Reimagining of The Great Gatsby to transform Sydney Opera House this Summer

In a world-premiere event, GATSBY at The Green Light will transform the Sydney Opera House’s Studio into an unmissable experience this summer from 16 December 2023 to 25 February 2024.

A wonderland of revelry, The Green Light is set to become the hottest club in town when GATSBY, a brand new cabaret variety show inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic text, opens its doors. A century after we were first introduced to Jay Gatsby, this theatrical experience invites Sydneysiders into one of his indulgent parties for an evening of escapist fantasy.

Pulsating music will draw audiences into the club, where a troupe of entertainers whirl through the venue and across the glittering bar stage. Live vocals will accompany variety acts – including aerial, burlesque, dance, and spectacular circus. Performed by an ensemble of world-class local and international talent, GATSBY has to be seen to be believed.

With options for everyone, audiences can take their seats and watch Gatsby’s fantasy play out in front of them, or get up close and personal with the club’s characters by reserving a cabaret table complete with a 1920s inspired canapé and cocktail package. Reminiscent of speakeasies in the prohibition era, The Green Light offers a bespoke range of beverage options that have been created exclusively for this limited season, including Green Light Gimlet, the Blind Tiger Martini, and the Reggio Manhattan.

GATSBY builds on director Craig Ilott’s impressive canon of multi award-winning productions in the cabaret and variety genre. A master at creating remarkable theatrical experiences, his credits include the triple Helpmann Award-winning sensation Smoke & Mirrors, the highly acclaimed La Clique Royale for The Famous Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival, and multiple Sydney Festival hits – Band of Magicians, Pigalle and Betty Blokk-Buster Reimagined.

GATSBY also expands the longstanding partnership between llott and the Sydney Opera House, including the Tony Award-winning musical American Idiot, last summer’s blockbuster Amadeus, disco-spectacular Velvet Rewired, and L’Hôtel, Ilott’s last creative venture with GATSBY co-producer Stuart Couzens.

Our treatment of GATSBY has been akin to that of a concept album riffing on the essence of a familiar text through a new form to create an evocative experience,” shared I lott.

We’ve taken elements entrenched in the 1920s – the vaudeville, the fashion, the hospitality – and remixed them with a bold 2020s beat, with the aim of creating an evening that feels both contemporary and captivating.

Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance Ebony Bott is thrilled to be premiering this alluring new production:

There is a true timelessness to The Great Gatsby, rich with ideas that lend themselves to theatricality so perfectly. GATSBY at The Green Light has been created specifically to delight our audiences who love a summer variety spectacular, capturing all the indulgence and imagination of the era.

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Season Details

Venue: Sydney Opera House
Date: From 16 Dec 2023 to 25 Feb 2024