A 'The Great Gatsby'-Inspired Cabaret and Pop-Up Club Is Taking Over Twelfth Night Theatre for Brisbane Festival 2025
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic text with martinis, plus a show that gives the book the cabaret and variety treatment.
When Baz Luhrmann (Elvis) decided to bring The Great Gatsby to the screen, he enlisted 2010s Sydney to double for 1920s Long Island and New York. Then, a decade after the Australian director's Oscar-winning movie hit cinemas, a The Great Gatsby-themed club popped up in the Harbour City to host a The Great Gatsby-inspired cabaret variety show. Cut to 2025 and that event, aka GATSBY at The Green Light, now has a different Aussie city in its sights: Brisbane as part of this year's Brisbane Festival.
This time, the River City's Twelfth Night Theatre in Bowen Hills is following in Luhrmann's footsteps, with GATSBY at The Green Light making its Brisbane debut between between Tuesday, September 2–Sunday, September 28. The production will take over the Bowen Hills venue with an array of excuses to pretend that it's a century ago — and that you're on the other side of the globe. The GATSBY part of the big spring event's moniker refers to the entertainment, while The Green Light is the temporarily rebadged venue where this party-esque experience will occur.
First, the show: taking its cues from F Scott Fitzgerald's book, which is marking its 100th anniversary in 2025, GATSBY gives the classic text the aerial, burlesque, dance and circus treatment. As performers show off their skills, live contemporary music accompanies their efforts.
Then, the club: The Green Light gleans inspiration from prohibition-era speakeasies. Yes, drinks are involved. Indeed, while you watch, you'll be able to say cheers to the entertainment with a martini in hand.
When it initially hit the stage at the Sydney Opera House — which hosted a sellout season — GATSBY at The Green Light hailed from director Craig Ilott, who added the event to his resume alongside Smoke & Mirrors, La Clique Royale at Edinburgh Festival's The Famous Spiegeltent, and also American Idiot, Amadeus and Velvet Rewired. With GATSBY co-producer Stuart Couzens, he was also involved in L'Hôtel, the dinner theatre experience which turned the exact same Sydney space into a French hotel with cabaret, circus and burlesque.
"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," said Ilott of GATSBY at The Green Light back when its Sydney run was announced.
"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."
GATSBY at The Green Light will take over Twelfth Night Theatre, 4 Cintra Road, Bowen Hills, between Tuesday, September 2–Sunday, September 28, 2025 during Brisbane Festival. Head to the fest's website for more details and tickets.
Brisbane Festival 2025 runs from Friday, September 5–Saturday, September 27 at various venues around Brisbane. Head to the fest's website for tickets and further details.
Images: Daniel Boud / Prudence Upton.
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