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Performance Monkey

David Jays on theatre and dance

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Archives for June 2019

Propwatch: the lighter in Venice Preserved

June 27, 2019 by David Jays Leave a Comment

In the opening scene of Venice Preserved at the RSC, a rebel recruits a desperate friend to the cause. His indignation is scorching hot, so of course he pulls out a lighter, itching to burn the rotten state to the ground. In Thomas Otway’s tense, too much neglected Restoration tragedy (1682), a viciously corrupt Venice has reduced Jaffeir (Michael Grady-Hall) to ruin. He covertly married a … [Read more...]

Propwatch: the telephone in Present Laughter

June 26, 2019 by David Jays Leave a Comment

Did you see that video of two teenagers baffled by a dial-up phone? Nothing is guaranteed to make you feel jurassic like watching the routine technology of your childhood appear irrefutably foreign. In an age when even buttons feel vintage – when, let’s face it, the idea of making actual phone calls rather than messaging seems pretty bloody weird – no wonder post-millennials boggle at such a … [Read more...]

Propwatch: the seeds in King Hedley II

June 11, 2019 by David Jays Leave a Comment

Some props haul their own metaphors on stage with them. When King (Aaron Pierre), recently released from prison, sprinkles flower seeds over an unpromising scrub of soil outside his Pittsburgh home – well, you don’t need dramaturgical skills to wonder if the severely challenged little seeds will mirror King’s own struggle to nurture a new, post-prison life. King Hedley II, August Wilson’s 2001 … [Read more...]

Propwatch: the stuffed duck in Rutherford & Son

June 3, 2019 by David Jays Leave a Comment

There’s barely a scrap of frivolity in the Rutherford home. The home of a Tyneside manufacturing family in the 1910s, it’s imposing, substantial, stuffed to the gunwhales with heavy furniture – yet you struggle to spot anything that isn’t grimly functional or solid enough to break your toe should you drop it. Whatever else it is, the house of Rutherford is not a house of fun. Githa Sowerby … [Read more...]

David Jays

I am a writer and critic on performance, books and film and currently write for, among others, the Sunday Times and the Guardian. I edit Dance Gazette, the magazine of the Royal Academy of Dance. I’m also a lifelong Londoner: it’s the perfect city for connecting to art forms that both look back and spring forward. [Read More]

Performance Monkey

This is what theatre and dance audiences do: we sit in the dark, watching performances. And then, if it seems worth it, we think about what we've seen, and how it made us feel. The blog should be a conversation, so please comment on the posts and add your thoughts. You know what I've always … [Read More...]

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Archives

Recent Comments

  • David Jays on Propwatch: the strap-on in When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other: “Ah yes, Alex, there was The Writer too. Purple, as I remember? Clearly it's the prop of the moment...” Feb 13, 07:18
  • Alex on Propwatch: the strap-on in When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other: “A load of total b****cks IMHO ... such a waste of two brilliant actors ... they didn't dare have an…” Feb 12, 23:45
  • David Jays on History boy: “Donald, what a fantastic memory - now, that's a production I'd have loved to have seen. And always wonderful to…” Jun 29, 18:22
  • Donald F Tirabassi on History boy: “I just read your 'History Boy' post from Feb. 2016.. Thank you for validating the power of all those RSC…” Jun 21, 21:37
  • David Jays on Propwatch: the book in The Inheritance: “That's lovely of you to say, Amina. Thank you.” Apr 18, 08:20
June 2019
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An ArtsJournal Blog

Recent Posts

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  • Propwatch: the only types of prop in the world in The Antipodes
  • Propwatch: the pig’s head in Mephisto [A Rhapsody]

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