we like plays.

do you?

Welcome to the Oxford Theatre Review.

We offer something that no other Oxford student publication can: we send two reviewers to the first night performances of all Oxford plays, student and professional, and have it online first thing the following day.

We are looking for enthusiasm and originality. If you are interested in writing reviews or having your play reviewed, please contact us.

agree? disagree? have your say.

Theatre is all about debate, which is why we want to hear from you.

What do you think about the play, the actors, the review?

Use our online comment section to share your opinions and give your own star rating.

about us:

Co-editors: Olivia Edwards and Imogen Sarre (from Michaelmas 2009)

When we took over the site in 2009, on average one review was being posted a week, the mailing list was outdated, and the website was very basic. There were no star ratings, images, or details about upcoming events.  We wanted to take advantage of the website’s potential to be an up-to-date and fully accessible site, providing information and stimulating debate about student and professional theatre in Oxford.

Our fantastic web designer and I.T. manager Will has designed and developed this new site from scratch; Tom designed our logo, posters and flyers; and we started an entirely new mailing list. We send two reviewers along for free to first night performances of every Oxford play. This is open to anyone interested in watching or writing about theatre, and we have a policy of never editing reviews.

For the first time ever, an OTR representative was sent along to every single Cuppers production to write a review and be part of the judging panel. We have also got involved in the New Writing Festival, reviewing all plays, judging the best transition from page to stage, and introducing a process that we now follow for every student written piece of drama: a reviewer interviews both director and writer and goes along to rehearsals, writing a blog about their experiences. We also post the author’s favourite extract from their script on the site.

In the summer, the OTR will cover plays in Edinburgh Festival, and in the forthcoming academic year we have plans to expand the site further. We are going to incorporate video footage, sell play tickets on the site, post information about auditions, and make use of our new system of college reps in order to make the OTR even more accessible and comprehensive. As ever, we remain open to any creative suggestions for the site’s improvement, and are enthusiastic about people taking the initiative.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions are always welcome.

Website Designer: Will Powell (visit my site) (from Michaelmas term 2009)

Editorial Assistants: Saba Ahmed (from Michaelmas term 2009) and Natalya Din-Kariuki (from Michaelmas 2010)

Head of Development: Edlyn Livesey (from Michaelmas term 2010)

Marketing Director: Ashleigh Wheeler (from Trinity term 2010)

New Writing Coordinator: Martha McPherson (from Michaelmas term 2010)

Financial Director: Sam Baker (from Michaelmas term 2010)

Film coordinator: Sophia Satchell-Baeza (from Michaelmas term 2010)

Past members of the OTR team

Marketing Design: Tom Pope (Michaelmas term 2009)

Assistant Editor: Charlotte Seymour (Hillary and Trinity terms 2010)

New Writing: Olivia Reilly (Hillary and Trinity terms 2010)