It’s not a real iguanodon tooth, I don’t think. Though in a story about how to interpret the material world and humanity’s place within it, identification is an unusually fraught subject. Dinomania by Kandinsky at New Diorama is a brilliantly theatrical tour of the fossil frenzy and dino debates of the mid-19th century. A project of deep research and wanton invention, of feeling and flair, it’s … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the hoof pick in Equus
The most fascinating tool on the Swiss army knife was surely the curved implement designed for scraping stones out of horses’ hooves. Undeniably practical yet destined to sulk unused in most urban lives. Except in Peter Shaffer’s Equus, where it gleams forth to hideous effect. Ned Bennett’s galvanic production for English Touring Theatre and Stratford East sets it at the time of the 1973 … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the feather boa in Follies
Solange LaFitte is mooching backstage at the dilapidated New York theatre. Everyone has arrived at the Weismann follies reunion party, revisiting the venue where they were once the dazzling epitome of showgirl glamour. They’ve all grabbed a drink, squealed at long lost buddies and curled a lip at long-grudged rivals. Stephen Sondheim’s musical Follies (directed by Dominic Cooke at London's … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the celery in Berberian Sound Studio
Some props have extended stage careers. Swords debut shiny and new in Romeo and Juliet and keep clattering away until they’re finally battered to bits in Coriolanus. Tankards roll sturdily from Henry IV to A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Others? One night and you’re over. That’s showbiz, baby. In Berberian Sound Studio at London's Donmar, the celery and carrot, the cabbage and water melons, all … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the strap-on in When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other
12 variations on a prop 1 garage There is stuff you expect to find in a garage. A car (an Audi, registration FE13 MXP). Metal shelving, peg board. Strip lighting that tints everything stark and queasy. A toolbox. Gaffer tape. An Amazon delivery box (there’s always a swoosh-marked Amazon box). They’re all here in Vicki Mortimer’s design. There’s also a strap-on. 2 set-up The plot of … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the suicide note in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
There aren’t many props in dance. Some may intrude on classical ballet, though only the most trad production will drag out the shiny swords and goblets. Otherwise, anything that gets in the way of bodies is considered clutter, and faces the full Marie Kondo. After all, there’s a reason those tights and tutus don’t have pockets. That’s not the case in Matthew Bourne’s production of Swan Lake for … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the dagger in The Double Dealer
You know what to expect when people want to wave something about in a flirty Restoration comedy. Fan? Check. Snuff box? Check. Dagger. Wait, what? The Double Dealer is a young writer’s comedy that springily reinvents the rules. Restoration comedies are often tales of love and money, set in a contemporary London so precisely plotted that you could follow the action on Google Maps. But William … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the beer in Sweat
We don’t see the sweat in Sweat. It dries grimily on the skin, sinks into workclothes, or is sluiced off at home. In Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-winning drama, set in America’s rusting rust belt, sweat is the index of manual labour at the steelworks, effort and vigilance distilled to salty droplets. On your feet all day, straining back and bunions – yet aircon is reserved for management, who can sit … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the crown and buckets in Richard II
Richard II gives up power – though it’s not his choice. His cousin Henry Bolingbroke has returned from exile, led a rebellion, become king of the castle. Richard’s toppled monarch is now a dirty rascal. Shakespeare stages this concretely – a crown passed from one to another. The supposed divinity of majesty proves portable as a party hat. Richard, as often, reaches for an arresting metaphor: here, … [Read more...]
Propwatch: the balloons in Company
When your life is a perplexity – because your friends are needy-bossy, your cute boys aren’t quite right, your choices are urgent but confused – the last thing you need is balloons. Specifically, huge silver balloons bumping along behind you and reminding you how old you are. Bobbie (Rosalie Craig), heroine of Marianne Elliott’s gloriously rethought version of Sondheim’s Company, hoists herself … [Read more...]