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Tiny Little Town Photo \u2013 David Monteith-Hodge <\/p>\nAugust is fast approaching, and with it the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, International, Book and Art festivals. <\/p>\n
Performers and promoters need reviews \u2013 but just how (especially when there are far fewer reviewers than there are requests for their services) can they get them?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve reviewed in all of these festivals for some years now, and here I have gathered together some tips that might help. <\/p>\n
Tiny Little Town Photo \u2013 David Monteith-Hodge <\/p>\n
Here goes:<\/p>\n
1. Press releases<\/p>\n
Make sure yours is well written, not cobbled together at the last minute. Reviewers are inundated with these things \u2013 and what they need from them is information, not gimmicks, so take care to include full details of your cast, writer, manager, lighting manager, the name and contact<\/strong> details<\/strong> of someone who can provide more information. If I have to scrabble around looking for these things I\u2019m already losing patience before I start.<\/p>\n UPLOAD YOUR PRESS RELEASE TO THE FRINGE MEDIA SITE. I can\u2019t emphasise this enough. It makes reviewers\u2019 lives so much easier if they can find everything they need in one place.<\/p>\n Contact reviewers well in advance. I sort my schedule in early July, and it has very little slack. Panicking about a lack of reviews during the festival is unlikely to prove fruitful \u2013 nor will it reduce your stress levels.<\/p>\n My emails are always open, but please, if you contact me to request review, tell me about the themes of your show, not just how many stars somebody else gave it.<\/p>\n Please address me properly \u2013 \u2018Dear BLANK\u2019 will not impress \u2013 but don\u2019t bother will all the \u2018how are you doing?\u2019, \u2018Hope you\u2019re enjoying the Fringe\u2019 stuff. Cut to the chase and tell me why I, particularly, should see your show.<\/p>\n 3. Respond!<\/p>\n If a reviewer emails you with a request for information, please, please <\/strong>reply quickly. They are probably halfway through a review \u2013 a review which can\u2019t be published until you respond. We know you\u2019re tired \u2013 believe me, so are we.<\/p>\n 4. Be polite!<\/p>\n Never criticise reviewers in public. I have sat behind people on a bus who spent their entire journey talking about the writer of a less than glowing review. Of course everyone wants five stars, but reviews are written to assist readers, not to stroke egos or cosset eggshell personalities. If you are putting yourself out there, you need not only to be able to cope with criticism but also to learn from it.<\/p>\n 5. Be flexible<\/p>\n If a reviewer asks for a ticket at the start of your run, don\u2019t refuse \u2013 they may well not be able to come when it suits you. Reviewers do understand that previews may lack the polish of later shows, and they can make allowances for that. If they don\u2019t see the show at all, they can\u2019t review it.<\/p>\n Similarly, please don\u2019t make us sit in the middle of a row or at the front \u2013 we know you want to \u201cfill up from the front\u201d, but it\u2019s really difficult to make notes if you\u2019re jammed in. And would you not find it off-putting to see me scribbling away two inches from the stage? Let us hide away at the back if we ask to. We\u2019re a lot safer there.<\/p>\n 6. Does it make sense?<\/p>\n I have heard performers complaining (publicly \u2013 see 3!) that a reviewer \u201cmissed the point\u201d of a play. Reviewers are experienced. If they don\u2019t get it, how likely is it that your audience will? You have only 60 minutes, sometimes less, to make an impression \u2013 be clear, be audible \u2013 and do practice getting on and off your stage, it really does make a difference.<\/p>\n 7. Appreciate your reviewers!<\/p>\n Believe it or not, most reviewers (apart from the few from the national press) are often doing this unpaid, often fitting it around their own jobs. They rush from one venue to another, usually writing reviews in their lunch breaks and late at night. They do it not only because they want to let the paying public know what\u2019s worth seeing, but also because they want to help you. \u00a0<\/p>\n Be nice.<\/p>\n Our main email address for contacting Rosemary is [email\u00a0protected] <\/a>(please put FAO Rosemary in the subject line).<\/p>\n And you can read all the articles she has written on The Edinburgh Reporter by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Photo-David-Monteith-Hodge-Photographise-please-credit-Heartbreak-Hotel.jpg\")
Heartbreak Hotel Photo \u2013 David Monteith-Hodge <\/p>\n
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