The great Great Gatsby - for real.

Tonight I watched a play. It was Peter Terry's adaptation of The Great Gatsby (the famous F Scott Fitzgerald novel set in the 1920s) as interpreted by The Mechanicals -- our resident theatre company. It was directed by Luke Ellenbogen and something that surprised me was that Emily Child (who played the lead female role: Daisy, AND was fucking phenomenal in Berkoff's Decadence last year) designed the costumes. I - a non-theatre maker / not-critic / non-designer - absolutely loved the costumes. And the set. And the lighting design. It's the first time all those design thingys have really made an impression on me, personally. I liked the black and (harsh) white that was the stage and walked the stage and lit the stage. It was strong and I don't care what other people say. I liked it. That's all.

Photography: Jesse Kramer

But this isn't a review. This is just an account of my evening. I went on my own. It was really... cool. I liked being there on my own. I liked the independence and the confidence I felt despite being alone and, hence, being forced to look around as if interested in every corner of the room and to read arbitrary things as if I were waiting for someone to come and join me. I really liked it.

When I took my seat, however, a very chatty lady - must've been in her 60s or even 70s - immediately started doing exactly that... with me. And only me. And at first, I thought I was doing her the favour, by responding so politely and being so friendly... She told me how "dashing" some of the Mechanicals' male actors are and how she wished this play weren't a setwork because it immediately revokes any chance of "full frontal nudity" - her words, I swear.

It was only when she started speaking of all of my lecturers (including Chris Weare) as "her babies" that I realized that I was, in fact, the lucky one. I was sitting next to someone important. But I didn't know who she was. Confused, I asked her how she knew them all - wow, I feel naïve now - and she told me she taught them drama at Rhodes University. She said Chris was an angel who wrote brilliantly and performed brilliantly. Way ahead of the rest of his class. And then she told me that Guy de Lancey (whose name she pronounced as if spelt "geeey" - is that the real pronunciation?) is "actually very bright" and then she mentioned a whole bunch of names I'd heard but didn't know anything about as if they were her greatest achievements. I wish I could remember even one name to Google. And I wish, even more than that, that I'd caught her last name. Turns out she's now a theatre critic. Her first name is Beverly. She was dressed in highlighter pink but wore it well. And I say "but" because I didn't think it possible. Until tonight. And she began lecturing me on Emily Child's performance during interval. She spoke of how Mia Farrow in the film version of the novel had the character down in various subtle ways and that Emily Child just hadn't found those nuances. Things I hadn't even considered were her top criticisms. That's the last time I'll ever think I know what I'm talking about.

So, if anyone reading this knows a snazzy old Beverly who taught drama and now writes reviews, pleeeaase tell me what you think her surname is. I tried google. But I found quite a few Beverlys so I need some more details with which to narrow my search.

Thank You.

and Bonsoir.

Oh, PS - go and see the play. It's great... for lack of a cornier thing to call it.

http://www.themechanicals.co.za/gatsby.html