J. Kelly Nestruck

J. Kelly Nestruck is an arts critic at The Globe and Mail whose work connects long experience in theatre criticism with a newer focus on television and screen storytelling. His coverage stands out for treating shows and performances as products of deeper creative, industrial and cultural forces rather than entertainment in isolation. He writes criticism, profiles and reported features that move comfortably between stage and screen, with particular attention to how power, representation and audience expectations shape the stories that reach the public.

Television criticism with an industry and performance lens

Nestruck currently works as a television critic at The Globe and Mail, a beat he moved into in 2024 after many years focused on theatre. His television writing blends review and feature formats, using individual series and performances to examine wider trends in how television is made and marketed.

A recent piece asking why The Agency’s Richard Gere has always felt like a European actor exemplifies this approach, treating an actor’s screen persona and casting history as central to understanding a show’s tone and identity rather than incidental details. He also profiles producers and executives, such as his feature on Lark Productions and Erin Haskett, where he explores how specific creative teams are shaping crime and legal dramas for global audiences.

Across this work he returns to questions of local content versus international influence, cultural sovereignty and the pressures of platform and streaming economics, making his television coverage useful for stories that touch both the creative and business sides of the medium.

From theatre stages to broader cultural commentary

Before taking on television, Nestruck spent well over a decade as theatre critic at The Globe and Mail, filing reviews, essays and columns that followed major productions and emerging work across his beat. His theatre coverage has ranged from long-running commercial successes such as Kim’s Convenience and Come From Away to smaller or more experimental projects, treating each as a window into how audiences respond to changing social and artistic conditions.

In a prominent column on why audiences still love live theatre, he looks beyond individual shows to examine what keeps people returning to the stage despite competition from other media and economic pressures on performing arts.

He has also written at length about the Shakespeare authorship controversy, using that debate to probe how evidence, myth and cultural gatekeeping affect what is considered canonical. Earlier work such as his article “Sensitivity Training in Neverland,” which questions the portrayal of the so‑called Neverland Indians in Peter Pan, shows a sustained interest in representation, historical context and how classic works are reconsidered in light of contemporary concerns. Together, these pieces mark him as a critic who uses theatre not only to judge artistic quality but to make sense of broader cultural debates.

Investigations and accountability within the arts

Alongside reviews and essays, Nestruck has undertaken significant reporting on misconduct and power structures in the arts, most notably a major #MeToo story involving four actresses who filed civil suits against the founder of a theatre company. That investigation sits at the intersection of arts coverage and accountability journalism, combining detailed reporting on legal action with an understanding of how reputational, financial and institutional dynamics shape theatre communities. His broader work often returns to the risks faced by performers and creative workers when industry norms collide with questions of abuse, discrimination and structural inequality. This willingness to pursue difficult stories within his beat distinguishes him from purely evaluative critics and signals a capacity to handle narratives that involve legal, HR or governance dimensions alongside artistic considerations.

Long-standing arts and entertainment beat experience

Nestruck has more than two decades of experience in journalism and many years at The Globe and Mail, with his career consistently centred on arts and entertainment. Before joining The Globe and Mail he worked in arts and entertainment journalism at other major newspapers, building familiarity with different editorial cultures and international perspectives on culture coverage.

His tenure includes a period as guest critic for a leading European Sunday newspaper, filing features, columns and videos from Europe that expanded his view of how theatre and television circulate across borders.

Over this time he has been repeatedly recognised for his critical writing, including multiple Nathan Cohen Awards for Excellence in Critical Writing and an Arthur F. Burns Fellowship. Beyond print, he has appeared on broadcast and radio programs to discuss theatre and the arts, further underscoring his role as a specialist commentator on cultural subjects rather than a general-assignment reporter.

The through-line across these roles is a steady focus on arts, performance and media industries, making him suited to stories that need an informed critic who understands both creative practice and the structures that support it.