All stories by David Jays on BroadwayStars

Monday, March 29, 2021

How to become an outstanding actor: tips from Kenneth Rea, teacher to the stars by David Jays

The mentor to some of Britain's top performers believes the best acting comes from a childhood sense of playfulness " and is fraught with danger There's a famous yarn about Laurence Olivier …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Devastating, unviable, admin overload: UK stage companies count cost of Brexit by David Jays

New visa rules, taxes and transport restrictions are some of the hurdles British dance and theatre organisations must now overcome to tour Europe Brexit or Covid? Hardly a cheerful choice, b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 29, 2020

'Anything can happen at the seaside': the troupe who kept Britain grinning by David Jays

Tony Lidington spent 30 years with the anarchic Pierrotters. He recalls trading songs for mackerel " and lifting spirits with a little lockdown flea circus Let's start with a pierrot danglin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 14, 2020

'Blind optimism': Who would open a theatre in 2020? by David Jays

With the industry on its knees and audiences running scared, a handful of creatives have pushed on with planned new venues, determined to rise to the current challenges of making theatre Is …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 26, 2020

Somewhere: the aching sound of West Side Story's plea for utopia by David Jays

Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's ballad, which yearns for a safe place where love abounds, reflects 50s America and endures today Earlier this month, as UK theatres prepared to shut …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

'I want to protect and prepare them': why student shows attract starry directors by David Jays

Three drama school productions highlight the appeal for established names in sharing passion projects with actors flexing their performance muscles 'Strap in, lads." The Scottish playwright …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 26, 2020

'I can hear them three floors away!' The theatres where you don't have to behave by David Jays

You're meant to shut up, keep still and pay attention at the theatre " but what if that's a problem? We examine the rise of 'relaxed' spaces where anything goes It started with the toes. Som…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 13, 2020

You still hear the people sing: Les Mis protest anthem blazes from France to China by David Jays

The defiant lyrics to the classic Les Misérables track are reverberating through uprisings in Hong Kong and China It has soared during an airport sit-in, united street protests and drowned …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:03PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 28, 2020

'My surname was an albatross': Ed Stoppard on starring in his dad's new play by David Jays

The playwright's son used to find it excruciating when people called him 'Tom'. Now he's embracing his heritage in the deeply personal family drama Leopoldstadt It must be a nightmare. You'r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 26, 2020

The scandal of the £20bn bailout to slave-owning Brits by David Jays

In 1833, Britain took out a loan to compensate slave owners " only recently paid off. Juliet Gilkes Romero reveals the shameful history that inspired her play The Whip 'This gives me goosebu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 2, 2020

Fingerkickin' good: the live show where the dancers are fingers by David Jays

Can dancing digits really move an audience as much as real actors? Absolutely. Enter the miraculous, miniature world of Cold Blood, a dance and film show by Kiss & Cry Collective It's th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 30, 2019

I Am What I Am: the Jerry Herman anthem that anyone can own by David Jays

With its defiant, irresistible, glitter-ball spirit, the La Cage aux Folles showstopper has been embraced at Pride marches and the Paralympics " and defined many a diva I was leaving a weddi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Now is the winter of our GCSEs: Teenage Dick sends Richard III back to school by David Jays

What if Shakespeare's evil king was a scheming, disabled high school student? The creator and star of a new play talk sexuality, shame and why being teenage sucks Like its title character, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Electra, Oresteia and an execution: the daring designs of Hildegard Bechtler " in pictures by David Jays

The theatre designer on creating a family dinner at Agamemnon's, an election night Oedipus and the night Fiona Shaw got stuck 'You never know anything, you can only do your best." Hildegard …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 6, 2019

The Falsettos 'Jewface' row proves how easily the Jewish experience is ignored by David Jays

This West End musical, featuring a barmitzvah and the song Four Jews in a Room Bitching, deserved greater representation " and raises other questions about identity If this summer's spats in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24PM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 30, 2019

Jack Thorne and John Tiffany: 'You're the warrior, I'm the worrier!' by David Jays

After a string of hits, the writer and director are collaborating again but The End of History, a drama based on Thorne's parents, is filling him with anxiety When Jack Thorne's wife read th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 3, 2019

