Exeunt Magazine
@exeuntmagazine.bsky.social
Longform, thoughtful coverage of the UK's theatre landscape. Find us at exeuntmagazine.substack.com
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Exeunt is a leading publication for independent, inventive, long-form writing about theatre. Since being established in 2011, the digital magazine has attracted a loyal following among audiences and i...
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
Theatre bluesky - have you got an Edinburgh show to promote, or a season to announce? You can now advertise with Exeunt!
All the info on how to speak directly to a theatre-loving, super-engaged audience is over on our Substack - or drop us an email
⬇️ info, examples, and pricing in the link below!
All the info on how to speak directly to a theatre-loving, super-engaged audience is over on our Substack - or drop us an email
⬇️ info, examples, and pricing in the link below!
It’s that time of year: almost everything onstage seems to be either a pantomime or A Christmas Carol... But Exeunt writers have scoured our stages for the best shows coming up to bring you comfort and joy!
Exeunt recommends... the best Christmas shows
Or the best shows on over the Christmas period, anyway. Plus: a load of debut plays to catch and spotlight on casting director Becky Paris
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
It’s that time of year: almost everything onstage seems to be either a pantomime or A Christmas Carol... But Exeunt writers have scoured our stages for the best shows coming up to bring you comfort and joy!
It’s our one-year anniversary on Substack! AND it’s nearly Christmas...
So go on, treat yourself to a tasty little 💫 subscriber discount 💫 (and a post about the impossible economics of theatre criticism)
exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
So go on, treat yourself to a tasty little 💫 subscriber discount 💫 (and a post about the impossible economics of theatre criticism)
exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
How do you measure, measure a year?
How about... suuuuuubs?
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM
It’s our one-year anniversary on Substack! AND it’s nearly Christmas...
So go on, treat yourself to a tasty little 💫 subscriber discount 💫 (and a post about the impossible economics of theatre criticism)
exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
So go on, treat yourself to a tasty little 💫 subscriber discount 💫 (and a post about the impossible economics of theatre criticism)
exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
Reposted by Exeunt Magazine
I'm really grateful for the opportunity to talk about how this show has changed, and changed us, too. Thanks @exeuntmagazine.bsky.social
In conversation with Laurie Ogden, Flo O'Mahony, Artistic Director of Zoo Co and sister to Rachel O'Mahony, explains the journey of bringing Perfect Show for Rachel back for a UK tour: following Rachel's leadership while the show grows and changes, with those involved changing with it!
How my learning disabled sister made the perfect show
As she revisits Perfect Show for Rachel, Flo O'Mahony reflects on the assumptions made about the tastes and decision-making capacity of learning disabled people
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:17 AM
I'm really grateful for the opportunity to talk about how this show has changed, and changed us, too. Thanks @exeuntmagazine.bsky.social
KUNSTY!
Ben Kulvichit reviews a new performance festival, takes the temp of the Southbank Centre’s revived programming, and asks what more could be done for British experimental work…
Ben Kulvichit reviews a new performance festival, takes the temp of the Southbank Centre’s revived programming, and asks what more could be done for British experimental work…
'The kind of show it’s impossible to imagine being commissioned in the UK'
Ben Kulvichit spends the weekend at the Southbank Centre's new festival KUNSTY – and reflects on the need for a more adventurous, supported British performance scene
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:13 PM
KUNSTY!
Ben Kulvichit reviews a new performance festival, takes the temp of the Southbank Centre’s revived programming, and asks what more could be done for British experimental work…
Ben Kulvichit reviews a new performance festival, takes the temp of the Southbank Centre’s revived programming, and asks what more could be done for British experimental work…
In conversation with Laurie Ogden, Flo O'Mahony, Artistic Director of Zoo Co and sister to Rachel O'Mahony, explains the journey of bringing Perfect Show for Rachel back for a UK tour: following Rachel's leadership while the show grows and changes, with those involved changing with it!
How my learning disabled sister made the perfect show
As she revisits Perfect Show for Rachel, Flo O'Mahony reflects on the assumptions made about the tastes and decision-making capacity of learning disabled people
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:15 PM
In conversation with Laurie Ogden, Flo O'Mahony, Artistic Director of Zoo Co and sister to Rachel O'Mahony, explains the journey of bringing Perfect Show for Rachel back for a UK tour: following Rachel's leadership while the show grows and changes, with those involved changing with it!
