https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog
Grace Paré
The Guardian Arts Blog is a theatre (British English!) based site authored by Lyn Gardner which focuses on the modern productions in London theatre as a part of the Guardian newspaper, a daily British publication. Gardner is a novelist and children’s book writer who attends the theatre approximately six days a week to gain material for her site.
The blog’s first post is from October, 2006, and Gardner has faithfully posted approximately 2-5 times per weeks since then, sometimes more than once in a day. The posts are listed in chronological order from newest to oldest and are each represented by a wide bar across the main page of the blog. The site has large banner ads at the top of each page, and ads on the side bar above suggested articles from the newspaper when individual posts are opened. The side bar ads are pretty subtle, but the banner ads at the top do distract from the focus of the site, as they cover the title of the blog when you scroll down. Gardner’s style is formal, consistent with the professional newspaper that the blog is part of. Many of her posts are primarily reports of what events are happening in the London area, with brief summaries of what the shows will be about. However, in some posts, her style does have a personal aspect: she uses the first person to relate her own experiences at the events she attends, and offers her opinion on the value of the show in terms of entertainment, trends in specific genres of theatre, and overall style and skill. The photos included in her posts are all professional, and include images from the promotions of the events and shots of the actual show in process. Videos are also used infrequently, often as a sort of preview to the event, not an actual recording of it.
The Guardian Arts Blog is incredibly useful for anyone looking for theatre events to attend in London, but as a New Yorker, its use for me lies in the information it can give me about trends and innovations happening in international theatre. The blog offers a huge amount of information, covering much, if not most, of London theatre. As a tool for cultural comparison, it is probably the most widely encompassing and complete overview of the theatre scene in London. In fact, it is the second result of a quick Google search of ‘London theatre blog’, and as such, receives a lot of attention in the form of comments from visitors. Gardner has received up to over 100 comments on many of her posts, depending on how controversial, shocking, or culturally relevant her pieces are, mainly from people who live in London and are active in the theatre world. Many of her commenters speak with a fair amount of knowledge on the topic of the post they comment on. Since the blog covers such a large topic, each of the commenters have a certain area which they are interested in, and bring their experiences of going to shows in their responses to Gardner’s thoughts on the productions. This dialogue happening in this blog is also another use that people may find in the blog, as it portrays the sentiments of devoted theatre goers and enthusiasts. Even if I cannot attend any of the events that Gardner writes about, the lively discussion and thorough writing on this blog make it an enjoyable and informative site to visit.
