Lyn Gardner

Theatre critic and educator

A graduate in drama and English from the University of Kent, Gardner was a founding member of the City Limits magazine, a cooperative for which she edited the theatre section. Later, she was a contributor to The Independent.

Gardner joined The Guardian as theatre critic in 1995, and remained on the paper for twenty-three years, taking a particular interest in fringe and more alternative theatre, while Michael Billington covered the most mainstream productions. Latterly, she was writing 130 reviews and 28,000 words of features annually, as well as 150 posts a year for an online blog for the paper, begun in 2008. The paper discontinued her blog in 2017, citing cost pressures, and the following year let her go.

Since June 2017 Gardner had been an associate editor of The Stage newspaper, where she continues to write her theatre blog. Gardner was also taken on to teach an MA in Dramatic Writing at Drama Centre London at Central Saint Martins.

Children's writer

Gardner is a writer of children's novels, the earliest being Into the Woods (2006) and Out of the Woods (2010), both illustrated by Mini Grey and published by David Fickling Books. ISFDB catalogues it as the "Storm Eden" series.

She has written six further children's novels for Nosy Crow, known as the "Stage School Series", based on a young girl named Olivia attending Stage School. They have been well received, and a final seventh book was published in July 2013. The first in the series was Olivia's First Term.

References

1. (3 October 2007). "Lyn Gardner Profile". [[The Guardian]].
2. Masso, Giverny. (13 March 2017). "''Guardian'' ends blog deal with Lyn Gardner". The Stage.
3. Forsdick, Sam. (11 May 2018). "Guardian theatre critic of 23 years Lyn Gardner to stop writing for newspaper".
4. Wood, Alex. (15 May 2018). ["Key industry figures sign open letter to the ''Guardian'' in support of Lyn Gardner]"](https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/open-letter-lyn-gardner-guardian-critic_46508.html).
5. Snow, Georgia. (1 June 2017). "Lyn Gardner joins ''The Stage'' as associate editor". The Stage.
6. Giorgetti, Sandra. (3 June 2017). "New roles for Lyn Gardner". British Theatre Guide.
7. Norfolk, Pam. (23 October 2012). "Olivia's Enchanted Summer by Lyn Gardner". IOM Today.
8. (18 September 2014). "Reading is a hassle, mom! Oliveia's Curtain Call". Child Magazine (books blog).