Immersive Theatre: The Great Gatsby
"I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." The Great Gatsby
How to even begin to explain Immersive Gatsby. It's a bit like a choose-your-own-adventure play, but the adventure chooses you. Twenties attire is encouraged, the sparklier the better. One minute you're learning the Charleston with Jordan, the next you feel a tap on your shoulder as a select few of you are beckoned away for a party game with Myrtle, a conversation with Nick, an emotional heart to heart with Daisy. You don't know where you're going or what you're doing until you get there.
It was with some trepidation that I stepped into this world in York last night. As someone incredibly shy I was a bit nervous of making an idiot of myself. But I needn't have worried. From the moment you're greeted at the door you're transported back in time to the roaring twenties, and the actors do their utmost to put you at your ease. The gin bar helps too of course.
So this is The Great Gatsby, but not as we know it. Your experience of the evening is entirely dependent on which characters you follow. I don't want to give any secrets away, but safe to say that I'll never read the book in the same way again. I left the play feeling like I was one of Daisy's closest friends, like I'd witnessed her relationship with Gatsby first hand, like I'd even had a hand in bringing them together! I witnessed first hand the aftermath of the car crash, sat with Gatsby as he awaited the message from Daisy that would never come.
Immersive Gatsby isn't just one of those plays that you want to see again. It's one you HAVE to see again, simply because you haven't seen it all yet. You've barely scratched the surface! With so much going on at the same time it's literally impossible to see everything. A lot of my journey this time was Daisy orientated, hence my affinity with her (I actually hated her in the book), and you could easily see the play multiple times and have a completely different experience each time. I've no idea how much we missed, but there were a few rooms we spotted on the way out that we hadn't visited at all throughout the course of the evening. It's worth mentioning though that all the significant events play out in the main party room for all to see, and a friend who had never seen/read Gatsby before followed the story just fine - so it isn't just for those who are well clued up on the novel.
The actors themselves were incredible. Whilst large chunks of the play are scripted - Nick in particular quotes substantial chunks of the novel's narrative, and all of the memorable quotations from other characters are in there - there is also a LOT of improvisation and audience interaction. And they are never taken off guard. They stay in character one hundred percent of the time - during the interval they're mingling with the guests (we had a fairly long chat with Tom and Nick), and even if you encounter them in the loos they don't break their stride!
I was impressed, transported, and thoroughly entertained. It was the last performance in York last night, but if you find yourself in London anytime soon then I'd recommend a visit to Gatsby's Drugstore to party with The Guild of Misrule!
How to even begin to explain Immersive Gatsby. It's a bit like a choose-your-own-adventure play, but the adventure chooses you. Twenties attire is encouraged, the sparklier the better. One minute you're learning the Charleston with Jordan, the next you feel a tap on your shoulder as a select few of you are beckoned away for a party game with Myrtle, a conversation with Nick, an emotional heart to heart with Daisy. You don't know where you're going or what you're doing until you get there.
It was with some trepidation that I stepped into this world in York last night. As someone incredibly shy I was a bit nervous of making an idiot of myself. But I needn't have worried. From the moment you're greeted at the door you're transported back in time to the roaring twenties, and the actors do their utmost to put you at your ease. The gin bar helps too of course.So this is The Great Gatsby, but not as we know it. Your experience of the evening is entirely dependent on which characters you follow. I don't want to give any secrets away, but safe to say that I'll never read the book in the same way again. I left the play feeling like I was one of Daisy's closest friends, like I'd witnessed her relationship with Gatsby first hand, like I'd even had a hand in bringing them together! I witnessed first hand the aftermath of the car crash, sat with Gatsby as he awaited the message from Daisy that would never come.
Immersive Gatsby isn't just one of those plays that you want to see again. It's one you HAVE to see again, simply because you haven't seen it all yet. You've barely scratched the surface! With so much going on at the same time it's literally impossible to see everything. A lot of my journey this time was Daisy orientated, hence my affinity with her (I actually hated her in the book), and you could easily see the play multiple times and have a completely different experience each time. I've no idea how much we missed, but there were a few rooms we spotted on the way out that we hadn't visited at all throughout the course of the evening. It's worth mentioning though that all the significant events play out in the main party room for all to see, and a friend who had never seen/read Gatsby before followed the story just fine - so it isn't just for those who are well clued up on the novel.
The actors themselves were incredible. Whilst large chunks of the play are scripted - Nick in particular quotes substantial chunks of the novel's narrative, and all of the memorable quotations from other characters are in there - there is also a LOT of improvisation and audience interaction. And they are never taken off guard. They stay in character one hundred percent of the time - during the interval they're mingling with the guests (we had a fairly long chat with Tom and Nick), and even if you encounter them in the loos they don't break their stride!
I was impressed, transported, and thoroughly entertained. It was the last performance in York last night, but if you find yourself in London anytime soon then I'd recommend a visit to Gatsby's Drugstore to party with The Guild of Misrule!
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