1. Refer to performers, directors, designers and writers by full name.  What was the piece?  What was it about?  Was there a story?  What genre or style was it?  What issues or themes did it address?  Did the piece have a purpose?  What did it set out to do and did it achieve this?
   
   
2. Try to describe the performances.  What makes good acting, good dancing, good movement?
    
3. Draw comparisons between performers.  Use plenty of adjectives (describing words) and be IMAGINATIVE in your writing. Were there any particular moments that impressed you in the piece? Try to describe individual moments and talk about why they were successful.
   
   
4. Talk about the set, props and costumes.  You don’t have to mention everything, but try to talk about the feel of the whole thing.  Did it have an overall style?  Was the piece set in a particular time and place?  Did you get a feel for this time or place?  Were there any unusual details that really struck you?
   
   
5. As a whole, how did the piece make you feel?  Did you have an emotional response to it?  Did it make you ask questions or think about anything in a different way than you have before?  Was it entertaining?  Did it particularly remind you of other performances you’ve seen, or flims, books, music?  Did you take a journey as an audience member? 
   
   
6. Don’t worry if you didn’t understand everything in the performance – explore why this was.  Maybe not everything was clear.  Or maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
   
   
7. You can structure you review how you choose, but make sure the structure is clear.  Remember that your review is a form of ARGUMENT: work hard to persuade the reader of your point of view.  Try to make it interesting for the reader.  Entice them in to the review and make the whole thing lead up to a worthwhile conclusion.  Be ANALYTICAL, which means you must keep asking yourself WHY all way through.  WHY do you think this, WHY are you saying that, WHY was the show like it was.  
    
8. You won’t write a very good review if you’ve never read any reviews.   Different newspapers and websites have different styles.  Try comparing a review from The Guardian newspaper with a review from The Metro newspaper.  Have a look at reviews on www.thestage.co.uk  What are the differences between the ways that these reviews are written?  What do they include / not include?  Do they vary in length or style?  Do they make you want to go and see the performance or not? 
   
   
9. Many working artists complain about reviews and reviewers.  In Britain, reviewers can wield a lot of power over the financial success or failure of a show.  If a small fringe production gets excellent reviews it can help the show to transfer to a larger theatre or to the West End.  Or if a multi-million pound West End production gets bad reviews, this will usually have a bad affect on ticket sales and the show might close early, losing money.
    
10.  But the reviewing of the performing arts is one important way in which the ideas of the performance work carry on.   Good performance work is a conversation – an exchange of ideas between artists and an audience.  The media is one forum in which this conversation can continue beyond the performance of the show.