The Great Gatsby- Northern Ballet, Leeds, Sheffield, London (March-May 2023)

[San Perregrino]

This delightfully imagined, thoughtfully staged and beautifully danced production opened its run at Sadlers Wells to huge acclaim last night. NB’s  dancers shone as they shimmered and shimmied across the stage.
nb Although advertised as ‘Sold Out’ for the run a few returns are coming back each day so worth checking the website. NB continues to go from strength to strength under its new Artistic Director 

[bangorballetboy]

I'm going tomorrow (as is The Duke of Edinburgh, apparently)

[Sim]

I’m at the matinee so I guess I won’t be seeing forum royalty nor Royal royalty!  

[Blossom]

I’m on my way for this evening’s performance, very much looking forward!

[LinMM]

Probably a bit too soon to say Northern are going from Strength to strength under their new Director just yet! Though he was giving a lively speech at Sadlers last night to invited guests on the Mezzanine level!! 

[LinMM]

Just a word of advice if thinking of going to this if it’s a long time since you’ve read the book seen the film/play etc then do buy a Programme first ( a good value programme) I didn’t buy until the interval so didn’t have time to get a grip on who was who which would have made this much more enjoyable even though now from my post performance vantage point can see the story telling was in fact pretty clear in the ballet….if you know the basics!! 

[LinMM]

I went to see this yesterday and made the mistake of thinking the story was more firmly in my memory than it was! 
I’ve never read the book have seen bits of the film but not all the way through and the last time I connected in was to a Radio 4 production….which was in fact very good! 
So initially I thought the character Nick in his whitish classy suit was Gatsby and didn’t realise Daisy was married to Tom and was confused to who the girlfriend of Nick was. I also didn’t realise Nick and Daisy were related! 
Although in the initial scenes I got that Daisy was admired by many young soldiers I hadn’t connected that one of the relationships was more important than another and that that one was with Gatsby ..until later on ..as had spent some time thinking Nick was Gatsby!! 

Well of course when you know you know and it’s all obvious! 
Anyway got some of it sorted in the interval so enjoyed the second half much more. 
I think Gatsby comes across as sympathetic in this version as you could believe his love for Daisy was deep and true rather than obsessive and this was beautifully danced by Joseph Taylor such an elegant dancer with lovely lines. Some of the pas de deux with Daisy were beautiful. And what a role for a dancer is Daisy! It must be exhausting as is on the stage so much of the time and having to show the nuances of her relationships with Gatsby Tom and Nick. Dominique Larose was superb last night totally believable and not even sure if she’s a Principal dancer as such. But all the main characters were acutely drawn in this ballet by the dancers with some great tense scenes brilliantly brought out by the choreography.  Tom ( Gavin McCaig ) gave off that menace of possessing “what was his” and the unfortunate George (George Liang) gave a particularly anguished and tortured performance of his love for Muriel and her betrayal and his humiliation at those “ above him” his frustration caught beautifully when he found the expensive bracelet …. a star performance from him! 
I enjoyed Heather Lehan as Daisy’s friend her performance just nicely understated I thought as if attending lots of parties was just part of the daily scene no big deal! Nick danced by Sean Bates was another big role as in lots of scenes and he gave a strong performance another beautiful dancer. 
In the end I got the scenes of the young Daisy coming back to truly haunt Gatsby…you can rarely turn back the past and make it a reality for today. Young Daisy was danced with lovely softness and romanticism by Rachael Gillespie a dancer I’ve liked very much before when saw her last summer. 

The ending was both dramatic and shocking and not revealing here! 
The costumes for this ballet are really attractive perfectly capturing “the Gatsby period” must be a real treat for the dancers to wear and a treat for the audience as well …great antidote to knickers and vests!!! 
Of course the parties are a wonderful opportunity for lots of raucous group dancing of the period so much to enjoy. Just two tiny negatives…I still don’t like dancers suddenly shouting out even though meant to contribute to the heady atmosphere and I did think some of the big dance scenes though really well done went on just a tad too long on two occasions. I wanted more of the drama sooner!! 
I’d definitely like to see again as I know I’d have enjoyed the first half more now I’m thoroughly re acquainted with the story. You wouldn’t think that a novel with so many complex relationships going on would work as a ballet but Northern Ballet shows it can and does it perfectly. 

By the way this Jonathon Lo does get around a bit…he was conducting last night so has been very busy lately hot footing it from the ROH. I reckon he had some fun last night such a jaunty score I wouldn’t be surprised if his feet were doing the odd Charleston move along to the score!! 


 

Edited May 17, 2023 by LinMM

[San Perregrino]

4 hours ago, LinMM said:

Just a word of advice if thinking of going to this if it’s a long time since you’ve read the book seen the film/play etc then do buy a Programme first ( a good value programme) I didn’t buy until the interval so didn’t have time to get a grip on who was who which would have made this much more enjoyable even though now from my post performance vantage point can see the story telling was in fact pretty clear in the ballet….if you know the basics!! 

the NB website has a very good character Who’s Who and Story breakdown, scene by scene which I discovered on the way to Sadlers Wells. 

