REVIEW: Gatsby at the Green Light - Brisbane Festival

Presented by Caper & Crow, Brisbane Festival, Blackbird Brisbane and Twelfth Night Theatre

Playing 2 – 28 September, 2025

This year marks 100 years since F. Scott Fitzgerald first introduced us to Jay Gatsby, and what better way to celebrate than with a party Gatsby himself would throw?

For Brisbane Festival 2025, the Twelfth Night Theatre has been reborn. Forget the venue you thought you knew, the theatre has been reimagined as The Green Light, a sultry, shimmering cabaret club where Gatsby swans through the haze with a glass of champagne in hand.

The party begins before you even step inside. The foyer gleams with a full Gatsby glow-up: a sleek gin bar, glamorous photo spots, and a whiff of decadence in every corner. I arrive in my one and only flapper dress, somehow managing to both blend in and stand out.

Once ushered into the transformed theatre, the immersion is instant. Haze curls over cabaret tables, waiters balance trays of cocktails, flashing you a smile that make you feel like the guest of honour, before suddenly breaking into epic choreography (talk about multitasking!). The waitstaff truly serve while serving, with Jacob McPherson, Jaimie Nirvana, Maddi Xuereb, and Mariia Borysiak leading the charge, alongside their equally magnetic ensemble (sorry if you are not mentioned by name! I'm going off the BrisFest website). Whether dazzling as dancers or soaring as aerialists, they are all exquisite, weaving precision, stamina, and heat into every corner of the theatre.

Director Craig Ilott and set designers Renier Jansen van Vuuren and Stuart Couzens have transformed the Twelfth Night into a decadent playground. The staging is ingenious: a double-level structure with Gatsby himself (Spencer Craig) surveying his guests from on high, and a bar so lavishly stocked with every spirit imaginable that it becomes a glittering centrepiece rather than just a backdrop. Lighting designer Matt Marshall bathes the room (and the shelves of that bar) in shifting neon and golden spotlights.

Under Kim Moyes’ music direction, the soundtrack swings from 1920s riffs to thumping modern beats; one moment Fitzgerald’s world, the next a club floor in the Valley. The sound doesn’t just play at us, it surrounds and engulfs, an electric mix of swing, pop, and remixed anthems that pulses through the whole space. One laughter-heavy track did grate on my ears, but the accompanying act helped distract. Costumes by Mason Browne and Rose Jurd swing between era-accurate glamour and daring modern reveals, always leaving us teetering on the edge of imagination… until they don’t. Hair and makeup were flawless, glittering under the lights.

The acts come thick and fast. Choreographer Lucas Newland ensures every inch of staircases, aisles, balconies, and bar is claimed by dazzling movement. Oscar Kaufmann redefines “sexy” by entwining himself around a coat/hat stand in an aerial routine I didn’t know I needed in my life. Daniela Del Mar had jaws on the floor with her hair suspension act (yes, suspended by her hair — ouch!). Caitlin Marion Tomson-Moylan and Craig pair as Gatsby and Daisy in a sensuous aerial hoop routine floating somewhere between tragedy and ecstasy; and Tommy J. Egan taps up a storm to a jazz-infused remix of “Uptown Funk.”

One moment Florian Vandemeulebroucke is balancing glasses, the next he is dazzling us with a glow-in-the-dark juggling act. Bettie Bombshell brings cheeky comedy and fire twirling (literally), to her burlesque act, shouting “Happy Father’s Day!” to us with feral joy. Singer Georgia Sallybanks (aka Odette) stuns each time she opens her mouth; sultry vocals cutting clean through the chaos to ground the spectacle in a pulse of raw talent.

What I really adore is how every corner of the theatre is fair game. Dancers slip into the aisles, pull audience members onto their feet, strip off layers to “Mr Saxobeat,” and blur the line between cast and crowd. At one point I found myself screaming with delight as Gatsby strode past me… he ignored me, of course, but what’s a girl to do when he only has eyes for Daisy?

Spencer Craig’s Gatsby looms throughout, less a man than a phantom host. His rope act to “Dancing On My Own” cut through the glitter with an ache that felt very Fitzgerald indeed. That thread of melancholy gives the night surprising depth: among all the excess and abandon, you can’t escape the reminder that Gatsby’s world was built on longing.

The crowd was loud and gleeful (especially impressive for a Sunday night) and by the time we were showered in Gatsby-branded hundred-dollar bills and the giant champagne glass made its appearance, any restraint had definitely dissolved.

Gatsby at the Green Light is less a show you watch and more a party you tumble into. Around 80 minutes of aerial artistry, burlesque, circus, and dance, served with a martini and a wink. The pace never lags, and the freedom to duck out if you wish gives it a relaxed, club-like feel. Do heed the warnings though: there’s haze, strobe, partial nudity, adult themes, and plenty of front-row interaction. I did notice a man with a cane struggling on the stairs, so here’s hoping there is an accessible entrance to the theatre.

As part of Brisbane Festival, this feels pitch-perfect: bold, immersive, devilishly fun, and utterly alive. It’s exactly the kind of show that makes a festival feel like a citywide celebration, not just another night at the theatre. Pro tip: If you can, splash out for the VIP cabaret tables. The food and cocktails elevate the whole evening, and being right in the thick of the action makes the experience even more immersive (and steamy). Perfect for a date, a group outing, or anyone who wants to be swept into the reckless joy of Gatsby’s world.

Photography by Morgan Roberts and Daniel Boud and Prudence Upton