How we keep our coverage independent

Readers should know who pays for what they are reading. These are the rules we follow, and the ones we expect to be held to.

Editorial independence

Theatres, producers, press agents and ticket sellers do not see our coverage before publication and cannot buy, change or remove it. Editorial decisions are made by the editor alone. Advertising and partnerships are handled separately from reporting.

Press tickets and hosted visits

Where a theatre or producer provides press tickets, travel, accommodation or meals, we say so at the top of the review. Press tickets do not guarantee coverage and do not guarantee a good review. We give the same star rating and scorecard, in the same way, whoever paid.

• We state who provided the tickets and what was included.
• We say what we paid for ourselves.
• Where we could not test something, we say that too.

Partnerships, affiliate links and sponsored content

If we earn money when you click a link or book through a partner, we label it clearly beside the link. Sponsored or paid-for content is marked as such at the top of the page and is kept visually apart from our journalism. We follow UK advertising rules on labelling.

Each such article carries a visible label (Sponsored, Affiliate links or Hosted trip) in lists and on the page, and paid links are marked as paid for search engines. Any adverts on the site are placed by us, are labelled "Advert", and are kept apart from stories.

Donations

Readers can support the site with a one-off donation through our secure donation page (payments are handled by Stripe). Donations help with running costs. They do not buy coverage, do not give anyone a say in what we publish, and are not accepted from the companies we cover in return for favourable treatment.

How we report

• We prefer primary sources: company statements, producers' announcements, box office information and first-hand observation.
• We link to sources where we can, and describe them where we cannot.
• Rumours are labelled as rumours. We do not publish unverified claims as fact.
• Press releases are treated as claims, not as findings.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it quickly and add a dated note at the foot of the article saying what changed and when. To report a mistake, use the contact page.

Images and illustrations

Photographs are ours or credited. Illustrations, diagrams and generated images are labelled as such, and are never presented as photographs of a real production or event.

Conflicts of interest

Writers disclose any financial or personal connection to a subject before they cover it. If a conflict cannot be managed, another writer takes the story.

Star ratings and scorecards

Every review carries an overall star rating from 1 to 5 and, where we can, five scores out of 10: performances, direction, staging, music and value. Audience star ratings on show pages are separate, are moderated, and never change our own rating.

POLICY VERSION 1 · REVIEWED AT LAUNCH AND EVERY SIX MONTHS