The Great Gatsby experience was something that I will never forget. To find his location it was down an alley and it didn’t have a large sign to show where it was. In fact we walked almost by it, but we saw a gentleman dressed up in a 1900’s suit who asked us if we were here at Mr Gatsby’s Party? Upon entering we were told to wait in the stairwell. A few minutes later we had an actor address us, again in full costume, who informed us of the party rules. It was a fun way to introduce the guests and also inform the guests that phones didnt exist, so don’t have them out! The venu was a bar space and an open room with some tables spaced out with an elevated surface that held a grand piano and other instruments. There was no real seating, because the show was everywhere. It could be right next to you, it could be in the middle of the room, or in other rooms entirely!
At the very beginning before the show started, the actors were walking around and interacting with the audience. We danced at the beginning with them to some music, they then had us come up and they taught us how to dance and we danced for and with them during the beginning number. It was a simple charleston step but it was so fun! The story took place in lots of other side rooms that were all decorated and hand curated. It really made you feel like you were at a party and gossiping among the party guests.
Leah, Brendan, Margaret and I were hand selected by the actress playing Daisy. She often found us in the crowd of people and ask us to follow her into another room to continue the story. It was such a fast paced experience that was unlike any theatre experience I have had before. It was a full 360 experience because you never knew where the action was going to start.
Something I thought was interesting about this experience is finding the line between your real opinion, and also helping the actors continue the story. For example, Tom asked us to hand a note to George saying that poor people don’t have as developed brains, so he had to cancel their deal. In this moment he was asking us to deliver a note to the other actor. Now of course, thats not true at all, but in the moment it was one of those things were you nod to the actor and think “its for the story its for the story its for the story”. Overall it was a great theatre experience that I enjoyed immensely.
Theatre in London U of A 