About Exits & Entrances

There are a lot of secrets in theatre. We’d like to share some of them.

Not secret secrets, necessarily. More the huge store of knowledge that people working in theatre accumulate along the way – and which can be surprisingly difficult to access if you don’t already know the right people to ask.

How do you take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe when you’ve never done it before? What does it actually cost? What does being a cover in a major musical or West End show really involve? How do you approach a theatre with your work? What does a producer actually do? How do you direct in the round, perform in unusual spaces, find rehearsal rooms on a tiny budget, get your first press coverage, or pick yourself up after an unsuccessful funding application?

And what can we learn from the people who are already out there doing all of those things?

Exits & Entrances is an independent theatre publication dedicated to finding out.

We write about how theatre is made, experienced and sustained – through interviews, profiles, reviews, practical resources, essays, behind-the-scenes features, industry news and conversations with the people who make it happen.

We are particularly interested in the routes into theatre-making that don’t always appear in prospectuses or career guides. The independent companies creating ambitious work on tiny budgets. The fringe artists doing five jobs at once. The actor learning a role they may never be called upon to play. The producers figuring it out as they go along. The career-changer starting again, later than most of their peers. The freelance artists working outside conventional theatre buildings. The people making extraordinary things without enormous marketing departments behind them. And the people who would love to join them but aren’t quite sure where the entrance is…

Theatre belongs to everyone – not just to those who have enough money to access or create it, or who know the right people to invite them in.

You shouldn’t need to have gone to the right drama school, grown up around theatre, have a substantial bank balance, or possess an overflowing contacts book to understand how the industry works – or to find your own way into it.

So, we ask questions. We talk to people doing the jobs and ask them what they’ve learnt and how? What they would do differently next time and why? We look behind the finished production at the hard work that got it there. We share useful resources and opportunities. We review theatre thoughtfully and independently. And we explore the ideas, challenges, mistakes and discoveries that make this strange and magical industry worth persevering with.

Who is Exits & Entrances for?

People who make theatre. People who want to. And people who simply love it and want to know a little more about what happens before the curtain rises – or after it falls.

Because the fewer secrets we keep about how it all actually works, the more entrances we can create into the industry – and the more interesting our stages, companies and stories can become.

Would you like to write for us, invite us to review your work, or submit any news, announcements or opportunities for potential inclusion on our News from the Wings page? Visit our Contact page to find out how to get in touch.

Now, please take your seats, as the show is about to begin...