What's going on with studio theatres?
Since the pandemic, smaller secondary spaces have quietly declined – with dire consequences for emerging artists. Could some new openings and different approaches help buck the trend, asks @hollywilliams.bsky.social
Since the pandemic, smaller secondary spaces have quietly declined – with dire consequences for emerging artists. Could some new openings and different approaches help buck the trend, asks @hollywilliams.bsky.social
What's going on with studio theatres?
Since the pandemic, smaller secondary spaces have quietly declined – with dire consequences for emerging artists. Can some new openings buck the trend?
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:32 AM
What's going on with studio theatres?
Since the pandemic, smaller secondary spaces have quietly declined – with dire consequences for emerging artists. Could some new openings and different approaches help buck the trend, asks @hollywilliams.bsky.social
Since the pandemic, smaller secondary spaces have quietly declined – with dire consequences for emerging artists. Could some new openings and different approaches help buck the trend, asks @hollywilliams.bsky.social
‘We want folk culture and community and nature – but only bits of it’
Alice Saville (@alicesaville.bsky.social) on Bryony Kimmings' Bog Witch, and the wave of pop culture paganism
Alice Saville (@alicesaville.bsky.social) on Bryony Kimmings' Bog Witch, and the wave of pop culture paganism
Magic, nature and the mid-career female artist
Bryony Kimmings' Bog Witch, and other searches for meaning in the countryside
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:49 AM
‘We want folk culture and community and nature – but only bits of it’
Alice Saville (@alicesaville.bsky.social) on Bryony Kimmings' Bog Witch, and the wave of pop culture paganism
Alice Saville (@alicesaville.bsky.social) on Bryony Kimmings' Bog Witch, and the wave of pop culture paganism
We went to see some plays, had some thoughts about them!
Review round-up: The Unbelievers, Gwenda's Garage, Orphans, Mary Page Marlowe
We went to the theatre. We thought about what we saw.
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:48 AM
We went to see some plays, had some thoughts about them!
Marina Abramovic’s latest work is the four-hour Balkan Erotic Epic - but is it really erotic? Epic? Balkan?! We discuss!
Erotic Epic Discussion
On the heft, the nudity, and the lack of bodily diversity in Marina Abramović’s latest
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Marina Abramovic’s latest work is the four-hour Balkan Erotic Epic - but is it really erotic? Epic? Balkan?! We discuss!
Exeunt headed to The Royal Albert Hall to review the spectacle and the theatre of the greatest Sumo tournament on earth...
Wrestling with it
As the Grand Sumo Tournament hits London, Emily Jupp finds theatre in its rituals
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Exeunt headed to The Royal Albert Hall to review the spectacle and the theatre of the greatest Sumo tournament on earth...
Sorry for the delay this week, but we think it was the worth the wait: we're serving up a brand new, semi-regular series, where Frank Peschier compares stage and screen musicals!
First up: the legendary 1972 movie The Harder They Comes and Suzan-Lori Parks stage musical version
First up: the legendary 1972 movie The Harder They Comes and Suzan-Lori Parks stage musical version
Frank Goes to Hollywood: The Harder They Come
In a new series, Frank Peschier compares the movie and the stage show
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Sorry for the delay this week, but we think it was the worth the wait: we're serving up a brand new, semi-regular series, where Frank Peschier compares stage and screen musicals!
First up: the legendary 1972 movie The Harder They Comes and Suzan-Lori Parks stage musical version
First up: the legendary 1972 movie The Harder They Comes and Suzan-Lori Parks stage musical version
From eating on stage to compulsory standing ovations to invisible animals… Exeunt writers on their pettiest theatre gripes
Exeunt’s (Mostly) Irrational Theatre Dislikes
A piece from the archive...
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:31 AM
From eating on stage to compulsory standing ovations to invisible animals… Exeunt writers on their pettiest theatre gripes
Lou Doyle reports from inside the wonderful world of experimental cabaret...
Late nights, freaky art, flaming weirdos: welcome to experimental cabaret
Grassroots cabaret is providing space for catharsis and rage, connection and joy - and enjoying a spike in popularity
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Lou Doyle reports from inside the wonderful world of experimental cabaret...
