Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I love books about history, and I especially adore books about niche historical topics. Right This Way: A History of the Audience is an upcoming nonfiction book by Robert Viagas. The publisher describes this book as “a pop history of audiences through the ages,” discussing a range of media types, from Ancient Greek plays to scrolling on your phone. While this book has some great writing and the author is clearly knowledgeable about theater history, the lack of specific focus and disorganized structure made this a confusing and strained read.
My lower rating might be explained by my preconceived notions about what this book was about. From looking at the cover to reading the description, I thought this book would be specifically about the history of changing audience behaviors. I expected to read about what historical records know about how audiences were expected to act and how these social norms changed, from ancient times to now. And while this book did discuss theater audiences’ behaviors, it discussed a variety of types of media, ranging from the intensely interesting to the basic facts.
Right This Way suffers from too broad of a focus. Because of the large scope and breadth, the work feels more like a loose collection of related historical moments. Audience behavior gets lost in the facts, quotations, and historical moments of different types of media. Viagas does not just touch upon theater and live shows, but almost every form of medium that elicits an audience. From political speeches, movies, FDR’s fireside chats, performance art, and theater, it was too much to describe in one concise book without having to rehash all of history.
The lack of focus lead to tangents and historical information that didn’t seem relevant at times. For example, many pages were dedicated to the Lincoln assassination and the January 6th Capital Insurrection, which dragged on and quickly lost its connection to audience behaviors.
There is still lots to love in this book. Viagas includes some fascinating information about Greek and Roman theater. The author is knowledgeable about theater and a good writer. His command of words and writing style shines through in some moving quotes.
I would prefer this book to be edited and just focus on one or two forms of mediums and their audiences. It would have been better to focus on one medium, like theater, do a deep dive, rather than a shallow skimming of all history.
If you love reading about history and love theaters, this might be a good pick for you. Knowing that this book takes a broad look at all types of mediums throughout history might be less of a shock when reading.
Right This Way will be published on September 15, 2023.
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