“Whether you like it or not, a performance's triumphs and belly flops c...” — Ben Brantley Quote

“Whether you like it or not, a performance's triumphs and belly flops come to seem excruciatingly intimate, as if you were somehow partly responsible for them.”

“I personally read criticism - at least by writers I enjoy - to stimulate a conversation in my own mind, and I like to think that's the function I serve for others.”

“Theater criticism should be visceral, at least on some level, an articulation of that fierceness and passion. I usually do a fair amount of research before I see a show - on the history of previous productions (if it's a revival) and the creative team.”

“I write the occasional entry for the 'Times' Theatre blog, especially when I'm in London and seeing two shows a day, but I don't tweet. I don't want to have to express my opinion in 140 characters. That's like writing haiku. You need a certain amount of legroom to review a play properly.”

“It's nowhere near as intense as what I imagine an actor experiences backstage, but I feel a fluttering nervousness before a curtain goes up on a play. I mean, any play, anywhere - on Broadway or the Bowery or in a church basement.”

“I don't keep any copy of my books around... they would embarass me. When I finish writing my books, I kick them in the belly, and have done with them.”

“I'm not a particularly cerebral writer. I unabashedly go for the belly.”

“Primarily I'm a social commentator rather than someone who's out to get the belly laugh.”

“I love a visceral sound, the kind that hits you in the belly.”

“My granddad was not a tall man but he weighed about 27 stone and my first memory is crawling across his belly. I remember it being a journey.”

“I get so nervous, I get belly pains before I go on stage.”