Richard Steele in the early 18th century, through the literary criticism of Oscar Wilde in the 19th to Graham Greene's film reviews and Kenneth Tynan's first-night theatre notices in the 20th, we have never been short of confident people to tell us what is good and what is not and why. 'We have a wonderful tradition of criticism in this country,' says Brian Sewell, art critic of the Evening Standard for nearly 25 years, 'and it would be a tragedy if we lost it. The onlooker sees most. We are the skilled onlookers.' But in a globalised world where something posted on the net in Chicago one minute is read in London the next, no trend is ever localised. So how web-savvy are Britain's crew of professional opinion-peddlers? Are they ready to take on the challenge from the ones who do it for free? There's only one way to find out: ask them. So we assembled a collection of Britain's longest-serving and most distinguished paid critics who, between them, have more than two centuries' experience in telling us what they think, and sought their opinions. It's what they're for. Andrew and Phil have lots of opinions too, and tonight I'm hoping to hear some of them. It is a warm evening in Waterloo and we are at the Young Vic for a preview performance of Berthold Brecht's The Good Soul of Szechuan, starring Jane Horrocks, a gritty little number full of cement dust, exploitation of the workers, prostitution and discordant,