David Jays
@mrdavidjays.bsky.social
Writer and editor on theatre, dance. Guardian, London Standard, Dance Gazette, Why Dance Matters podcast.
Finally, a piece exploring youth dance in London, which I thought would become pessimistic (because funding, infrastructure) but the enthusiasm and smarts of the youngers are infectious www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
The battle to keep London's youth dancing
The landscape for youth dance is uncertain, but a few strong voices and organisations are continuing to push for its teaching as a transformative performing art
standard.co.uk
Also kind of loved this batshit crazy show last week www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Anyway here's my latest tabloid dance gubbins - on Aakash Odedra's throbbingly vivid Songs of the Bulbul www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Songs of the Bulbul at Sadler’s Wells East review: tumultuous and cinematic
With chords crashing and vocals soaring, it feels like a finale erupts every five minutes
standard.co.uk
"I love your dance reviews," said someone at the theatre last night. "They’re so tabloid!" Which is... thank you?
‘I would go-go dance in a shower then work on sonnets!’ Ncuti Gatwa’s sexy new Shakespearean drama Cheeky Gatwa talks to David Jays in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
‘I would go-go dance in a shower then work on sonnets!’ Ncuti Gatwa’s sexy new Shakespearean drama
After surviving the whirlwind of Doctor Who, the actor returns to the stage in ‘horny Elizabethan drama’ Born With Teeth. He and co-star Edward Bluemel discuss bust lips, hot pants and queering the Ba...
theguardian.com
Elliot Levey is a terrific actor - and such a lovely writer. This is so good on sharing the stage with Michael Gambon's Falstaff: "It got to the point where I was permanently wet, we all were. Michael would throw a water bomb at me as I walked on stage." www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
The play that changed my life: ‘Michael Gambon’s offstage anarchy as Falstaff made the show better’
When Elliot Levey was cast in Henry IV, Parts One and Two, he didn’t expect water-bombing, corpsing and a character redefined by new teeth
theguardian.com
So this was fun: spoke to Ncuti Gatwa & Edward Bluemel about queering the classics, the best level of fame and Ncuti's student gig as a go-go dancer. (And a bit of Doctor Who obvs) www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
‘I would go-go dance in a shower then work on sonnets!’ Ncuti Gatwa’s sexy new Shakespearean drama
After surviving the whirlwind of Doctor Who, the actor returns to the stage in ‘horny Elizabethan drama’ Born With Teeth. He and co-star Edward Bluemel discuss bust lips, hot pants and queering the Ba...
theguardian.com
Everything Sam Knight writes is golden. He's gleefully good on Jack Draper: "In person, he is large-limbed but contained. He is a jock who might have got a little fucked up last night but is now being polite to someone’s parents. (He might also be about to eat the contents of their fridge.)"
The New Yorker@newyorker.com · last yr.Each year, Britain sends forth its best young men and women in the hope of a homegrown Wimbledon champion, no matter how good at tennis they actually are. Sam Knight reports on the fate of this year's crop.
Wonderful review from @mrdavidjays.bsky.social of Intimate Apparel at the Donmar - who tells me he would have liked to have been able to mention the magnificent costumes by Alex Berry, as well as praise for the entire cast, but word count forbad. www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
Intimate Apparel review – Lynn Nottage’s exquisitely stitched tale of a seamstress’s dreams
Samira Wiley is superb as a corset-maker who embroiders dreams for herself and others in Lynette Linton’s tremendous production
theguardian.com
This Bitter Earth review: every scene ends in a strop or a snog & Billy Porter's production presses down hard on the pedals www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
This Bitter Earth review – fighting and flirting in a wild ride steered by Billy Porter
There is crackling chemistry in Harrison David Rivers’ two-hander starring Omari Douglas and Alexander Lincoln
theguardian.com
LOVED Intimate Apparel. Lynette Linton is a wonderful director of actors - performances in her shows are always warm and ample. A company of talents surpass themselves, in a show rich with care. Loved it. www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
Intimate Apparel review – Lynn Nottage’s exquisitely stitched tale of a seamstress’s dreams
Samira Wiley is superb as a corset-maker who embroiders dreams for herself and others in Lynette Linton’s tremendous production
theguardian.com
We saw Elton from afar, not to mention Dame Penelope Wilton: a good night for star spotting at Quadrophenia, but the real dazzle was on stage www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet at Sadler's Wells review: 'you can’t look away'
A glittering opening night for The Who’s ballet included a star-making performance from Paris Fitzpatrick
standard.co.uk
Dream Ballets at the Open Air was a lovely idea: pairing serious dance talent to lush Rodgers & Hammerstein. But still can't work out how/why all 3 choreographers staged versions of the same limiting scenario www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Dream Ballets: A Triple Bill at Regents Park review: flawed but endearing
This collation of ballets from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s game-changing musicals is packed with treats, but still feels diluted
standard.co.uk
Loved revisiting Theatr Clwyd to see the redeveloped theatre (had a hard hat tour, a day out doesn’t get better than this). And Tick, tick... boom! is a punchy opening show - a statement of intent about the urgent necessity of making art www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/j...
