How to Write

a Play
Review
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 “ The House Beautiful is The Play Lousy.”
– Dorothy Parker

“His first (and, I suspect, last) work for the

stage, All New People, opened last night at
Second Stage. It’s pretty bad, no way around
it.”
– Scott Brown, Vulture
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 What is review?
A review is a subjective but educated
response to a piece of theatre. The
reviewer should have a strong
background in theatre so that their
opinion is informed and credible.
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 What is the purpose of review?
A review gives a potential audience member
context for a production. Most people want
to know if they should spend their hard-
earned money on a ticket. Is this show any
good? If it is, what makes it good? If it’s
not, what makes the show falter?
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 What should we learn from a review?
A review should describe the situation of a
play without giving too much information
about the plot. It should address the
production elements individually and how
they work together as a whole. It should
express an opinion supported by thoughtful
analysis.
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 I can’t categorically confirm that
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
belongs in the dankest subbasement
of the American musical theater. But
its application certainly seems to be
in order.

– The Washington Post

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 What’s between a well-written and
a poorly-written review?
● Is the reviewer able to discern the vision of the
production and the execution of that vision?

● Is the reviewer able to analyze the production in terms

other than like/dislike?

● Is the reviewer able to see the production’s value

and/or appeal despite their subjective response?
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 What’s between a well-written and
a poorly-written review?
● Does the reviewer support their views with examples?
For example, if they don’t like an actress’
performance do they explain why? Do they offer
evidence to support their opinions?

● Does the reviewer let their personal opinion of a play

colour their review?

● Does the reviewer acknowledge the audience reaction

particularly if it differs from their own reaction?
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 How do I write a good review?
Like all things, it takes practice. Go see a
show, and write down your thoughts. What
is your experience? Get in the habit of
explaining why you like something and why
you don’t. Your ability to explain why you
feel the way you do about a performance
will add to your review’s clout.
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 How do I write a good review?

Read other reviews of shows you’ve seen

and reflect on how those reviewers used (or
didn’t use) their expertise to share their
experience of the play. The more you read
the works of others, the more you’ll be able
to define your own style of writing.
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 Parts of a Review

1. Introduction 4. Opinion

2. Execution 5.
Recommendati
3. Specifics on
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 Introduction

Sets up the play. Who is the playwright?

What company is putting on this play? What
is the context of the production (school
show, community theatre, touring show,
Broadway)?
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 Execution

How is the play executed? What is the

director’s vision? What is unique about the
interpretation? What’s the style? How do the
individual parts fit together to make a
whole?
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 Specifics

Is there anything unique about this

production? Who is the director? What else
have they done? Who are the leads? Is this a
premiere or a remount?
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 Opinion

Is the production successful in its

execution? Why or why not? Is there
something out of place within the individual
parts (lights, sound, set, costuming, vision,
acting)? What stands out? Does the acting
bring the play to life? Does the vision suit
the intention of the play?
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 Recommendation

Is this play worth seeing? Why or why not?

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 Before the Show
You don’t want to do too much research
beforehand, as it may influence your experience.
But you can certainly define the context of the
production – who’s putting it up? What have
they done in the past? When you get to the
theatre, flip through the program Is there a
director’s note? Are there cast biographies? What
does the production want you to know before
you see the show?
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 During the Show
Take as many notes as you can. What are you
seeing? Highlight the names of actors that catch
your eye. If a line of dialogue hits you, write it
down. What do the colours of the set remind you
of? Does the lighting complement the action or
get in the way? Try not to bury your head in your
notebook the whole show, though. You may miss
something. Use the intermission to write notes.
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 After the Show
Write a rough draft of your review as quickly
after the curtain comes down as possible. The
longer you wait, the less you’ll remember of the
experience. Check, check and double check
anything you claim as fact in your review –
names you quote, backgrounds of individuals,
plot points. Make sure you know the difference
between a parabola and a parable.
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 What happens if someone doesn’t like my
review?
If you write your review from a place of
experience, if you’re able to back up your
opinion with an explanation of why, then you’ll
be able to stand behind what you’ve written no
matter what. There’s always going to be
someone who hates getting a bad review, but it
happens. You can’t write a nice review just
because you don’t want to get backlash!
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 1. How do the reviews compare and contrast?

2. Reflect on what the reviewer has to say about the production.

What is the style of the review?

3. One of the reviews gives the production one star and calls it a
“massacre.” Do you agree or disagree with the style of the
review? Do you like when reviews are overly critical? Does it
come across as fair?

4. What does each review tell you about the reviewer?

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 Content created
by Kim Haxton
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 Parts of a Review

Introduction Execution Specifics

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 Parts of a Review

Recomme
Opinion ndation
Specifics
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