Welcome to the ninth of a series celebrating female colleagues who engage with theatre as critics, reviewers, bloggers or content creators. I am using ‘theatre’ to encompass all live arts performances, and ‘reviewer’ to cover all those who add commentary on what they see.
The master list is at: https://loureviews.blog/spotlight-on-female-theatre-reviewers-bloggers-critics-and-content-creators/
If you would like to be profiled as part of this project, please get in touch.
Today, I turn my attention to Vicky from Adventures in Theatreland.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be writing or creating content about theatre?
I’m Vicky – by day I am a nursery teacher, and my hobbies include visiting the theatre, reading and watching movies. AIT happened by chance – I made an Instagram purely to keep a record of shows that I had been to see by posting curtain call pictures, and we were then approached by a few smaller PR teams – I will always advocate for fringe theatre for this very reason, as they took a chance on us when we were starting out.
If you have your own platform, when did it start, and how did you come up with the name? If you write for one or many platforms, which was the first and how did you become involved with it?
AIT first began back in 2023 – I was originally called A Day in the West End, but then realised that I wanted to cover all the fantastic touring shows we have as well. I’m lucky to be in a location where I have so many fantastic theatres surrounding – Theatr Clwyd, Storyhouse, Venue Cymru, Liverpool Empire and The Lowry to name but a few!
What kind of shows do you cover, and in which geographical areas?
We are really open to covering all kinds of shows – we mainly cover musicals and plays, but we’ve reviewed dance, circus, and improv! I am personally based in North Wales, but we have a big team in the London area too.
How would you describe yourself (reviewer, critic, content creator, YouTuber, influencer, other)?
Blogger/Content Creator!
Why do you continue to engage with theatre?
Theatre is my favourite escapism – there’s nothing better than experiencing a live show with your friends and family. My first ever show was Oliver when I was four, which I got to go see with my gran, and we would spend all our time watching the classics on video. Theatre is my biggest passion, and I think we are so lucky as theatre fans to have something so special to enjoy.
What’s the one thing that would make the theatre reviewing/content creating space easier for you personally, and/or for your platform?
For me, it’s having a community that allows all bloggers/content creators to thrive! It’s definitely been on the increase recently, and I think it’s so important to allow everyone to be creative and express their love and joy of theatre. There is
space for us all. Personally, there are a few skills I am trying to learn to be more creative with content!
Do you have a favourite show – and any you particularly dislike(d)?
My favourite shows of all time would probably be Come From Away, Newsies and Dear Evan Hansen. There are a couple that I didn’t really engage with, The Sound of Music being one, but I appreciate that we are so lucky to have such a range of shows that resonate with people in different ways.
The theatre commentary space is wide and diverse – is there any other female reviewer/content creator you would recommend, and why?
I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many lovely female reviewers and content creators (a lot of them are already listed on this fantastic project) – so I am going to give a shoutout to the females on my team who work so hard and consistently to support AIT!
What’s the biggest change you have noticed in the theatre space since you started contributing to it?
It’s been great to see so many bloggers come onto the scene – it’s lovely to be surrounded by people in the community who are purely doing it for their love of theatre.
And which social networks are you most active on? If you are not on any, what is your opinion of their place in theatre reviewing/content creation?
Instagram mainly (and I’m trying to get better at TikTok) – I think that video content is really on the rise at the moment, and I think these pieces of content are really engaging – I enjoy reading reviews, but much prefer to doomscroll on TikTok and watch video content!
How can people contact you who want to promote a show?
People can contact us on our website (www.adventuresintheatreland.com) or on our Instagram page (@_adventuresintheatreland)