The Great Gatsby: An Immersive Theatrical Experience

When they said it was an immersive theatrical experience, they were not making it up. Just minutes after stepping into the century old terrace in Sydney’s Kings Cross you are part of the action.

The intimate audience of forty lean at a bar, squeeze up and down stairs, sit on leather lounges, and are ushered into different rooms, never sure where the action will take place.

A phone might ring behind a curtain and out pops a glamorous hand with a receiver. A character might sidle up to you at the bar and you chew the fat about the Great Gatsby – so how did he make his fortune?

You sit down in one spot and don’t get too comfortable because a leading man or lady might politely ask you to move, as you are sitting on the set piece for the next scene.

One moment the fiery Tom Buchanan (Joshua McElroy) and his feisty mistress Myrtle Wilson (Alicia Quinn) were having a loud bang up behind a closed door. Later you are at a fabulous party enjoying music and some fancy footwork in roaring 20’s style with a free glass of champagne. Next there is a saucy burlesque screamer with twirling red tassels in just the right places.

Writer, producer and pianist Aaron Robuck stayed close to the classic book by F Scott Fitzgerald for the key plot points, with some splashes of contemporary music thrown into the mix.  

Nick Carroway (Ryan Hodson) was sharp as the unsettled narrator, trying to figure out who his mysterious neighbour really was, whilst fending off amorous advances.

The ladies - Daisy Buchanan (Jessica Redmayne) and Jordan Baker (Hannah Raven) - were stylish.

Finally, the mysterious Jay Gatsby (J.C Peardon) turned up after teasingly appearing behind a curtain, and the drama picked up a notch.

The look of the rooms is stunning. Designer Brendan de la Hay has decorated them with lavish chandeliers and deep leather couches - dark brooding rooms contrasting with splashes of bright coloured curtains.

The audience members who enjoyed it the most, came dressed for a Gatsby party and loved every minute of the experience. It had the feel of being in an exotic nightclub.

However, as audience members did not have to wear a mask whilst holding a drink, it meant that social distancing was, at times, non-existent.

Overall, it was a fabulous night of entertainment, requiring mobility and a good sense of fun.

David Spicer

Photographer: © Aaron Lyon iota media