Captain Corelli's missing mandolin: when rehearsals go wrong by David Jays

What's the scene like in the rehearsal room in the third week? At fringe play J'Ouvert, injury leads to a frenzy. At the RSC, the actors scour footnotes. And on Captain Corelli they're in a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Sex, money and idiots in power: Restoration comedy's endless appeal by David Jays

These late 17th-century plays " with their sea of unfamiliar words " can be daunting for actors. But this disillusioned world speaks to our own age of uncertainty 'It's the most terrified I…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

'We've been ashamed of our voice': the secret history of UK Jewish theatre by David Jays

The US has a rich tradition of Jewish theatre " but in the UK it's been more circumspect. Artists from Hofesh Shechter to Tracy Ann Oberman explain why I ask the Israeli-born, British-based …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 4, 2019

From Sondheim to Dr Seuss: the jaw-dropping designs of Vicki Mortimer " in pictures by David Jays

The ghostly showgirls of Follies, Wayne McGregor's spellbinding Raven Girl and the madcap world of The Cat in the Hat have all been realised by the designer, who looks back at five of her …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 21, 2019

'You'll never play Romeo!' How character actors have the last laugh by David Jays

They have always lost out on romantic lead roles. But while glamour fades, talent endures " letting these supporting stars win the long gameWhen the actor Paul Chahidi was leaving drama scho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:04AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 7, 2018

Vicky Featherstone and Mark Ravenhill on 20 years of bold British theatre by David Jays

As the director and playwright reunite to stage The Cane at the Royal Court, they talk about their friendship and the passion and pain behind their playsAn artistic director has no secrets f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 24, 2018

Has the English National Ballet become too predictable? by David Jays

Leading dancer Laurretta Summerscales has said the endless repeats of crowd-pleasing classics is one reason she left the ENB. So why is it so keen on Swan Lake and The Nutcracker?How many sw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 12, 2018

Carmen La Cubana review " a spirited ensemble by David Jays

Sadler's Wells, LondonBizet and Hammerstein get a Cuban makeover, played out here with charm and flairCarmen, the heroine of Bizet's opera, is restless. She won't be stilled or silenced. Thi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Smack That (a Conversation) review " party games to change the world by David Jays

Barbican, LondonRhiannon Faith's urgent show uses dance and participatory theatre to raise awareness about domestic violenceThis isn't your usual game of pass-the-parcel. The silver-paper pa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 7, 2018

Machinal: how an execution gripped America and sparked a Broadway sensation by David Jays

When Rebecca Hall read it she couldn't breathe. After Fiona Shaw played the role she got letters full of loneliness. This is the true story behind Sophie Treadwell's trailblazing playIn 1927…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:32PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 21, 2018

Lear review " Shakespeare epic becomes howling hour of whimsy by David Jays

Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonValda Setterfield, doyenne of the New York dance scene, plays the ageing monarch in a collage of movement and textAnyone who has done time watching a theatrical k…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:32AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 23, 2018

Scott Ambler obituary by David Jays

Superbly expressive dancer who went on to be a choreographer and movement directorA lost man and a feral swan: it's an unlikely romance. Yet the dancer and choreographer Scott Ambler created…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 12, 2018

Circle Mirror Transformation review " sign up for Annie Baker's drama class by David Jays

Home, ManchesterDirected by Bijan Sheibani, Baker's play follows five acting students whose role play reveals more than they expect'I would like to say that I write for everyone," the US pla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 8, 2018

You want a flamingo? No problem! A rare glimpse inside the RSC's mind-boggling props HQ by David Jays

From gleaming crowns to bubbling cauldrons, from pink flamingos to forklift trucks, the Royal Shakespeare Company's gigantic prop store is a place of jaw-dropping theatrical alchemy. Our wri…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 29, 2017

The Wizard of Oz review " heartwarming romp brims with brains and courage by David Jays

Crucible, SheffieldThis delightful production boasts a wonderful, wide-eyed Dorothy, a riotous bunch of munchkins " and a scene-stealing turn from Toto the dogPublished in 1900, Frank Baum's…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off