GUILD’S GROUNDBREAKING GATSBY.
From Thursday 3 – Thursday 31 December, the Guild of Misrule bring to life F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic story of The Great Gatsby in an entirely interactive and completely unique style. The venue is The Fleeting Arms on Gillygate in York and the performance will take place across all three floors of the building, throwing the audience into the centre of the novel’s 1920s world of red hot jazz and bootleg liquor.
This exciting immersive production, part performance and part installation, will tell the story of Gatsby using free form narrative; surrounding and entwining the audience as they participate and become characters themselves. As they make their way from room to room, specialitycocktails and a curated sound design will bring them even deeper into the world of Jay Gatsby.
Alexander Wright (Belt Up Theatre) of the Guild of Misrule said:
The story is one of excess, of too much money, of dancing too hard and with no consideration for the consequences. Set in the run up to the Wall Street Crash, the story chimes well with our current age. York has not seen anything like this before, we can guarantee.
Well-known faces from the York area will be playing the professional roles in the company: Michael Lambourne, last seen in York Theatre Royal’s production of The Railway Children, joins the company; Phil Grainger, who recently directed Easingwold’s promenade production of Alice in Wonderland and Tabitha Grove, currently touring in Clap Trap Theatre’s production of Broken. Amie Burns Walker, who played Juliet in The Flanagan Collective’s Romeo and Juliet, returns to York along with Holly Beasley Garrigan from Romeo and Juliet and Fine Chisel. Ollie Tilney, who took to the West End for a year-long run in Mamma Mia, completes the company with Thomas Mellar from Secret Cinema
The Fleeting Arms is a pop up pub and arts space on Gillygate, in the centre of York. Since March 2015 the space has played host to productions, installations, gigs, exhibitions, rehearsals, events and some pretty swinging parties. Established by the arts community of York, The Fleeting Arms provides a free and open creative space for people to play, make and mingle with a good drink in hand. The Great Gatsby runs across December, with specially curated Gatsby Lates after the show on Friday and Saturday nights. Cocktails and food will be on offer across the performances.
Alexander continued:
We’re having a special show on the 23rd December for Christmas – that’s going to be quite amazing. And we’re hosting the New Year’s Eve party to end all New Year’s Eve parties on the 31st December – the very last night of The Fleeting Arms. Every Christmas, the city would elect a Lord of Misrule to wreak havoc across the festive period. This would end with a big supper, where all the masters served all the servants. So we are here, as stewards of the Guild, to cause a little more chaos, to offer something new and exciting for the festive period.’
Tickets for The Great Gatsby are on sale now priced £10 (previews) – £15 from York Theatre Royal Box Office in person, over the phone on 01904 623568 or securely online fromyorktheatreroyal.co.uk. £1 transaction fee per booking applies. Audiences are encouraged to dress for the occasion and to bring their dancing shoes.