About

Backstage View and More Reviews – what’s it all about?

I’ve been writing reviews of musical theatre and other productions, restaurants, books and films for some years now.

Based in Cambridge, I often review productions at the local theatres, often for other sites such as LocalSecrets.com, but I thought it would be good to store the reviews all in one place, and it also gives me the opportunity to add reviews of my own that haven’t been commissioned by a journal.

Cambridge enjoys a very high standard of amateur theatre and I’ve had several occasions when I’ve preferred an amateur production to the professional version – always feels a bit odd, but there you go, there is some top talent in Cambridge, and not just at the university, and this is reflected in the reviews.

I really enjoy theatre, especially musical theatre, (yes I’m one of those people who wish everyone would sing and dance through life like ‘Who will buy?’ in Oliver!) and having been in a couple of amateur productions myself (plus some professional extra work for fun!) I do really *get* how much effort goes into a show, and how personal a performance is.

I try to see the best in each show, but it’s important to give an honest opinion, as people pay money to see shows and it’s not fair to give misleading reviews. I also try to talk to other members of the audience and reflect how the show was received generally. But at the end of the day, it is my opinion that I write!

With two daughters who love performing, I’ve also spent lots of time backstage (hence the blog name) looking after children, taking photos, helping out generally and sometimes just getting in the way.

Some of the photos on here are my own and some are provided by the production companies – I’ve produced most of this blog in retrospect, so excuse me if I haven’t credited your photo, I’m happy to correct this.

Feel free to browse, especially production companies – crop a few phrases if you need them for your websites, but do please credit me.

Berenice Mann