At Fringe Guru, we don't just cover the Vault Festival; we also review shows in Edinburgh, Brighton and Buxton.  So every year, there are several shows in the Vault Festival programme which we've already reviewed elsewhere.

Of course, productions can change from run to run, so a review from elsewhere isn't guaranteed to be valid here.  But far more often than not, a 5* show in Edinburgh is still a 5* show at the Vault.

So this year, as an experiment, we're re-publishing those past reviews as part of our Vault Festival coverage.  You'll find the past reviews alongside new reviews, on our daily guide and reviews A-Z.

Just so you know, we're only re-publishing past reviews if they were 4* or above.  If we didn't love the show last time, we think it's only fair to wipe the slate clean for this fresh run.

How you can tell it's a past review

We'll always make it clear that you're looking at a past review.  We'll let you know in three ways:

• the star rating will be coloured black instead of our trademark orange;
• anywhere you see the star rating, we'll also mention the year the review was published;
• and if you click through to read the review itself, there'll be a note at the top of the page.

More details for festival participants

What's eligible to be re-published?

We'll only re-publish 4* or 5* reviews.

We'll only re-publish a past review if it's for the same production – not just the same script.  We'll use common sense to decide what "the same production" means.  For example, if we know a leading actor has changed, we probably won't count that as the same production.

And we'll only re-publish a review if it's still relevant.  Sometimes, reviews refer to current events, or talk extensively about aspects of the production which will clearly change when it moves between venues.  In these cases, we won't re-publish the review.

Why haven't you re-published my past review?

If you meet the eligibility criteria described above, then perhaps we just overlooked it.  Contact us to let us know.

I don't want you to re-publish my past review.

That's fine, contact us and we'll take it down.

You've re-published my 4* review, but I've made changes and think it's a 5* show now.

Feel free to contact us, let us know what's changed, and invite us to review again.  If we publish a new review, then it will replace the old one.  Do bear in mind though that it's uncommon for us to re-review a show we've recently reviewed elsewhere.

We think that most companies would rather we helped publicise their 4* review, than hold out for the possibility of a 5* one.  But if you disagree and want us to remove the 4* review, just contact us.

Any feedback?

This is an experiment, and we'd love to hear what you think.  If you have any comments on what we're doing or how we're doing it, please do drop us a line or talk to us on Twitter.