This month I had the absolute joy of being invited to run two workshops for the Mayflower Young Writers on how to write theatre reviews!

I’ve led workshops and training at work before, but never in my free time, so it was really flattering to be asked along to share some stories and tips. Over the last couple of years, I have learned so much from reviewing for both for my own blog and for other websites like Broadway World UK, and I was excited to offer some insights.

I was hired to run one 90-minute session and one two-hour session for groups that spanned the ages of 11-18, covering as much as possible in that time. Through a couple of exercises, and some ‘teaching’ elements, we talked about what to include in a review, what to consider when you’re watching the show, and the actual process of writing, as well as how this process and way of thinking could be applied to books and films.

I also shared stories about how I got into reviewing and blogging and had some advice for anyone thinking of giving it a go themselves, which proved extremely popular.

I was incredibly nervous, but after a few minutes of warming up I really enjoyed myself – and I hope the groups did, too!

I won’t go into too much detail here, but you can read the Artful Scribe blog post about the session here, to find out more about what we got up to.

Thank you so much to Mayflower Young Writers and Artful Scribe for asking me to come along, and I hope the participants found at least one thing useful and inspiring from the session!