Critic and leading expert on In-yer-face theatre, Aleks Sierz, has cited the play as a pioneering work. In his introduction to the Methuen Classics edition of the play-text, Sierz wrote “"The Pitchfork Disney" is not only a key play of the 90s; it is "the" key play of that decade... Its legend grew and grew until it became "the" pivotal influence on the generation of playwrights that followed. It is a foundation text; it separates then from now.” Sierz credits the play with introducing “a totally new sensibility into British theatre signalled a fresh direction for contemporary playwrighting: one that eschewed realistic naturalism, political ideology and social commentary, and turned auditorium's into cauldron's of sensation”, adding that the play was “an agenda setting work: the era of experiential theatre began here”.