Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera.
Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas the former is a critique of the theatrical performance. Dramas or plays as long as they stay in the print form remain a part of literature. They become a part of the performing arts as soon as the written words of the drama are transformed into performance on the stage or any arena suitable for viewers to see. So the literary craft gives birth to a stage production. Likewise a criticism of a written play has a different character from that of a theatre performance.