Twice a month, critics Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal; Elisabeth Vincentelli, contributor to The New York Times, The Village Voice, and The New Yorker; and Peter Marks of The Washington Post get together to talk about what’s going on in the American theatre.

The critics are back after a busy July with Episode 16 of Three On The Aisle to discuss the recent layoffs at the New York Daily News that cut 93 employees, including theatre critic and colleague Joe Dziemianowicz. His dismissal is just the most recent in a troubling series of critical layoffs at major publications, including Kris Vire from Time Out Chicago, leading to a discussion on the future of arts criticism and what can be done to save it.

Then, on a lighter note, the critics read your emails and take your calls; answering questions on everything from what they believe the role of politics in criticism should be, to whether they actually enjoy sitting on the aisle for shows.

And finally, they do their customary once-round-the-table to get the critics’ thoughts on theatre they’ve seen recently, including Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts and a trip to a ventriloquism convention.

Download the episode here. Subscribe via the RSS feed, iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher.

Have comments or requests for what the critics should talk about? Email them at threeontheaisle@gmail.com, or go to @threeontheaisle on Twitter.