Kim Medcalf, Matilda Sturridge And Ellie Nunn Star In Gatsby At The Arts Theatre
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| By
Jacob Porteous
This Autumn, Ruby In The Dust’s acclaimed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic Jazz Age novel is back. Gatsby returns to the London stage for a limited, exclusive showcase production at the Arts Theatre.
Featuring the renowned Benoit Veillefon Orchestra, the on-stage talent includes Kim Medcalf (Sally Bowles - Rufus Norris’ Cabaret & Sam Mitchell in Eastenders) Matilda Sturridge, who starred in the premiere at the King’s Head in 2012, is reprising her role as Daisy Buchanan; and Ellie Nunn who played the eponymous Lady Windermere in Ruby In The Dust’s feted production of Lady Windermere’s Fan at The King’s Head in the Summer of 2014.
Inhabiting the sizzling heat of a 1920s New York Summer, Jay Gatsby is the man who has almost everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach... Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. Soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.
This is a portrait of a man who lives his life with all the heady, glitz and glamour of his age, a man whose name has become synonymous with an era, a man who beneath the veneer hides the seeds of self- destruction that, like the Big Crash that hung on the horizon, has come to symbolise the end of the American Dream.
Gatsby was first presented in 2012 and again in 2013 and was greeted with wide acclaim and sell out audiences on both occasions.
Gatsby Reviews:
“…Evokes the decadent rush of the jazz era and its seedy underbelly…”
TIME OUT – SHOW OF THE WEEK
“…revels delectably in the period glitz… deftly harnesses the yearning beat of jazz that echoes so perfectly the novel’s strains of heartbreak and disenchantment…”
METRO
“…Oozing class… this musical adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel grips throughout…”
THE TELEGRAPH
With over twelve productions under its belt, Ruby in the Dust has built a brand that easily includes both West End sites and shows on the fringe since its creation in 2007. Linnie Reedman, member of the Young Vic Genesis Directors programme, and acclaimed composer/musical director Joe Evans have proven themselves as innovators who present shows that integrate original music and interpolated music into the text.
As well as adapting the musical production of The Great Gatsby, they’ve received acclaim for their musical shows, and because the stamp of authenticity that they place on every production is simultaneously true to its roots and boldly original, they’ve been able to use music that already claims a steadfast audience and introduce it to new ones. They received the blessing of the Cole Porter Estate to use several Porter compositions for their production of Hutch in 2013, and from Warners, and Disney, to use the legendary Dr John's hugely popular jazz hits in their most recent production; A Midsummer Night's Dream - In New Orleans. They are now delighted to be collaborating with the renowned Benoit Veillefon Orchestra to add 'Jazz Age' authenticity to the original compositions for "Gatsby".