The review as fanfic? A review following the evolution of the novel form? A reviewer trapped inside a play, being chased around by Łukasz Twarkowski…?
It must be an Exeunt round-up!
It must be an Exeunt round-up!
Review round-up: Born With Teeth, Romans, ROHTKO, The Weir
Exeunt writers get trapped inside some recent plays
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM
The review as fanfic? A review following the evolution of the novel form? A reviewer trapped inside a play, being chased around by Łukasz Twarkowski…?
It must be an Exeunt round-up!
It must be an Exeunt round-up!
Angharad Jones, the director of (the) Woman, has written us a brilliantly honest piece about how the theatre industry treats mothers – and how complicit she can feel, too, as a director
'We're told we can have it all – and we've bought into it, like a fucked-up myth'
Angharad Jones gets honest about how the theatre industry treats mothers – and how complicit she can feel, as a director
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Angharad Jones, the director of (the) Woman, has written us a brilliantly honest piece about how the theatre industry treats mothers – and how complicit she can feel, too, as a director
Chris Goode's voice dominated the theatre blogging culture of the 2010s. @alicesaville.bsky.social reflects on how the abusive theatremaker used his writings to hide in plain sight
Alice points to the need for greater transparency in the theatre industry. In that spirit, this post is free to read
Alice points to the need for greater transparency in the theatre industry. In that spirit, this post is free to read
Chris Goode told the truth about who he was. How did we fail to see it?
Goode's voice dominated the theatre blogging culture of the 2010s. Alice Saville reflects on how the abusive theatremaker used his writings to hide in plain sight
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Chris Goode's voice dominated the theatre blogging culture of the 2010s. @alicesaville.bsky.social reflects on how the abusive theatremaker used his writings to hide in plain sight
Alice points to the need for greater transparency in the theatre industry. In that spirit, this post is free to read
Alice points to the need for greater transparency in the theatre industry. In that spirit, this post is free to read
Why do we interview artists before their shows open - rather than after, when we can really get stuck into it?
In this first of a new series, @hollywilliams.bsky.social interviews Emily Burns on the inspiration and intentions behind her ‘scrapbooked’ new production of Measure for Measure...
In this first of a new series, @hollywilliams.bsky.social interviews Emily Burns on the inspiration and intentions behind her ‘scrapbooked’ new production of Measure for Measure...
Post-show discussion: Emily Burns on Measure for Measure
The director on cutting Shakespeare's 'unfunny' jokes about sex workers, adding in quotes from Mary Queen of Scots, and being inspired by MAGA wives
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Why do we interview artists before their shows open - rather than after, when we can really get stuck into it?
In this first of a new series, @hollywilliams.bsky.social interviews Emily Burns on the inspiration and intentions behind her ‘scrapbooked’ new production of Measure for Measure...
In this first of a new series, @hollywilliams.bsky.social interviews Emily Burns on the inspiration and intentions behind her ‘scrapbooked’ new production of Measure for Measure...
As a special treat - and to a say a big thank you / diolch yn fawr iawn to everyone who contributed to this list of brilliant Welsh plays - today's piece is paywall-free and free to read!
The best Welsh plays: an alternative syllabus
There's never been a Welsh play as a GCSE set text. Gary Owen, Seiriol Davies, Owen Sheers, Francesca Goodridge, Tim Price and more have some suggestions....
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 26, 2025 at 10:57 AM
As a special treat - and to a say a big thank you / diolch yn fawr iawn to everyone who contributed to this list of brilliant Welsh plays - today's piece is paywall-free and free to read!
After hit TV and film versions of David Nicholls' books, now Starter for Ten and One Day are getting the musical treatment. Isobel Lewis on how it all translates...
Your starter for ten: Who is our most adaptable writer and why is it David Nicholls?
After hit TV and film versions of his books, now Starter for Ten and One Day are getting the musical treatment
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 9:52 AM
After hit TV and film versions of David Nicholls' books, now Starter for Ten and One Day are getting the musical treatment. Isobel Lewis on how it all translates...
