GATSBY at The Green Light

Brisbane’s iconic Twelfth Night Theatre, with its storied history and rare independence as a privately owned venue, has undergone a dazzling transformation for this naughty-but-nice cabaret of fun and frivolity. Inspired by the hedonistic 1920s and the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby, the theatre is re-imagined as the millionaire’s own nightclub, a space where parties roar on in defiance of despair. The twist: instead of strict period music, the production throws in a cocktail of familiar modern songs and choreography, giving the spectacle both nostalgic flair and contemporary bite.

As a former patron of the theatre, I was immediately blown over by the decadent transformation, not only in the foyer but also the auditorium itself where the front stalls have been replaced with a vaudeville nightclub setting. The area also includes a large array of tables where VIP guests can consume a set menu amidst all the laughter, gaiety and booze - champagne and heady cocktails of course hovering at the top of the drinks menu - but with the bar area and above being the focus of entertainment.

Director Craig Ilott and designer Stuart Couzens lean into Gatsby’s endless yearning for Daisy, expanding the show’s title to include the symbolic green light at the end of his jetty, a beacon unanswered, inspiring the title of the show. That longing becomes a ghostly undertone with Gatsby’s hazy appearance, quickly swept aside as the party ignites. What follows is a whirlwind of vaudeville delights: singers, dancers, aerialists, jugglers, tap artists, even a 'drag' artist, all propelled by a tight and punchy musical accompaniment aimed at ‘rockin’-and-rollickin’ the audience, if not physically, at least mentally.

The acts are as eclectic as they are breathtaking: juggler Florian Vandemeulebroucke, recast as a magical barman, stunning with precision and charm. Daniela del Mar delivers a hair-hanging aerial routine that had the crowd holding its breath. Oscar Kaufmann’s sultry aerial hat-stand act fuses eroticism with danger, while Tommy J. Egan’s tap solo atop the bar is pure bravado. Bettie Bombshell’s fire-eating blends danger in a unique and sexy way, whilst, in dramatic contrast, Spencer Craig’s tormented Gatsby finds release in an aerial rope routine and Georgia Sallybanks lifts the room with her soaring vocals. From the rain of hundred-dollar bills to the giant champagne-glass routine, the performance serves one spectacle after another ....

Lucas Newland’s choreography gives the ensemble of dancers a dual role - as waiters serving patrons one moment, and electrifying the stage the next. Their high-energy routines, matched by Matt Marshall’s vibrant lighting design, sets the tone for an evening that rarely loses pace, pulsing with momentum.

Yet, amid all the glitter, there were moments of stylistic repetition in the latter half where the spectacle threatened to outstay its welcome. Still, the show’s core - the art of escapism – blazed through with intoxicating vitality. Just as the 1920s sought release from hardship through exuberant entertainment, so too does this production offer audiences the chance to drink, laugh, and forget their troubles, if only for a few hours.

Billed as one of the glamorous highlights of the festival with its ‘festival’ flavour as such, and with its distinct immersive hedonism - I even saw a couple carrying a bucket of champagne into the rear theatre-seated auditorium - and exuberant raunchiness, isn’t it ’kinda-quaint’, poignant, though, that the real message behind it all is a reflection of Gatsby’s, even perhaps the author’s, human hunger for connection, for love just out of reach.

It's great to see a professional cabaret of this calibre in full swing in Brisbane, dazzling on the surface, perhaps a little wistful at its core.

Brian Adamson

Photographer: Morgan Roberts