London theatre reviews | London Theatre Direct

London Theatre Reviews are done for all the shows in the west end. It is great to read reviews, to see how successful the show is. When a show is new and is about to open, there are normally pre-view weeks, whereby members of the press come and see the show and write a review. Prices are normally cheaper in this week due to the show not yet having its ‘official’ review. Members of the public also use this week to see a show at a reduced price!

Reviews can be found in local newspapers, theatre industry magazines, and of course the internet.
What can you expect from a review? Well the review should contain a brief summary of the plot, and ideally a little bit of history about the playwright and the period in which the play was written. This will really get you setting the scene in your mind!

The directors should normally be included, and it’s likely you would read a discussion about not only the direction of the performance, but also the directors approach. For example, maybe the director tried a new approach, or was the staging more traditional?

You should expect to read about the actors approach to the roles, for example if it was done in a traditional way or in a new way. There might be details summarizing their acting skills, if they were believable, false, and of course their names should be quoted along with some of their past performances, so you can compare your favorite actors.

There should be details about the stage set, the costumes and lighting, these details can give you an idea how good a play it is, if there has been a lot of effort into these categories, then perhaps there is attention to detail throughout the performance. Of course, it might be a stage set with 1 or 2 actors, and minimal does not necessarily mean, poor. The review will give guidance!

It might be nice to read if the ‘reviewer’ would go again to see the performance himself, then you know it can be worth seeing..

Good reviews will then lead on to details of the performance, like the times and days it is on, the running time. Some of the London theatre reviews might also provide you with recommendations of what to see next, where to buy good value tickets, any contact information about the venue. All these little details to help you decide if it is something you want to consider viewing!