Chester Storyhouse Theatre's summer season continues with their purpose-built outdoor theatre-in-the-round in the grounds of Grosvenor Park, and this evening I was there to witness their latest production, an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel, 'The Great Gatsby'.
Set in the roaring 1920s in and around the upper-class haunts of New York, both costumes and accents this evening were excellent. An attention to detail on both counts made for an array of interesting and varied characters, and the multi-talented cast made the most of this as many of them were tasked into playing more than one character throughout.
The intimate setting did not work quite as well as perhaps it should have done. A couple of times, the audience became involved, but certainly more could have been made of this. Mostly, the cast were acting as if they were in a conventional theatre, and outdoor performances, especially ones where the actors are on top of the audience, require a little more to make their immediacy and intimacy appropriate and a part of the production. Another problem this evening was also the audibility. No artificial amplification was used (congratulations), however, this did mean that when the cast members were facing away from me, or standing high up on the band area, dialogue was lost. Thank goodness for the surtitles, which I was forced to read from time to time in order to keep up with the narrative.
One thing I am a strong opponent of is actor/musicians. This I realise is a very personal and subjective point; but, when the characters as scripted do not play a musical instrument, and the instrument gets in the way of both their performance and character, it detracts and spoils rather than helps; and I see it simply as a cost-cutting exercise. This evening the entire cast were actor/ musicians, and of course, they worked well with what they had been tasked into doing, and their talents in this regard were obvious. Matthew Ganley moving seamlessly from suave morning suit on a drum kit, to greasy overalls and strumming a banjo for example was nicely done; but others such as an unwieldy trombone in the middle of the action on stage were somewhat clunky and intrusive.
My final negative comment has to be the fact that the backstage areas were clearly visible. I acknowledge that outdoor shows are much more "open" with their backstage normally, but when a purpose-built theatre is erected, and there is no curtain shutting off the casts' entrances / exits through the aisles from the rear of the building, it seems a little slipshod. Looking at Stage Management walking around with clipboard and headphones whilst portaloos are visible does ruin the illusion!
Fitzgerald's novel was followed precisely (as far as I remember it!), and the characters portrayed on stage this evening were excellently drawn and there was a lovely on-stage chemistry and ensemble feel between them. There were points where the pace and dynamics dipped a little too much, but generally the style and pace were set nicely and the length was perfect for this style of show. The novel, and indeed this adaptation of it, end rather tragically and downbeat, and so, quite rightly, the finale was an upbeat jazz song and dance from the whole company.
A multi-talented company put their hearts and souls into this performance, and provide us with a faithful and interesting adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Enjoyable and faithful.
As a kind of addendum or postscript to this review, audience members are warned that if the weather is too bad to perform, they will be asked to wait in the bar area for up to 45 minutes to see if it clears sufficiently for performance, which, if this happened would mean the show would end at 10:45pm. And further, the fact that this theatre has been erected in the grounds of a public park means that all the gates are not open when you leave. In fact, during the interval I asked a steward about the gates being open, and he informed me that all the park gates were kept open until 20 minutes after the performance; but this clearly was not the case, and several other audience members as well as myself were caught out by this, and found ourselves wandering around a dark, unlit, and rather wet park trying to find our nearest still open exit.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 1.8.23
on - 1.8.23
Are outdoor performances of any kind really advisable in britain, with its notoriously unpredictable weather? I would say not.
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