Northern Ballet: The Great Gatsby At New Theatre, Cardiff Review

Reviewed by Mrs_Taylor

What a show! F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is about glamorous parties, opulence and wealth and all consuming love in the roaring twenties and this was definitely a feast for the eyes. Everything was superb – the dancers, the music, the costumes and the lighting all worked so well together to create a truly outstanding performance.

Firstly as soon as you get to your seats you can see the Northern Ballet Sinfonia, the live orchestra which travels around the UK with the Company. Throughout the performance they played beautifully and really helped set the scene. I had seats in the circle which was perfect for seeing the stage but did mean I had to lean over if I wanted to see the orchestra playing. However although the orchestra was amazing this is probably a good thing as once the show started there was so much to watch on stage without getting sidetracked by anything else!

One thing I did find interesting was that several of the scenes had music with lyrics which I wasn’t expecting for a ballet but it definitely worked – both the party with the gramophone and then the love song with Jay and Daisy really helped create the right ambience.

The set and lighting was also very impressive – with the movement of fabric and partition walls they were able to create many different locations without ever having to add too much to the stage. I particularly liked how many of the dancers were servants and while in their role they helped with the change of set by removing items or pulling fabric across the stage.

As already mentioned all the dancers were fantastic but the extravagant dance at Jay Gatsby’s house is a highlight! I could have watched that particular dance scene for hours. It just worked so well, the costumes were beautiful and the way the stage changed from day to night was fantastic.

The Great Gatsby is a book that most people know, or have at least heard of and I would recommend knowing the story before seeing this performance. Having read the book I understood every scene and could see exactly what the characters were trying to achieve but I do wonder if that would have been the same if I didn’t know what to expect. There are quite a few main characters to get used to and to work out what relationship they have with other people was a bit confusing. But I do feel that even if you hadn’t been completely sure of what a certain scene had been about you would have still understood the emotions that they were trying to portray.

David Nixon has created a stylish production filled with talented ballet dancers who can effortlessly move from one style of dance to the next. The choreography really shows just how much emotion and nuance you can get from dancers. This was such an incredible performance, the choreography and costumes were sublime and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Rating: 5/5

Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes (inc. interval) starting at 7.30pm

At: New Theatre, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3LN

Ticket prices: £16 – £42 and may include a £3.65 transaction fee to your order

Tickets can be booked by visiting:

https://newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/Online/tickets-the-great-gatsby-cardiff-2021