A new British musical, Black Power Desk, honours the 'untold stories' of the UK's revolutionaries
Angelo Irving talks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo and Gail Babb about why a show about 1970s activism feels so relevant today
Angelo Irving talks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo and Gail Babb about why a show about 1970s activism feels so relevant today
A love letter to the British Black Power movement
Black Power Desk honours the 'untold stories' of the UK's revolutionaries
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 10:56 AM
A new British musical, Black Power Desk, honours the 'untold stories' of the UK's revolutionaries
Angelo Irving talks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo and Gail Babb about why a show about 1970s activism feels so relevant today
Angelo Irving talks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo and Gail Babb about why a show about 1970s activism feels so relevant today
Reposted by Exeunt Magazine
Reviewed Manchester’s Darkfield triple bill; I’m yet to see the light with their shows
As three Darkfield shows open in containers around Manchester, Matt Barton asks if they make for transporting theatre - or just a thrill ride?
What we see in the dark
As three Darkfield shows open around Manchester, Matt Barton asks if they make for transporting theatre – or just a thrill ride?
open.substack.com
September 17, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reviewed Manchester’s Darkfield triple bill; I’m yet to see the light with their shows
As three Darkfield shows open in containers around Manchester, Matt Barton asks if they make for transporting theatre - or just a thrill ride?
What we see in the dark
As three Darkfield shows open around Manchester, Matt Barton asks if they make for transporting theatre – or just a thrill ride?
open.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:26 AM
As three Darkfield shows open in containers around Manchester, Matt Barton asks if they make for transporting theatre - or just a thrill ride?
'In a way, this play has made me feel more English’
Hailey Bachrach (@bachrach.bsky.social) chats with Philip Arditti and Nina Bowers about revisiting their dark satire English King Killing Foreigners in a new political era
Hailey Bachrach (@bachrach.bsky.social) chats with Philip Arditti and Nina Bowers about revisiting their dark satire English King Killing Foreigners in a new political era
'It's a colonial invasion narrative': How Henry V inspired English Kings Killing Foreigners
In 2019, Philip Arditti and Nina Bowers took aim at both the nationalism of Shakespeare's play and the rise of 'woke'. But have those targets shifted?
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 10:13 AM
'In a way, this play has made me feel more English’
Hailey Bachrach (@bachrach.bsky.social) chats with Philip Arditti and Nina Bowers about revisiting their dark satire English King Killing Foreigners in a new political era
Hailey Bachrach (@bachrach.bsky.social) chats with Philip Arditti and Nina Bowers about revisiting their dark satire English King Killing Foreigners in a new political era
We asked d/Deaf actors and BSL interpreters to tell us all about how they use sign language on stage.
What’s it like, translating written English to BSL? Or trying to sign for multiple characters at once? Or interpreting the dense poetry of Shakespeare, or how a song is being sung in a musical?
What’s it like, translating written English to BSL? Or trying to sign for multiple characters at once? Or interpreting the dense poetry of Shakespeare, or how a song is being sung in a musical?
BSL on stage: 'It gives me the ability to express so many more things'
From signing Shakespeare to rapping in a musical: how sign language can light up our stages
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 10:41 AM
We asked d/Deaf actors and BSL interpreters to tell us all about how they use sign language on stage.
What’s it like, translating written English to BSL? Or trying to sign for multiple characters at once? Or interpreting the dense poetry of Shakespeare, or how a song is being sung in a musical?
What’s it like, translating written English to BSL? Or trying to sign for multiple characters at once? Or interpreting the dense poetry of Shakespeare, or how a song is being sung in a musical?
What theatre should you watch this autumn? THIS LOT!
Not to toot our own horn, but Exeunt writers do write about the really interesting work happening all around the country in these pieces - going beyond the same ten shows that are in your average broadsheet round-ups…
Not to toot our own horn, but Exeunt writers do write about the really interesting work happening all around the country in these pieces - going beyond the same ten shows that are in your average broadsheet round-ups…
Exeunt recommends... the best autumn theatre
Plus: reviews round-ups and a spotlight on gobscure
exeuntmagazine.substack.com
September 5, 2025 at 11:41 AM
What theatre should you watch this autumn? THIS LOT!
Not to toot our own horn, but Exeunt writers do write about the really interesting work happening all around the country in these pieces - going beyond the same ten shows that are in your average broadsheet round-ups…
Not to toot our own horn, but Exeunt writers do write about the really interesting work happening all around the country in these pieces - going beyond the same ten shows that are in your average broadsheet round-ups…