Last Updated on October 18, 2025
Story Telling in Dance from Northern Ballet.
F Scott Fitzgerald’s tale of the glamorous but tragic Jay Gatsby, set in the 1920s, is the basis for David Nixon’s iconic ballet of the same name. A complex story of unrequited love with an undercurrent of subterfuge and treachery, the superficial high life led by the eponymous hero is brought to life on stage in what has become one of Northern Ballet’s signature works. With music by Sir Richard Rodney Bennet featuring hits from the 20’s and beautifully integrated into a cinematic style score played by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia, the production is at one level delightful entertainment, though those who have read the book will know that the ending is dark.
Nixon’s choreography makes use of a series of flashbacks, with the mature Gatsby (Josephy Taylor) and Daisy (Dominique Larose) mirrored by their younger selves with Harris Beattie as a uniformed young Gatsby and Rachael Gillespie as the Edwardian costumed young Daisy. It’s a clever device that makes for a comprehensible and accessible storyline. The quartet danced elegantly with a memorable pas de deux in Act II between Daisy and Gatsby as he convinces her of his love. Gillespie’s footwork fluttered appropriately throughout with easy elevation in the lifts and stunning line.
But, Daisy is married to Tom (Gavin McCraig) and has a daughter – she’s torn between family life and her old love.
Tom’s own dark secret in the form of his mistress, Myrtle Wilson (Helen Bogatch) is the twist which eventually appears to tighten the noose in his relationship with Daisy. Danced stunningly by Bogatch, Myrtle is a true seductress with lithe, expressively provocative movements that complement the exquisite lines of her husband, Garage owner and mechanic George Wilson (George Liang). His own opening sequence with a tyre as prop was plaintive and moving.
Throughout the ballet, Nick ( Sean Bates), who is the ‘narrator’ and Daisy’s cousin was elegant and charming while his own love, Jordan Baker (Heather Lehan) danced convincingly and played her role as a keen golfer with conviction.
If the soloists were stunning, the corp was impeccable. Party Guests, housekeeper, maids and butlers and ‘People of New York/Gangsters/Myrtles’s Friends’ all had their place. There was a ‘Lowry goes to New York’ moment where the people of the Big Apple swarmed the streets. There was a Charleston and more, all danced on pointe at the parties and there were furtive and suspicious gangsters appearing from the wings. With truly fabulous costumes from the Northern Ballet’s in house team, there was an exuberance and joy on stage throughout Gatsby’s grand parties, and in Tom and Myrtle’s New York hideaway.
Evocative set design by Jérôme Kaplan was complemented by fabulous lighting by Tim Mitchell. In the scenes where Gatsby looks longingly over to the green light that is Daisy’s house, we were transported to Long Island in the 20s, with big skies and a striking pier. There are extraordinary moments in this deceptively simple staging when, for instance, the infamous yellow motor car appears or when the stage is set for yet another party with garlands of flowers descending from the stage rigging. And, the mirrored wall, which variously shows distorted images of the dancers or of their younger counterparts, created an ethereal effect.
It’s fitting that this stunning work, which earned former Artistic Director David Nixon a nomination for Best Classical Choreography in the 2014 National Dance Awards returns 10 years after the show premiered and in Federico Bonelli’s first year as the new Artistic Director. Northern Ballet is planning to bring back two more of David Nixon’s productions – Beauty & the Beast and The Nutcracker (upcoming tour dates listed below) so that we can all enjoy the storytelling and charm of Northern Ballet and the Northern Ballet Sinfonia.
The Great Gatsby runs until 20th May 2023
Sadler’s Wells
Rosebery Avenue,
London,
EC1R 4TN
Box Office: 020 7863 8000 or from the Sadler’s Wells website
Beauty and the Beast
Nottingham Theatre Royal 4-7 October 2023
Newcastle Theatre Royal 7-11 November 2023
Norwich Theatre Royal 21-25 November 2023
Leeds Grand Theatre – 4-9 June 2024
Leeds Grand Theatre 29 November – 10 December 2023
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