Hear criticism of variety show (5)
I believe the answer is:
revue
'variety show' is the definition.
(revue is a kind of variety show)
'hear criticism' is the wordplay.
'hear' shows a homophone (sound like).
'criticism' becomes 'review' (I've seen this before).
'review' sounds like 'REVUE'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for revue that I've seen before include "Show of sketches, songs, etc" , "Theatrical show" , "Topical variety show" , "(Of butter) tasting off" , "Light theatrical entertainment" .)