Criticise stale production (5)
I believe the answer is:
slate
'criticise' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'stale production' is the wordplay.
'production' indicates anagramming the letters.
'stale' with letters rearranged gives 'SLATE'.
(Other definitions for slate that I've seen before include "Roof tile or pub credit" , "Bluish-grey colour" , "list of candidates" , "Roofing plate" , "Grey stone; tab" .)