[LinMM]

Yes it’s very good in the Programme too! And lo and behold the Programme comes with a cast list….Thankyou Northern or Sadlers Wells (or both!) 

I see your name is in the Programme Janet! 

[Blossom]

Very much enjoyed Gatsby last night. Also found it hard to get into the story in the first half because I couldn’t quite remember the characters’ names which disconnected me a bit.

 

Loved the simple designs and the gorgeous costumes which reflected the roaring 20s well. The combination of classical and jazz music also worked well for me. There was some spectacular dancing and was pleased to see some real classical steps being danced unlike many 21st century ‘ballet’ productions. However, there was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on in Act 1 but had by act 2 which was that the dance style are so eclectic/diverse, mirroring the music arranged, so that this felt more like a Matthew Bourne production with some ballet in the mix. That’s not to say it was a bad thing at all.

 

Unlike most new ballets (or even some old ones) the storytelling was pretty strong, except I got a bit confused by the shady characters who were there to convey how Gatsby had made his fortunes (in the book through bootlegging through prohibition- the ROH certainly wouldn’t want his ill gotten gains), but also found the character to be too sympathetic and not as self interested and extravagant as he is to read or see in the film version.
 

Some exquisite dancing from the lead characters.
 

Federico Bonelli sat in the most central stalls seat last night in about row G by my estimation (I was a few rows behind) - proudly supporting his company, which was lovely to see. Keen to see how his directorship will impact the company over the next few years.
 

 

[Sim]

I just saw the matinee. I really enjoyed it, and there’s much to recommend it.  I’m not sure that it quite captures the abject despair and desolation of the novel, but it’s a joy to watch. I’m not too familiar with Northern Ballet but based on the lovely dancing I’ve just seen I want to get to know them better.  
 

I highly recommend that anyone going gets onto NB’s wonderful website and reads the synopsis and the character descriptions in advance.  

[LinMM]

Is anyone else having a problem reading Jan Parry’s Great Gatsby review in Gramilano? I can’t get past the “consent” to cookies button! 
I tried googling it separately but eventually comes to the same page and it doesn’t seem to be accepting my consent! 
I particularly wanted to see Jan Parrys review. 

Edited May 19, 2023 by LinMM

[Jan McNulty]

No problems at all either from the link I posted or going to the gramilao site and clicking on it there but I can't get on to it from my mobile.  As you say, I can't get past the cookie consent button.

[capybara]

No problems for me either, and an interesting review.

Sometimes, on Gramilano, the ‘sign up to the Newsletter’ invitation can be hard to get rid of but, otherwise, it’s a fairly user-friendly site on any device.

[LinMM]

I’ve never had probs before but definitely can’t get in today ..I’m always on a mobile device!! 

[LinMM]

Well finally got to read the Revue have no idea why it wouldn’t let me in this morning. 
I always like to know what Jan Parry has to say though she obviously didn’t mind the dancers shouting out so much!! 
But it’s interesting with critics….I read a revue of one who I won’t name here but had written a previous revue of Great Gatsby and the one from the other night in London  is identical word for word to the previous one. So now not sure whether this critic was actually there and just risked the identical revue from before or was there and thought they had nothing more to add ( at least it was pretty nearly the same cast) so might as well use the same revue again! Perhaps this is usual for critics so that feeling one can have sometimes that were they at the same performance as yourself might not be too far from the truth!! 
 

Regards the ballet…after doing some reading around I guess people who know the book really well might find Daisy and Gatsby harder to recognise! 
I was disappointed to find out that in the book Daisy is very much cooler towards Gatsby….and he is perhaps not such a nice character as comes across in the ballet or perhaps more ambiguous and more obsessional about Daisy as wanting her for himself than truly in love😥
Also I never got that Tom was richer and more “old money” whilst Gatsby was more the  “nouveau riche type”  I thought it seemed the other way around in the ballet as Tom comes across a bit rough whilst Gatsby is more sophisticated and romantic!! 

Nevertheless I think Nixons version does work really well for the ballet though …as leads to so many lovely pas de deux between the two Daisys and Gatsby …anyway I prefer believing that they both still love each other for real but Daisy can’t leave because of her child etc!! 

[art_enthusiast]

I'm going tonight, just wanted to check if Angel station is now open?
I haven't been for a while

[zxDaveM]

34 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

I'm going tonight, just wanted to check if Angel station is now open?
I haven't been for a while

 

yes, no problems there (I was there last night)

[art_enthusiast]

Thank you.

Very brilliant performance tonight.

I hope it will be streamed at some point.

[AnnabelCharles]

So do I. I loved this show and really want to see it again. I thought it managed to integrate the narrative into the choreography seamlessly so neither was compromised - something I felt didn't quite work in Like Water for Chocolate and to an even greater extent in Frankenstein, where the narrative took precedence over the dance in places, undermining its impact. There was a stilled hush where I was sitting, with people completely engrossed in the performance.

 

Apart from this, as others have said, the setting, lighting and costumes were absolutely gorgeous - and enhanced the whole instead of distracting.

 

Thought Northern Ballet terrific - very much looking forward to seeing them again.