Theatre Explained

How much can actors earn from commercials? A UK actor explains day rates, buyouts, renewals, travel pay, exclusivity and real earning potential.

How I decide theatre review star ratings, from five-star triumphs to fundamental failures—and why three stars still mean a good show.

Are Achilles and Patroclus Shakespeare’s clearest gay couple? Queer evidence, scholarship and stage history from Troilus and Cressida.

Learn the Meisner Method: repetition, independent activity, emotional preparation and practical techniques for truthful, responsive acting.

Learn Stanislavski’s acting techniques, from objectives and the Magic If to given circumstances, emotion memory and super-objectives.

What is double casting in theatre? From Aladdin to Tina, we explore job shares, alternates and whether more roles should be shared.

Every major theatre superstition explained, from Macbeth and ghost lights to whistling, green costumes, break a leg and backstage rituals.

Drama school or Theatre Studies degree? Here’s how UK acting training, university Drama courses, entry requirements and career outcomes really differ.

How do musicals work on cruise ships? From shortened shows and actor pay to moving scenery, safety duties and tax, here’s what happens at sea.

Why is it “in the West End” but “on Broadway”? The simple theatre grammar rule, and why getting it wrong really isn’t a disaster.

Why can’t you film in UK theatres? The rules on copyright, performers’ rights, phone etiquette, spoilers and when recording is actually allowed.

Why do theatres have intervals? From Shakespeare’s candles to Victorian act breaks and interval ice cream, discover how the 15-minute break evolved.

Why specific locations, local references and real communities create richer theatre characters — and why universality starts with detail.

Ever wondered if your favourite musical theatre song has ever escaped the stage and found its way into the UK Top 100 Singles Chart?

Artificial Intelligence is changing theatre. Discover why assistive AI can improve productions, but generative AI risks replacing the creatives who make theatre special.

Learn essential Theatre Etiquette to enhance your live performance experience. Discover how proper Theatre Etiquette ensures respect and enjoyment for all.

Theatre audiences have long cherished the moment when performers return to the stage after the final bow. This moment, known as the encore, has a rich history that reveals much about changing audience expectations and theatrical traditions. But where did the encore come from? When did the encore start? This post explores the origins of the encore, its role in opera, the rise of the curtain call, and how it has evolved into the theatrical and musical spectacles we enjoy today.

SIX the musical has undeniably transformed the landscape of British musical theatre, but do we really need a cinema screening? Find out!

Nestled in the heart of Stafford lies the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, a vibrant hub for the arts scene in the West Midlands. Boasting a diverse range of performance spaces - including The Met Studio - it is also home to the acclaimed Youth Theatre SGYT, this receiving house theatre is a haven for creativity. We had the pleasure of staging our original comedy production, ‘Waiting Room,’ at The Met Studio, and the experience was nothing short of fantastic. From the moment we

The theatre is a wonderful way to spend a section of your time, in the evening with friends, catch a matinee with family or finding yourself in London with nothing to do for 3 hours so you slip the last ticket to the hottest show at the box office - whatever your scenario everyone has their theatre first time, and it’s important that they get the best experience possible. Not only an issue for the newbies, long-time theatre goers like myself can (and have) had shows completel

Want to know more about the play Shakers, it's history and the man who wrote it?

Never before did I think that Pythagorus would be of use in my adult life, let alone in the theatre!

Cultural, gender and sexual diversity is liberating art forms across the world, and finally black, women and queer voices are finally being heard after hiding their light under a bushel for so long. Go back 40 years and a ‘diverse’ character may appear on a television show simply as a comic reference (think Manuel in Faulty Towers) or as a plot point. It was rare that one would get to see, for example, an empowered black woman on stage or screen. Thankfully today there is a w

A public figure becomes a celebrity when the media is more interest in their personal lives than their public role.

In a year of the arts cancelled left right and centre, there have been some fantastic outreach programmes.

I’m sure we’re all getting sick of the words ‘Covid’ and ‘Lockdown’. But what is the lack of theatre doing to our mental health?

The new government guidance allows for groups of up to 6 people to meet (with loads of sub clauses about bubbles and distance and location a

The following is an extended version of the article found in the programme for "Constellations". In “Constellations”, we explore the idea that there could exist other universes besides our own – as Marianne describes it, “the possibility that we’re part of a multiverse”. This seems like science fiction – a parallel universe, of course, is a tried and tested sci-fi trope, explored in Doctor Who, Star Trek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example. The idea of parallel universe

Sometimes, things can just become a bit too much. For everyone. You don’t have to be a world-famous actor, a star, or even somebody a tiny bit famous to think that the world is becoming too heavy to handle. An ‘average’ person that you have passed on the street this morning, while taking the kids to school, or whilst doing your daily food shop, is likely to have things going on in their head that makes them feel like the whole world is on their shoulders. According to Mind UK

“Ghosts” is a very subdued play that does not call for a lot of lighting changes or music cues. Mostly, the play involves characters having conversations (or arguments) rather than using fancy drama techniques to convey the story. This is to be expected of Ibsen – he was one of the first playwrights to adopt a “naturalistic” style. No longer did characters speak in verse and heightened language – instead, they spoke in natural rhythms, the way we speak every day. The play is

It’s now been a year since myself, Tom and Ezra performed “Teechers”. It doesn’t feel like a year ago. In many ways, it feels a lot longer than that. When we began rehearsing Teechers, ETC was a brand new concept, and none of us had ever done anything like this before. Sure, we’d all acted before and been part of other drama groups. But this was the first time we’d done something on our own. Putting on a production is not just a case of picking a script, learning the lines an

With our first performance done and dusted, there’s just one night of Ghosts left, which means one more chance to experience Elemental Theatre’s shocking night of drama. Our first night was a roaring success - our slow-burning first act sets the scene of the uppity but relatable Alving family, which reaches screamingly high tension in the second and third acts. Scandal is at the heart of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. Like the more famous Hedda Gabler and A Doll’s House, this is a pl

Ibsen’s “Ghosts” was written in the 1880s, where it initially drew lots of criticism for the way it deals with various taboo subjects. The story is set in a Norwegian manor, and begins with the maid, Regine, dusting the room and arranging flowers in a vase. Elemental Theatre’s “Ghosts” begins in a very different way, set in a modern English country house, with the lodger, Rachel, vacuuming whilst bopping along to some pop song that is being played by an Alexa. When we initial

Theatre can be such a powerful way to get children to engage more with a story they have been working on.

If you search hard enough, in the back streets of every small town or village across the UK, you will find an amateur dramatic group. A collection of like-minded people who spend their spare time learning lines, painting scenery, making costumes, and having fun. At the end of it all, they put on a performance to their returning audiences, the majority of which tend to be friends and family. But why? They’re not people who like showing off (well, maybe a little). But mostly, l