Cast announced for new adaptation of The Great Gatsby

Elizabeth Newman has adapted F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and casting has been revealed.

A Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Derby Theatre co-production, the new staging marks 100 years since the iconic tale was published.

Sarah Brigham will direct a cast that features Celeste Collier as Myrtle Chase, Tyler Collins as Tom Buchanan, April Nerissa Hudson as Jordan Baker and Mrs Mckee, Leah Jamieson as Catherine, Oraine Johnson as Jay Gatsby, David Rankine as Nick Carraway, Jerome Lincoln as Wolfshiem Jnr, Fiona Wood as Daisy Buchanan and Louis Newman as Wilson and Mr Mckee. The cast will play all the other roles.

Also on the creative team are musical director Shonagh Murray, set and costume designer Jen McGinley, sound designer Ivan Stott, lighting designer Emma Jones, movement director Sasha Harrington, fight director Robin Hellier, and associate director Laura Ryder.

Newman said: “It is a great privilege to be adapting The Great Gatsby for two extraordinary theatres like Derby Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre. To live in F Scott Fitzgerald’s world has been a privilege. It’s been a world of intrigue, fun, passion, pain and glamour. He has created a truly extraordinary tale that has withstood the test of time because of its power and unwavering resonance to now be regarded by many as one of the great American classics.

“Fitzgerald tapped into the profundity of one’s personal struggle to arrive at the self that you want to be and how entangled this is, and will most likely always be, with who you love and who loves you. Writing this adaptation has taken me to interesting places where I have found myself investigating the toxicity of cynicism, the impact of class on the self-made individual and jazz music, which is probably less surprising.”

“What I know is Sarah and the team are doing the most exceptional job to bring this story to life, and I cannot wait for the production to meet its audience.”

Brigham added: “I’m really excited to be directing this stylish new adaptation. Elizabeth Newman’s reworking of the classic novel will transport audiences to the drama and opulence of the roaring twenties. A company of actor musicians will bring both the Jazz Age and F Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless tale to life in a way that is both true to the original story and fresh for modern audiences. The themes of class, longing, corruption and obsession are as relevant today as ever and this searing drama will leave audiences captivated and breathless.

“Derby Theatre is thrilled to be co-producing this production with Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Both theatres delight in presenting ambitiously popular works to our audiences and in offering fresh perspectives on classic tales through a contemporary lens.”

The Great Gatsby will play at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 27 June to 25 September, before transferring to Derby Theatre from 3 to 25 October.