‘How to Review Live Performance’ Workshop for Darwin Fringe Festival

Stage Whispers and the Darwin Fringe Festival have announced their collaboration on a free workshop during this year’s festival – ‘How to Review Live Performance’. Presented by our Darwin-based reviewer, Geoffrey Williams, the workshop will explore the craft of theatre reviewing through structure, voice, analysis, and ethics, helping participants develop the confidence to respond thoughtfully to live performance.

From acting and direction to design, atmosphere, and audience experience, Geoffrey and the workshop participants will examine how strong reviews balance critical insight with fairness, while also exploring participants’ distinctive writing style that captures the energy and immediacy of theatre itself.

Geoffrey began writing for Stage Whispers in 2009, and over that time has contributed a countless number of reviews and arts features. Many of his reviews have been used as ‘marquee quotes’ by theatre makers to promote their creations on their websites, social media profiles, and national tours. Geoffrey was also a film reviewer for the West Australian Newspaper Group, reviewing a film a week for six years. He believes that “Writing about theatre is not simply about deciding whether a production was ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but about learning how to observe performance with clarity, curiosity and context.”

Stage Whispers is delighted to have agreed to publish selected reviews from workshop participants who submit their reviews of shows throughout the Darwin Fringe Festival, having had the opportunity for one-to-one feedback from Geoffrey about their review writing. “The one-on-one feedback is not about reviewing a review”, said Geoffrey, “it is about providing feedback to ensure our participants are as confident as they can be and that they are really happy with what they have written. It is often the lack of confidence and opportunity that stands in their way, so we are thrilled to be able to provide that opportunity to potentially share their reviews with theatre-lovers around the world.”

“We are excited to welcome new voices from the Northern Territory”, said Neil Litchfield, Editor of Stage Whispers, “and this workshop is the perfect opportunity for writers who have always wanted to explore reviewing to share time with Geoffrey in a nurturing and judgement-free workshop environment to study the craft and possibly have their Darwin Fringe Festival reviews published on Stage Whispers”.

Workshop: How to Review Live Performance. Presented by Geoffrey Williams from Stage Whispers. Thursday 2 July 2026 from 5:30 pm–7:30 pm. Brown’s Mart Studio, 12 Smith St, Darwin.

Event link: https://darwinfringe.org.au/event/workshop-how-to-review-live-performance/

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1018615877505586

Registration link: https://darwinfringe.org.au/workshop-how-to-review-live-performance/