Gatz | Adelaide Festival 2026

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Date Reviewed: 13/03/2026

Venturing into an eight hour stage production — even knowing there will be three intervals — naturally comes with a touch of trepidation. But those who take the plunge with Elevator Repair Service’s Gatz are richly rewarded.

Founded in 1991, Elevator Repair Service is a New York City–based company creating original works for live theatre with an ongoing ensemble. It is widely regarded as one of New York’s most highly acclaimed experimental theatre companies, and its many accolades are well deserved.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, published in 1925 and set amid the glittering excess of the Jazz Age, has sold millions of copies, inspired multiple film adaptations, and remained a staple of high school English classrooms for decades. I first encountered it in Year 11 English, later enjoyed several screen versions, and was impressed by Adelaide’s Independent Theatre group’s excellent 2015 production at the Space Theatre.

Gatz, however, surpasses them all.

This is not an adaptation of the novel - it is, quite literally, a complete reading of Fitzgerald’s text. Since its 2006 premiere in Brussels, the production has toured internationally to sustained critical acclaim.

When we take our seats, the curtain is already up, revealing a quintessentially dreary office space - desktop computers, a typewriter, filing cabinets, and boxes of paperwork. The set never changes, and the curtain never falls.

A lone figure, Gavin Price, sits at a desk on the edge of the stage — and there he remains for the duration. He contributes both his technical skills as the production’s sound engineer, and his acting talents in a series of fleeting but memorable character appearances. His police officer in particular was a delight.

An office worker arrives for the day only to discover his computer isn’t working. While waiting for assistance, he finds a copy of The Great Gatsby on his desk and begins to read. As he does, other employees drift into the office, quietly settling into their daily tasks and routines. Their movements begin to subtly echo moments from the novel. Almost imperceptibly, the office workers become the characters of the story, and we find ourselves fully immersed in the world of Jay Gatsby and his obsessive longing for his former love, Daisy Buchanan, now married to Tom Buchanan.

From the very first lines, the audience is drawn in by the spellbinding voice and impeccable intonation of Scott Shepherd – office worker and now also character Nick Carraway — neighbour of Gatsby, bondsman, and narrator of the story. The brilliance of this staging is its unobtrusive ingenuity. The window at the back of the set subtly transforms throughout the performance, lending weight to changes in location as the office space becomes, among other places, the site of Gatsby’s lavish parties, mechanic’s shop, city apartments, and, of course, Daisy and Tom’s home.

The sound design deserves special praise. Traffic noise, partygoers, sudden accidents — each is perfectly attuned to the shifting atmosphere. The soundscape is always just enough, rising and falling with exquisite restraint.

Jim Fletcher’s Gatsby is superb. An imposing figure - understated, polite, and quietly composed. Lucy Taylor, an Australian actress who trained at the Victorian College of the Arts before relocating to New York to join Elevator Repair Service, brings a nuanced complexity to Daisy while Susie Sokol plays Jordan Baker, the somewhat dishonest, cynical and competitive professional golfer to perfection. Gary Wilmes is solid as Tom.

Maggie Hoffman, Laurena Allan, Frank Boyd, Mike Iveson, Vin Knight, Kristen Sieh, and Terence Crawford make up the cast – all faultless.

Scott Shepherd’s delivery of the final chapters, performed without reference to the book, is impressive. Even more astonishing is the fact that he has reportedly memorised the entire novel.

Fitzgerald’s prose is so beautifully written, and being in the audience feels like a return to the comfort of a time when stories were read aloud — carefully, attentively, and without distraction. This production resists theatrical excess. We are not dazzled by extravagant sets or dictated by someone else’s interpretation of the characters’ backstories. Instead, we are trusted to listen.

Gatz is a theatrical marathon, yes, but it is also a rare and deeply rewarding experience - immersive, intelligent, and profoundly moving.

Reviewed by Deb Secombe