So reading is OK for poets and is OK for actors. Isn't this 'text in hand inhibiting engagement with the audience' line a red herring in this 'crutch' debate ?
One of the most engaging renditions of a ballad I have hear was from a woman sitting motionless with her eyes closed. I don't know about he rest of the audience (though from the response they enjoyed it) but I was in the world of the protagonists of the story, not in the back room of some pub.