Over the years, Northern Ballet has set quite a high benchmark for ballet productions, and any audience member who is worth their salt as a ballet fan would no doubt have tickets for this new touring version of the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby, lovingly created by David Nixon OBE. So much is Nixon part of the very fabric of this show, that he not only provides the choreography and direction but also the initial scenario and costume design (assisted by Julie Anderson).
The short answer is probably yes if you want to experience ballet for the first time. The Great Gatsby is considerably more accessible than other less familiar tales being told by ballet. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, The Great Gatsby is now described as an American classic, despite its initial failure, and the tale itself fits actually very well for a ballet conversion. The lustre and lavishness of 1920s America and the power and corruption that came from the bond business tell a perfect ballet tale. The Great Gatsby is all about parties, power, opulence and traumatic relationships. In its compact story, it has it all.
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As Gatsby, Joseph Taylor has the hardest job of all, and while he effortlessly looks the part and dances with the demeanour, you would expect of Gatsby, his silence speaks volumes and Gatsby without voice is much less interesting. He rises in his moments with Daisy though, performed beautifully by Abigail Prudames. It happily tells of a happier time, created from Gatsby’s memory of how it was, and the power of their partnership is one of the strongest of the show.
Alongside this, we often see a shadow of their former selves as a young and less troubled Gatsby and Daisy, performed by Harris Beattie and Rachael Gillespie, dancing in parallel with their older counterparts. It is beautifully done.
Sean Bates as Nick Carraway is brilliant, his look and style are perfect and he really captivates from his first appearance. He has a beauty of movement which quickly becomes a delight to the eyes.
My favourites, however, are the gritty and stunning performances of Riku Ito as mechanic George and his wife Myrtle, played by Minju Kang. Their ruggedness is magnificent, especially Ito, the perfect opposite of the style and grace of the other characters. Their scenes of love-making are beautifully told through a stunning piece of dance. There is also some amazing work done alongside a tyre which shows such precision in control. Stunning!
The company is equally excellent. The effortlessly controlled help who whisk the sets on and off with beauty in themselves. Then there are the busy streets of New York powerfully created in a busy street scene. Finally, of course, we have the parties, the many parties. These, with Nixon’s costume design, simply ooze the 20s and one sequence of Charleston is a decisive moment.
The set design from Jérôme Kaplan is simplicity itself, never crowding the stage to the detriment of the performers, but wonderfully enhancing every scene and forming lovely backdrops alongside Tim Mitchell’s beautiful lighting.
Finally, the music, by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett CBE, is stunningly created by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia. The music weaves around a highly contrasting mixture of genres but never feels out of place. Be they a bit of jazz, ragtime or the Charleston moments, they perfectly blend into the action on the stage. There is, most dramatically, an incredible moment in which the orchestra simply performs percussion. The music, like the dancing, is a delight.
The Greats Gatsby is a brilliant piece of theatre, not quite perfect, the story can be challenging to follow at times unless you are overly familiar with the story. It is, however, stunningly beautiful to watch. The costumes are pitch-perfect for the era, and the dancing is, with little surprise really, perfect.
A great dance spectacle oozing class and glamour.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
