Even for the critics, it always gets confusing as to where to draw the line between bad and good acting, without wrongly placing them in different pots.
Sometimes, it’s the body language and other times, it goes beyond that to take into consideration the dialogue—which could be impacted by the surrounding characters.
It’s deeply confusing, not just for critics but also the directors—and most times, no two people agree exactly on the distinction.
But Shakespearean director­-Marcus Geduld has once again taken time to explain how to tell a good acting from a bad acting. Even that, he makes it clear that subjective elements affect people’s positioning.
Having read through his words, his third point is what makes most African actors bad actors—they never want to lose their status, beauty or be vulnerable in front of the camera. I am talking about people waking up from bed looking as beautiful as if they are going for a dinner with their make-up, weave  and body language all well coordinated.
They never want us to see the part of them which is vulnerable…That’s bad acting there for you.
Marcus explains this as “Third, the actor is vulnerable. Great actors share the parts of themselves that most people keep hidden. They are always naked. (Some are literally naked, but I’m talking about emotional nakedness.) Bad actors are guarded. They don’t want to share the parts of themselves that are ugly, mean, petty, jealous, etc.”

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