Immersive LDN Opens With Transfer Of THE GREAT GATSBY

IMMERSIVE | LDN is a 32,000sq ft historic building in the heart of Mayfair, which was home to the Queen Victoria's Rifles Association until 2017. It includes three floors of immersive theatre and event spaces designated for performance, live gaming, events, escape rooms and private parties. For information about programming and venue hire visit www.immersiveldn.com

The venue will open its doors to the public on Friday 13 September with a 1920's pop-up bar - The Davies Street Speakeasy which will be open from 5.00 - 11.30pm Wednesday to Saturday, until Saturday 13 October, and serving a selection of gins and Prohibition era cocktails.

To open the venue's programming, The Guild of Misrule's THE GREAT GATSBY, created and directed by Alexander Wright, will transfer to this brand-new West End venue with preview performances from Friday 18 October and press night on Thursday 7 November.

It's the roaring twenties - an era of bootleg liquor, red hot jazz and hedonistic pleasures. Jay Gatsby has invited you to one of his infamous parties and that's not an invite you want to turn down...

Producers Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook, who are currently co-producing the forthcoming immersive production of THE WOLF OF WALL STREET - have just launched a new company IMMERSIVE EVERYWHERE, entirely dedicated to developing and staging theatre-led immersive experiences, and immersive | ldn is the newest of their network of venues, which will house cafes, bars and rehearsal and workshop spaces to help the development of new work.

THE GREAT GATSBY allows audiences to fully immerse themselves into the world of Jay Gatsby and the glamour of the Roaring '20s. With cocktails, dancing and scandal, this heart-racing adaptation of the seminal jazz-age story puts the audience at the heart of the action.

First conceived in 2015 when director Alexander Wright and producer Brian Hook were running The Fleeting Arms - a pop arts and community pub in an abandoned building in York, the show then ran in York in 2016 with a parallel production in Sheffield in partnership with Theatre Deli. The Great Gatsby first came to London as part of VAULT Festival in 2017 and sold out before the show opened. Since then the show has run in Wales in co-production with Theatr Clwyd, at Halifax's Square Chapel, and at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. All the while the show has played night after night in London, inviting audiences into the hedonistic world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's extraordinary tale, and in 2018 it became the UK's longest running immersive production.

Director and Adaptor Alexander Wright said, "Our production of The Great Gatsby started life in the back of an empty pub in York back in 2015. Now, over three years and 1000 performances later we couldn't be prouder that the UK's longest running immersive show finds a new home in London's West End. The show is made by a brilliant family of performers, artists, makers, collaborators and week by week we get the joy of inviting thousands of audience members into our sparkling world. F Scott Fitzgerald is the absolute voice of the Jazz Age. To be able to create such a thrilling immersive theatrical version of his story in the centre of one of the world's theatre capitals is an absolute dream come true. We hope a lot of people will come join us as we see in the 20s."

Producers Brian Hook and Louis Hartshorn said, "We're very excited to be adding to the rich world of immersive experiences in London and providing a unique platform for new forms of entertainment. By building a hub for immersive events in London's most prestigious location we are creating opportunities for a network of the best immersive artists and producers in the world to collaborate. We are thrilled to be opening one of our performance spaces with such a magnificent production. The Great Gatsby is a trailblazing example of what can be achieved by tearing up the rulebook. It has been seen by around 150,000 people in its first 3 years and we are so excited to welcome it to its new home."

Tor Burrows, Director of Placemaking at Grosvenor Group said: "As part of the iconic West End, Mayfair is home to a great range of cultural experiences, and we are delighted to welcome The Great Gatsby into Davies Street this September. This immersive production is an exciting addition to the extensive offering of things to do in Mayfair. We want to welcome both locals and visitors to enjoy Mayfair with their friends and family."

Directed and adapted by Alexander Wright, The Guild of Misrule's THE GREAT GATSBY is currently running at Gatsby's Drugstore in SE1 until 29 September, with cast members Oliver Towse as 'Gatsby', Lucinda Turner as 'Daisy', James Lawrence as 'Nick', Prince Plockey as 'Tom', Humphrey Sitima as 'George', Jessica Hern as 'Jordan', Hannah Edwards as 'Myrtle', Charlie Cassen as 'Rosy Rosenthal', Lizzie Grace as 'Lucille' and Louis Sparks as 'Joey'. Amie Burns Walker and Oliver Tilney are Associate Directors and Fiona Kingwill is Resident Director. Choreography is by Holly Beasley-Garrigan, design by Casey Jay Andrews, sound design by Phil Grainger and lighting design by Rachel Sampley. The original production was created by Holly Beasley-Garrigan, Amie Burns Walker, Hannah Davies, Phil Grainger, Michael Lambourne, Thomas Maller and Oliver Tilney. This new production of The Guild of Misrule's THE GREAT GATSBY is produced by Immersive Everywhere, with co-producers Gavin Kalin Productions and Glynis Henderson Productions, with Theatr Clwyd and We Culture Connects as Associate Producers.

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