Saw Alexander Ekman’s Midsommarnattsdröm (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) at the Royal Opera for the third time. In part for lack of alternatives, but also because I enjoyed it the last two times.

I’ve wondered every time about the fake hay that the dancers throw around. It’s like… better hay than real hay. It’s got stalks of a good, even length; the right amount of bend and give; a nice swish and fluff. Probably also less scratchy, more durable, less dusty and less allergy-inducing than the real thing.

This time I walked up to the scene in the interval and checked the “hay”. Even up close it very much looked like hay, even though it obviously wasn’t. Very thin paper, similar to paper string, thin and durable.