Welcome to the next in 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 Bri, who has been shaking things up at Stalls to Stage!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be writing or creating content about theatre?
I’ve been a lover of stories in all their forms since I was a child – a total bookworm from childhood, as a teen I devoured TV and Film like it was a hot meal after a fast, theatre: really, I didn’t fall in love with until I was around 16/17 and studying Drama and Theatre Studies for A-Level.
I’d seen shows up to then, and I always enjoyed them, but I wasn’t a theatre kid by any stretch. Then with college, we were studying Commedia dell’arte and were taken to see a production of One Man Two Guvnor’s at Theatre Royal Haymarket for us to write about in our exams.
I completely adored it, could have written pages upon pages, couldn’t stop re-enacting my favourite parts, I was gripped. So much so I had decided I wanted to go to drama school, and that I wanted to be in comedies.
But life had other plans, and in a gap year, a car accident left me disabled, and drama school was never to be. It was an isolating time, a frustrating time, and I found community within theatre that helped give me purpose, and so writing about it has helped keep me connected to this thing I love so much.
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?
Stalls to Stage started in May 2024, and the original format for it was simply to be a podcast. The idea of the podcast was to bridge the gap between audience and creatives, to lean into the community aspect of theatre, and to connect with people over a shared love.
I always book a Stalls seat, and they are always responsible in some way for what’s happening on stage, so I took the idea of “from me, to you” and Stalls to Stage was born.
What kind of shows do you cover, and in which geographical areas?
I’ll cover anything really! I love plays, I love political or social pieces, I love a comedy, I love seeing new work, I love a good musical.
It’s also really important to me as a woman of colour, as a disabled person, that I champion work by and for under valued communities. So I will generally always try to make time for shows by or starring Black and/or brown creators.
I am based in the South East, and predominantly cover shows in London, or if they’re touring at a theatre near me.
How would you describe yourself (reviewer, critic, content creator, YouTuber, influencer, other?).
I do so many different things now – hosting the podcast, reviews, content creation, and founding my very own theatre awards, that I struggle to know what to describe myself as now! I reckon theatre content creator is perhaps the closest umbrella term we have.
Why do you continue to engage with theatre?
Storytelling makes me feel and think and pause and reflect, and I think that’s integral, but the connection that you get with live theatre is unlike any other art form. The way you can be changed in 2 hours.
Also, I find the world can be incredibly hard to move through. Everything is divided, fractured, unsettled or outright hostile. When you try to consider it all it can be incredibly overwhelming.
I find something very grounding about the act of theatre, to be engaging in this human ritual that people have been doing just like this for thousands of years. It reminds me that no matter how bad the world may seem, humanity always persists.
What’s the one thing that would make the theatre reviewing/content creating space easier for you personally, and/or for your platform?
It is still unfortunately quite gatekept – creators don’t love to share how they got access out of fear they might lose it. But it also still has a lot of reckoning to do with the racism that permeates.
People within this industry have been trying very hard to pull it into the modern day, but much like a lot of the UK, it has a stubborn refusal to leave the 20th century behind.
There’s still a very specific general demographic that make up most audiences, there’s still a very specific demographic that make up a lot of the behind the scenes teams, there’s still a very specific demographic that make up the producers, and there’s still a very specific demographic that sit in the roles of marketers and PRs for the shows.
And that means for myself and other creators of colour, our invites into the room were few and far between, whilst white peers were often in the majority of the rooms we can’t even peer into.
Calling that out publicly has made a change, but ultimately a diversification of the people responsible for deciding who does and doesn’t get access is what’s needed to really make this easier for us.
We need Black and brown people in the marketing offices, working for the various PR teams, or operating as a freelancer to aid them.
Do you have a favourite show – and any you particularly dislike(d)?
Many favourites! A lot of them are plays, but I do enjoy a good musical too! Plays: Present Laughter (2019 The Old Vic production), Dear England, John Proctor is the Villain.
Musical: Paddington, Hamilton, and I loved Shucked!
I really really disliked A Streetcar Named Desire, I do not like at all this current production of Cabaret (sorry Rebecca Frecknall, this list is a rough time for you), and I haven’t really connected with any of Jamie Lloyd’s work since Cyrano (though I did think Cyrano was fantastic)
The theatre commentary space is wide and diverse – is there any other female reviewer/content creator you would recommend, and why?
I’m going to name 4 and a bonus who does more than just theatre.
I have to big up my babes Rachel @rachelreviewed – I love how she champions Black theatre, I love her effort to put together interesting content, she has a genuine love and passion for theatre and that shows.
I also have to big up Shore @the.rendition, her behind the scenes content always blows my mind it’s so beautiful, and again I love how she champions Black theatre and doing work to bring diverse audiences to a space they sometimes feel excluded from.
Nish @letterstojuly is best known for her theatre inspired merch, stickers, and pin badges, but has recently started doing a lot more actual content creation and her posts are always beautiful. She makes sure to highlight the work of South Asian creators which I love, and the shows she loves, she does so with her whole heart.
Rebecca @stageyrebecca very similar to Nish, she has a super successful merch niche with her Theatre Passport and show stamps, but she’s also posting more “content” so to speak and it’s so much fun to see her posts – they’re a visual treat.
And my bonus is Zainab who founded @blackthings_blackfriends. She highlights so much more than theatre, spotlighting so many businesses and events that are black led, black founded, or made with black audiences in mind. Part of that is theatre, and it’s really refreshing to see theatre content from someone whose entire vibe isn’t just theatre.
What’s the biggest change you have noticed in the theatre space since you started contributing to it?
It’s grown! There are so many people starting their own spaces and I love that – I think that’s what’s wonderful about social media. It democratises a space that was for a very long time very exclusive and closed door.
As hard as it is for us as people of colour trying to keep the door open for ourselves now, it would have been near impossible without social media. So I love to see it – it’s wonderful that people love something so much and are so moved to speak about it, that they are starting their own platforms.
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 for sure. Tiktok when I remember.
Can you pinpoint one of your best reviews, features, or videos?
Tough! I personally loved my John Proctor review, but also my Evita review. And I love all my podcast episodes, but particularly Diego Andres Rodriguez, Dylan Wood, and Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́.
How can people contact you who want to promote a show?
Drop me an email! support@stallstostage.co.uk
Thanks, Bri!