Tick, tick … Boom! review – a triumphant shout for theatrical ambition
Performed and designed with gusto, Jonathan Larson’s zippy musical about creative passion is a fitting show to relaunch this cherished Welsh stage
theguardian.com
In Matthew Bourne's The Midnight Bell, everyone drinks so much you may feel slightly squiffy yourself. It's furtive glances, dire couplings and blotto all the way to bedtime www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
The Midnight Bell at Sadler’s Wells review: a splendidly seedy dance drama
Matthew Bourne peers into the aching hearts frequenting a seedy 1930s pub in his production’s latest work
standard.co.uk
We used to see a load of Robert Lepage shows in London. This Macbeth doesn't sound great, but still makes me want to see more of his boggling sense of stage design
aisling murphy@aislingmurph.bsky.social · last yr.The first disappointment of this year's Stratford Festival: Robert Lepage's visually impressive but dramatically underbaked Macbeth. Review online now @theglobeandmail.com: www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre...
Also! I met lord of the theatre poster Bob King. Enjoyed hearing about strong graphic design, and even more about the dog which got sent home in a taxi when his owner went on to the theatre www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/m...
From nude Harry Potter to a scribbled Hitler: meet the man behind theatre’s most eye-grabbing posters
He created the iconic Phantom of the Opera mask, made Daniel Radcliffe go topless and even had his Führer design banned on the tube. Theatreland’s go-to graphic artist Bob King talks us through his bo...
theguardian.com
Reviewed flamenco diva Sara Baras at Sadler's Wells. Phenomenal footwork and a beast of a curtain call that is quite possibly still going on www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Excited to see The Frogs - you should get a badge every time you add an unseen Sondheim to your list. It's not great, but it's Sondheim www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/m...
‘Please don’t fart, this is art’ – Stephen Sondheim’s musical The Frogs review
A droll Dionysos, an ab-obsessed himbo and a waddling ballet for goggle-clad frogs can’t outshine Sondheim’s songs in this rarely seen version of the ancient Greek satire
theguardian.com
Review catch up - Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre, choreographed by Cathy Marston, is slightly overstuffed - but reminded me of happy days bunking off to read the novel (adult David would never etc) www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Jane Eyre at Sadler’s Wells: 'thickets of men blunt the emotional force'
Northern Ballet’s take on Jane Eyre is faithful to the book but is a little over-stuffed
standard.co.uk
Had a delightful chat with Crystal Pite - still giggling at the genius choreographer insisting she really REALLY doesn't like choreographing www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Probably the world's greatest choreographer does not like choreographing
Crystal Pite is in demand around the world for her visceral, epic work but for the Canadian artist, the demands of creation means the journey to success can be a struggle
standard.co.uk
One of the most emotional interviews I've done in a while - with the brilliant choreographer & movement director Coral Messam, on Stranger Things, Steve McQueen & the stroke that changed everything www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/m...
‘I was on the top of the world. Then I couldn’t walk’: go-to choreographer Coral Messam
She had just finished working with Steve McQueen and was starting on the Stranger Things stage show when she had a stroke. But the movement director is determined to come back stronger
theguardian.com
Review! Fun was had at the opening night of Breakin'Convention - especially the entranced young ones next to me, starting solemn then bobbing & whooping with the best www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells review: a bank holiday bonanza
The street dance festival kicked off with a high octane dance battle for Fierce Friday
standard.co.uk
Three-headed creativity, angry sweat-drenched dance, plus the easiest pitch of my career - I meet (La)Horde as they collab with Rambert www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
France's edgiest dance collective hits the Southbank: 'this is the energy of now'
Britain’s leading contemporary dance company Rambert are bringing over ultra-cool French collective (La) Horde for the first in a series of cutting edge collaborations
standard.co.uk
The (not-so) secret lives of #RutgersLaw lawyers👏
Christina S. Ho@christinasho.bsky.social · last yr.Alright: the ballet/health policy crossover content that you didn’t even know you needed this weekend—me talking with the Royal Academy of Dance about embodied rites of social cooperation, about the agitprop adult ballet collective we organized in Beijing 1/ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
It was a delight to chat ballet with Christina for Why Dance Matters - and especially her reflections on dance class as a sanctuary in turbulent times and on ballet as a model for civil society. Love it when non-dance pros bring unexpected perspectives and experiences to the podcast.
Christina S. Ho@christinasho.bsky.social · last yr.Alright: the ballet/health policy crossover content that you didn’t even know you needed this weekend—me talking with the Royal Academy of Dance about embodied rites of social cooperation, about the agitprop adult ballet collective we organized in Beijing 1/ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
REVIEW It’s only Torvill & Dean! Art and cheese skate arm in arm here, but they keep it classy www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/a...
Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance review – Olympic champs’ classy glide down memory lane
This highlight reel of totemic routines interspersed with some dazzling cast numbers showcases the couple’s former greatness and timeless elegance
theguardian.com
REVIEW I had the best time at The Forsythe Programme (ENB @sadlerswells.bsky.social) - exhilarating experiment and wall-to-wall panache. I could watch Playlist every day and never lose this goofy grin www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
The Forsythe Programme at Sadler’s Wells: cerebral and sassy
American choreographer Forsythe’s triple bill at English National Ballet is a triumph of experimentation and fun
standard.co.uk
REVIEW Holly Blakey's new double bill. Raw and febrile, and the moves come at you with dizzying speed. www.standard.co.uk/culture/danc...
Holly Blakey at Queen Elizabeth Hall review: a glinting fever review
This marmite choreographer serves up raw, dirty and dizzying moves in her latest double bill
standard.co.uk
