Horowitz said: “As a board member of the Old Vic I don’t know why we give these people free tickets on the first night. Yes of course it might get four or five stars and that sort of helps us, but when they don’t and when they come in and are horrible about somebody’s work that just makes me angry.”
He added: “Everyone in the room can have an opinion about the play, but if your opinion about the play is put into a newspaper it appears to elevate it.”
Describing the theatre world as “brutal, horrible”, Horowitz told the audience “you have no idea how awful theatre is”.
“Theatre critics have the power of getting you on the first night,” he added
(via)