Characters in After the Applause quote reviews of earlier fictional productions of the very play they inhabit. The passage's critic builds the interpretation from the work's patterned choices. Some commentators treat the device as an insider joke about theater criticism. A critic notes that each quoted review changes how a scene is performed: actors resist, imitate, or exaggerate the descriptions assigned to their roles. The critic argues that the play makes reception history part of dramatic action, showing meaning accumulating through performances and responses rather than residing in one stable script. The reviews are comic, but their deeper function is to alter what the audience sees happen.