Saturday 9th August, 2017
Written by Jade Prince
Before we start this was an incredible night! So much glamour so prepare for lots of photos!
The Great Gatsby is an immersive theatre experience at a top secret location in the heart of London. TodayTix teamed up with the Great Gatsby and their ‘Gatsby Lates’ events to create a one of a kind evening for a lucky few TodayTix customers. How could we possibly turn down such an offer?!
The location remained secret until a few days prior to the event and it was a very obscure! Gatsby pharmacy did not reveal much as we arrived. Stepping into the building revealed three main rooms for us to explore. I was a little disappointed at this point as I was expecting a bit more however everything soon changed! (More on that bit later!) We were welcomed by the man himself, Gatsby, and told we were to have free roam of his home. Before we could run off anywhere the full welcome show began, a great introduction to what the night would hold. The cast from the show cleared the floor and performed an incredible Charleston dance routine. This was then thrown to the guests and we were all given a quick lesson.
After all of that I needed a drink and then it was time to explore. I was amazed how quickly people disappeared but then I realised where they were gong after seeing several people dashing out from behind curtains. It turned out there was a warren of rooms behind these said curtains! It was crazy! My initial impression of there only being three main rooms was completely wrong! Long corridors lined with rich coloured fabrics. A boudoir which featured Gatsby’s own stylist with an array of glamorous garments to try on. Up some stairs brought you to the bedroom which housed the hair and make-up. Two stylists creating 1920s hairstyles and make-up looks. The queue was very long for this which was to be expected! The gents were covered too with their own barber. A quick skip, step and hop through a wardrobe and you were in a room decorated with shirts, dressed and accessories to purchase. As if that wasn’t enough we discovered more. Scripts from the show and the less ‘moral’ events hidden in the basement, poker! I mean when poker is presented to one, one must have a dabble! It would simply be rude not to!
All of these events and rooms where hosted by cast members. The cast were incredible! They were not just there for the show pieces, they were mingling with the guests and really enjoying the night. I had a great conversation with Trixie. They remained in character the whole night, or until it came to a close and we had some fun in the TodayTix photo booth!
Despite the rooms being rather crowed, the larger ‘party’ rooms had the silent disco available with multiple channels to choose from playing fitting music. There were plenty of headphones to go around, too! These larger rooms all had different vibes to them with different bars that contained a variation of drinks depending on the room. One had your typical ciders, another had themed cocktails and the other, prosecco! All which were reasonably priced, may I add.
The main room (featured in the panoramic picture below) closed at around midnight after the performances. I thought that this was a little early and it also meant that the warren of rooms were no longer as accessible as before. This was a little sad. A lot of work had been put into them so it would have been nice to enjoy them for a little longer. But at this time a lot of people began leaving so a few games of poker were needed!
We didn’t miss any of the performances as characters ran around the building gathering people together with something along the lines of “Mr Gatsby is looking for everyone, he has something special for you all”. There was most certainly audience participation which was to be expected as the show itself is immersive theatre. This was seamlessly blended into snippets of the show. Absolutely stunning! The whole scene performed captivated me. I had the perfect view from the first floor and I found myself leaning on the barrier completely in love with what I was watching.
An observation I made during the welcome speech was a section where a toast was raised but not everyone was able to partake as not everyone had a drink. It would have been nice to have received a welcome drink (maybe prosecco to match the glittery event) and have that included in the ticket price. Add a little more to the immersive element, maybe?
Overall it was a great night. Seeing everyone dressed up and enjoying themselves was wonderful! I most certainly had an amazing night! I would highly recommend ‘Gatsby Lates’. It is important to note that some of the elements I experienced may not be the same as the original ‘Gatsby Lates’ because TodayTix had added a few new things. But don’t let that put you off!
For great ticket offers check out https://www.todaytix.com/shows/london
If you fancy the immersive theatre experience definitely check out the show: https://artstickets.co.uk/great-gatsby/
Ginger in the Theatre 