• To evaluate something is to measure its worth. It demands considered judgement and analysis. To evaluate drama and theatre you must be able to recognise what was and wasn’t successful onstage and recognise all the elements that contribute to the impact of a production. If you’re writing about theatre it may be to evaluate your own work or that of others in a production you’ve seen.
• A written account of the strengths and weaknesses of a show is called a review.
• If you’re writing about a live theatre production or submitting a review, you need to understand what this means. It’s an opinion and its job is to advise others about how good (or bad) something is.
• People all have different tastes so opinions must always be justified. This means backed up with a clear example to support every argument. You must say why you did or didn’t like a particular aspect of the work. If you just give your opinion without a good reason others might not trust it. You would also need a thorough knowledge of drama elements, the drama medium and explorative strategies so you can note how they’re used in the work you’re writing about.
• Even professional reviewers of theatre (called theatre critics) rarely write wholly negative reviews. If they slated a production, (called a ‘hatchet job’), without evidence that they’ve searched for some positives, the reader might feel less inclined to believe them. Their review would then lack authority.

• A review looks at the production as a whole and considers how the following areas have an impact upon the audience.
  • Setting
  • Stage
  • Costume
  • Music and Sound
  • Props and Lights
  • Acting
  • Directing
• Make sure that you refer to production personnel in your review. Give names of actors, director, designers etc when you refer to their work. If you don’t, it will seem vague and lazy to the reader.
• Consider the themes of the play and detail how they were brought out by design, direction or acting choices.
• Use adjectives to describe what you heard and saw. Remember to pick out one or two key moments in the drama to focus on what the actors did successfully by noting the acting skills they used.
• It’s also important to note not only the effect the production has on you but also how it affects the audience. Are they moved? Are they bored? Are they laughing?

• You should have drafted the content of your review in note form before writing in earnest. You must also make sure that you’ve structured your work so that it makes sense. For example, discuss lighting in one paragraph; don’t spread comments about it throughout the work.
• It’s important that you write a good introduction to your review. This is how you set the scene for the reader and it determines if your work is worth reading in its entirety or not! So you need to provide details about the production, its genre, its main actors and any interesting background information.
• Avoid telling the story as part of your review. You’re evaluating how well it worked, not explaining it. However, for your work to make sense you need to put your evaluation into context. This means a brief explanation of the basis of the story and its themes, the main ideas or issues explored.
• In this opening paragraph the reader has already learnt:
  • who wrote the play
  • the genre, eg musical, tragedy, farce
  • if the musical is of a high standard with the use of adjectives to enhance description like ‘powerful’, ‘sharp’
  • the key themes of the piece such as ‘nature versus nurture’
  • how the themes were reflected in the music and script.
• Remember that once you’ve mentioned a production professional’s name, such as playwright, actor or director you can then use their surname only.

1. Staging

• A good review always pays close attention to the production design because the first thing you usually see when viewing a production is the set and staging.
• You should mention:
  1. The stage shape and the effect it had on relationships between actors and audience, eg the intimacy created by staging in the round, where the audience surrounds the players
  2. Style, eg naturalistic or minimalistic
  3. What was onstage and the effect it created
  4. Symbolism, eg tatty furniture representing tired relationships
  5. Any key features or inventive ideas such as a table opening up to become a car
• The set establishes the world of the play and the style of the piece, so recognising what it says to the audience is important.
• Make notes of your first impressions. What expectations were created by the set design?
• If a set is minimalist then you know the production will have to rely on other elements to create an effective atmosphere. Sets might also be basic for other reasons such as cost or because the play has many scene changes which would be difficult to achieve with an elaborate fixed set.
• Your job as a reviewer is to note any interesting facets of the set that have obviously been included in the production by the director and designer for a reason.

2. Costume

• You should also describe the costume choices particularly if they’re striking or unusual in any way. Focus on the following elements:
  1. Was the costume modern or historical?
  2. How did costume show character?
  3. Were there any significant costume changes?
  4. Was costume used symbolically? Think about the colours and garments chosen
  5. What did it add to the performance?

3. Props

• Think about how the props were used in the production. Consider whether they were used naturalistically or symbolically and whether they had any significant meaning attached to them. Was one special prop used in a variety of ways?

4. Lights and lighting design

• How did the lighting design enhance the production? Think about the following elements when writing your review:
  1. Was light used naturalistically or in a symbolic way?
  2. Did the use of light enhance the drama and experience for the audience?
  3. How did the lights create mood and atmosphere?
  4. Were they used to suggest different locations or the passing of time?
  5. Were there any key lighting effects in the production?
  6. How did they affect the pace of transitions (movement from one scene to the next)? A snap change will create a staccato, fast tempo but a fade will be gentler and slower.

5. Music and sound

Don’t just focus on the visual. If the music or sound effects used in a production stand out (negatively or positively), then you should mention them. Think about:

1. How the music was used and when.
2. The effect of the music on the audience - did it create mood/atmosphere?
3. Was music or sound used symbolically to reflect a character or theme of the play?
4. Were there any sound effects and what did these add to the production?
5. Did the music work with the rest of the production?

6. Acting and performance

• Next it’s essential to describe the performances of the actors in the production. How did they make the role their own? Were the performances good or bad? Remember you need to give concrete reasons and not just an ill-informed opinion.
• Try and include the following elements:
  1. Who impressed you and why?
  2. Think about characterisation and how this was achieved - voice, gesture, body language and so on. Be specific about what an actor did at a particular moment to have an effect on the audience and communicate effectively.
  3. Analyse movement around the space and what it communicated and consider the use of stillness too.
  4. Evaluate the vocal choices made - significant pauses, tone of voice, changes in pitch or volume that worked well. Comment on what this communicated to the audience.
  5. Relationships on stage: how were these achieved and how did they develop or change? Focus on how this was realised in the acting, not on the story of the play.

7. Directorial choices

• The director has overall control of a production so don’t forget to refer to how you think their input influenced the production. Think about the following:
  1. Did the director have a fixed concept or aim for the work? How was this communicated?
  2. What specific choices about style did they make?
  3. Did they make any significant changes or cuts to the script and if so, what did they achieve by this? Did it affect pace or structure?
  4. What was the emotional journey taken by the audience? Where and how were tension or contrast created?
• Read the programme notes and search online for any background information about the director that might help you. It may be that they are famous for a particular style or approach to work.