Logical Step, among others. She runs an independent theatre group called The Day Dream in New Delhi and Melbourne, and is passionate about promoting authenticity, diversity, inclusiveness, and a sense of community through her work.

What do you hope to get out of the menteeship? 

Aridhi Anderson

I’ve been in love with theatre and theatremaking for years. Last year I began my practice of writing about other artists’ work (through reviewing for WeekendNotes), which has been extremely rewarding. I love engaging with theatre as an audience member, and I see reviewing as an important way to help bridge the gap between theatremakers and audiences. I’m a little bit intrigued by the lack of diversity (in who’s making shows, who’s in the audience, and who’s writing about it) in Melbourne – and I was drawn to Across the Aisle’s commitment to addressing this. Over the next three months I’m looking forward to observing and listening a lot, learning more about arts criticism, refining my own work, discovering and working on my blind spots, and exploring/furthering conversations about diversity and inclusiveness in the arts in Melbourne. 

Team Aisle

For Across the Aisle we are thrilled to learn as much as we can about Aridhi’s practice in New Dehli, and the New Delhi performing arts scene in general. At the end of the 3 month menteeship both Team Aisle and Aridhi will publish their thoughts about this mutual learning experience.