The sheer complexity of writing a play always had dazzled me. In an effort to understand it, I became a critic.

Making his initial impact as a critic at The Observer (1954–58 1960–63) he praised Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1956) and encouraged the emerging wave of British theatrical talent. An opponent of theatre censorship he was the first person to say 'fuck' on British television which was very controversial at the time.