The Great Gatsby
Greenwich Theatre
6th October
3 Stars
The Great Gatsby is often touted as one of the finest pieces of 20th century American literature. Although there have been several adaptations for the screen, very few companies have tried to make it work on stage, until now…
Taking on the ambitious challenge is Blackeye Theatre, with a production adapted by Stephen Sharkey. The story is familiar to A Level students everywhere; bond trader Nick Carraway arrives in 1920s New York in search of the American dream. He moves in next door to millionaire Jay Gatsby, close to his cousin Daisy and her philandering husband, Tom. Nick becomes drawn into the world of the wealthy, caught between his feuding acquaintances and their complicated love lives.
The free flowing and conversational dialogue of Fitzgerald transfers well to the stage; one of many innovations of this production is the insertion of musical numbers from the period. This gives a fantastic opportunity for the cast to show their musical talents; they collectively sing and play all manner of instruments – nearly every single cast member jumps onto the piano at some point during the evening.
As impressive as this is, I’m not convinced that the musical numbers really add anything; they don’t really advance the plot and only make you think what could have been included from the book instead. Whilst some of the cast come from musical backgrounds, the quality of singing isn’t really consistent across the cast. It seems a shame to put them in this position (or to cast it in this way) when they are all perfectly good actors and the musical sections seem fairly superfluous.
The production is nothing if not inventive though and some of the movement on stage has a Brechtian quality to it. However, at times it does go a bit too far; after a key character was shot dead he ended up dancing around the stage for a while as a sort of ghostly figure, which felt chaotic and bizarre.
Adam Jowett is a very likable and engaging Nick Carraway, narrating the play with an easy-going affability; Tristan Pate was also enjoyably amusing and irritating as the fairly awful Tom Buchanan. We all have our own mental perceptions of literary characters but I thought Max Roll’s Gatsby lacked the mysteriousness and charisma implied by the book; sometimes Gatsby seemed a bit plain and unworthy of the curiosity he aroused.
Victoria Spearing’s set was curious, a multi-layered series of white blocks (when Gatsby put on his white suit it felt a bit like it was set in the North Pole). The person next to me loved it, but I found it a bit clinical; in a production about the opulence of the American elites it seemed a bit of a missed opportunity not to convey this on stage. The vibrant costumes (Jenny Little) went some way to addressing this, with some smart and glamorous looking outfits, from sharp suits to flapper dresses.
There are some fun aspects to the staging; there are some excellent back projections, including what looked like the eyes from the book’s cover art. Also, a point I never thought I’d make in a review; this production has a fantastic programme, complete with useful context, good insight and even a geographical map for reference; well beyond what you may expect from a smaller production.
This reimagining of The Great Gatsby has to be commended for trying something very new and different. However, the musical innovations generally distracted from rather than enhanced the text; it was the brilliant source material and some solid acting performances that really made it sing.
For further information on The Great Gatsby on tour visit www.blackeyedtheatre.co.uk
