REVIEW: JASON The Goat Exchange/Marcus Amaglo at Crescent, The Vaults Festival 24 – 29 Jan 2023

‘… sure to be a standout event in the festival’s busy programme’ ★★★★★

The Goat Exchange’s JASON, co-directed by the whole company, is a verbatim re-enactment of the filming of Shirley Clarke’s 1967 documentary ‘The Portrait of Jason’. This impressive piece takes the audience live onto the hostile set of Jason’s theatrical re-telling of his life as a black, queer hustler, nightclub performer, and so-called prostitute. What seems like an extremely difficult task in re-creating such a complex character and replicating archived footage is executed effortlessly by this talented company.

The way in which the verbatim script has been pieced together is seamless. We smoothly jump from clip to clip and are thrown straight into the hectic world of Jason from the word go.

As Marcus Amaglo (Jason) offers an impeccable performance, the audience can see the archived footage of the real Jason Holliday from 1966 and a live recording of Amaglo on stage playing out on four small screens in front of them. As Amaglo’s monologues go on we quickly forget which one is the real Jason, which one is live on stage, and which one we are watching through screens. Amaglo’s ability to imitate Jason is mesmerising to watch - particularly as we have the original footage being played out in front us. His ear piece, to keep him in the voice of the real Jason, is not hidden - but even then the audience is in awe of how this actor can become a man as complicated as Jason. We are told by Clarke from the beginning that it is hard to tell if much of what Jason says is performance or truth. But there certainly is complete truth in Amaglo’s embodiment of his character.

The videos of the live action and of the archived footage are sophisticatedly managed and filmed, live on stage, by video and sound designers Mitchell Polonsky and Louis Rembges, filming expertly from a tripod and iPhone. In the shadows of the Crescent space Shirley Clarke (Chloe Claudel) and Carl Lee (Ju Zahkarii) watch on with as much bewilderment and intrigue as the audience members, making occasional interjections at Jason, prodding and poking him throughout. It is such convincing and committed performances from Amaglo and the ensemble that convinces the audience that they are live on set, in Hotel Chelsea’s penthouse apartment, in 1966. This directorial choice and use of space is something that high-calibre directors would hope to emulate.

It feels like this piece deserves to go beyond The Vaults festival and is sure to be a standout event in the festival’s busy programme. It feels far from amateur and I urge somewhere like the Young Vic to notice this production and what the company have been able to achieve. My only advice for those going to watch this play is to perhaps do a little research about Jason Holliday and Clarke’s “Portrait of Jason” before you enter the space - as nothing is really explained to you about who this man is and what his documentary meant at the time. For me, I liked not being in the know and just learning about Jason as Amaglo performed him. However, there were certainly references and moments may have hit me better if I had known more about the historical context before I arrived.

JASON The Goat Exchange/Marcus Amaglo at Crescent, The Vaults Festival 24 – 29 Jan 2023

21:00,20:30,14:45 (60 mins)

Tickets from £13.00

Box Office https://vaultfestival.com/events/jason/

Reviewed by Amy Tickner

Amy is a theatre maker based in North London. She has directed for many companies at various pub theatres across London and her debut play ‘Jammy Dodgers’ had successful runs at Theatre N16, Etcetera Theatre, The Cockpit, and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.