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The Great Gatsby

 
Joy Watters Review by Joy Watters 4 Published: 12 Jul 2025 Pitlochry Festival Theatre Show Dates: 27 Jun 2025-25 Sep 2025

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel is 100 years old this year. Over the decades, it has become a wellspring of inspiration – from silent film to lavish Hollywood movie, stage version to musical – while maintaining its place on the classic novel list.

What distinguishes this production is the synergy between adaptor and director

Pitlochry Festival Theatre joins the centennial celebrations with a stunning production, adapted for the stage by former PFT artistic director Elizabeth Newman and directed by Sarah Brigham of Derby Theatre, which co-produces the play.

What distinguishes this production is the synergy between adaptor and director in telling Fitzgerald’s story of the Jazz Age generation, with its glittering dreams and failed hopes. The ensemble shines too in its portrayal of the era’s demi-monde.

Newman’s adaptation shows a healthy respect for the original prose while reimagining the role of narrator Nick Carraway, placing him centre stage. He is a writer and, here, recounts events while nominally seeking an ending for his first novel.

Set in 1920s New York, there’s the postwar spirit of regeneration, accompanied by Prohibition. The audience’s first view of this world is a glamorous set flanked by a pair of large staircases cascading down to the stage (design by Jen McGinley and lighting by Emma Jones). It appears to lead to a fairytale world – but the reality is far removed.

David Rankine steps up to the plate as narrator Nick, who moves among the Long Island crowd. Rankine captures with ease Nick’s initial excitement in his new milieu, and his anguish as the tragic events unfold.

Nick lives next door to the nouveau riche Gatsby (Oraine Johnson), who throws big parties in his huge mansion, but little else is known about him. Nick’s cousin Daisy (Fiona Wood) lives across the bay with her husband Tom (Tyler Collins).

Finally, Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s parties and discovers that his host still holds a torch for Daisy, a former lover. Wood captures the essence of the self-centred Daisy – first revelling in rekindled love, then reverting to type and her old-money husband. Collins is loathsome as the snobbish, hypocritical Tom, who berates his wife’s affair while keeping a mistress himself.

Nick embarks on a relationship with professional sportswoman Jordan Baker. April Nerissa Hudson imbues her with a superior chilliness and a sense of entitlement.

The Pitlochry ensemble’s actor-musicians intermittently serve as a house band, perched above the action, encapsulating the Jazz Age (musical direction by Shonagh Murray). Their songs and tunes are intrinsic to the play, with Ivan Stott’s foreboding soundscape guiding the audience towards its tragic conclusion.

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The Blurb:

Set in the summer of 1922, this gripping story unfolds in the West Egg district of Long Island. Nick Carraway has moved from the Midwest and soon meets his neighbour the enigmatic Jay Gatsby, who throws lavish parties every night in his opulent mansion to entertain the rich and famous. A self-made millionaire with a mysterious past, Gatsby is desperate to reunite with his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. 

A bond forms between Nick and Gatsby, revealing a poignant story of unfulfilled dreams and the relentless pursuit of an impossible happiness. As the narrative progresses, we witness Gatsby’s passionate quest for Daisy, entangled with themes of love, betrayal, and the American Dream. Daisy, torn between Gatsby and her husband Tom, a man of wealth and infidelity, faces heart-wrenching choices that culminate in a tragic finale. 

This new adaptation brings F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic characters and vivid imagery to life set against the backdrop of the glitzy and glamourous Jazz Age.  

One of literature’s most enduring masterpieces, The Great Gatsby captures a world where dreams are grand, yet fleeting, and every moment is a step towards an inevitable reckoning.