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Noises Off Article

A Noff Reading List

Published on
6th April 2020

Following the workshop today, the Noff team share some resources and links you may find useful

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Following the workshop today, the Noff team share some resources and links you may find useful

How do I get started in theatre criticism? What do I need to focus on when writing a review? How much of my personal opinion can I share? How harsh can I be if I didn't like it?

A great way to develop your voice is to read other people's writing. So here are some reviews of shows that we discussed in the workshop today. The underlined reviews are the ones we read excerpts from.

Kate Wyver's review of Real Magic

https://katewyver.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/real-magic/

James Varney's review of Uncle Vanya

http://www.jamesvarney.uk/revew-walter-meierjohann-uncle-vanya/

Liam Rees' GIF review of Bost-Uni Plues at NSDF 2019

xxx

Daniella Harrison's review of The Events at NSDF 2018

xxx

We also touched on the idea of how to approach giving shows negative reviews. Here are two reviewers who take rather different approaches.

Lyn Gardner's review of All's Well That Ends Well

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jan/18/alls-well-that-ends-well-review-sam-wanamaker-playhouse

Michael Billington's review ofThe Wild Duck

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/oct/24/the-wild-duck-review-ibsen-almeida-london-robert-icke

We also recommended Exeunt Magazine, a treasure trove of free-to-access, longform experimental criticism. Here are a few pieces to get you started:

Alice Saville's review of Bitter Wheat

http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-bitter-wheat-garrick-theatre/

Maddy Costa's review of Anna

http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-anna-national-theatre/

We hope you find these resources helpful. We're available to talk to anyone who's interested all week. You can email us here.

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