Paid freelance theatre reviews across Sydney and NSW. $100 AUD per piece, 14-day turnaround. Applications open for Sydney Fringe 2026 and the wider NSW season. Apply via form.
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Sydney Dramaturgical is a web magazine started by a theatre company. We critique performance from inside the industry and welcome writers who come from performance.
In the lead-up to Sydney Fringe 2026 (September) and the wider NSW season, we're taking applications from writers physically based in Sydney or elsewhere in NSW to join our commissioning roster for reviews.
The roster is our pool of active reviewers, writers we know we might commission when a show comes up.
Sydney Fringe 2026 previews soon — apply this week if you can.
Fringe previews run at the end of August, ahead of the September festival dates. If you're in Sydney or NSW and can attend preview performances or September shows, apply now and let us know about availability in your application.
Everything should go through the form on this page. Applications sent by email or through LinkedIn won't be read; nor will those without a writing sample.
The form asks for:
We aim to reply within two weeks.
Reviewers join the roster first, and specific reviews are commissioned second. Each review is approved individually by the editor before you attend the show.
A distinct critical voice — specific and idiosyncratic turns of phrase, embodied and lived-in observations, willingness to argue.
Structural reading — reviewers who can articulate what a show is doing, not just whether it worked. What was the piece trying to be? What formal choices did it make? What did those choices mean? Star ratings and thumbs-up-thumbs-down verdicts aren't what we publish.
Openness to a range of forms — we also commission reviews of dance, live art, opera, cabaret, physical theatre, puppetry, and adjacent forms.
Timely, well-shaped writing — reviews and interviews are dispatches, in the window where the show still exists as something readers might see. If a review can't be timely, it becomes something else (an essay, a retrospective piece), which is different work and paid differently.
Practitioner perspective is welcome. SDC started as a theatre company and we critique from inside the industry. Writers with a performance background (actors, directors, dramaturgs, designers, stage managers, musicians who work in live performance) have a specific critical vantage that mainstream criticism often lacks. If that's your background, tell us in your application.
Sydney Fringe runs across September and is a significant commissioning window. Previews at the end of August are the current priority.
Beyond Fringe, we cover the year-round NSW independent scene: Belvoir St, Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin, KXT Broadway, Old Fitz, Old 505, Riverside Parramatta, Actors Pulse Playhouse, Meraki Arts Bar, Flight Path, PACT, Two80, Erskineville Town Hall, Carriageworks, Firstdraft, Verge, and elsewhere. Even the Sydney Convention Centre. Theatre, dance, live art, opera, cabaret, even conferences — whatever is happening in a room with an audience.
If there are specific companies, venues, or programming strands you follow closely, tell us in your application.
Reviews should trust the reader to understand a position from the text.
No reviews from press releases. Every review is about a production you attended in person.
No content-marketing writing as your only sample. Branded content, sponsored roundups, and house-style listicles are artforms in themselves — but they aren't evidence of the kind of critical writing SDC publishes. If your professional portfolio is entirely in that register, send us something else too: a personal essay, an unpublished draft, a blog piece.
No AI writing. We use AI for administrative work but not for editorial writing, and we ask you to hold to the same distinction. Using AI as a research assistant or a proofing tool is fine, but it's 2026 — we can tell when significant chunks are not from you.
No coverage of shows you're involved in. If you're in a show, or your partner or a close collaborator is, we won't publish your review of it. Adjacent pieces are possible with the involvement declared, such as an interview with a collaborator, an essay about a technique/movement/genre the show belongs to, etc.
We also commission essays and interviews from writers across all three of our cities.
Use the same form. Note in your application that you're pitching essays or interviews, and what or who you have in mind.
Do I need published bylines to apply? No. Unpublished samples are fine.
How long does the roster application take? Two to four weeks typically.
Can I pitch a show I've already seen? If you saw it in the last four weeks.
Can I write for you if I live in regional NSW? Yes, as long as you can reliably get to shows you're commissioned to review.
Do you commission previews? Yes, all the time, mostly for major festivals. Sydney Fringe 2026 previews (end of August) are the current priority. If you can cover previews, flag preview availability in your application and we'll prioritise reading it.
What is the emerging rate? For writers early in their publishing life, we offer a $50 AUD reviewer commission with editorial mentorship.
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