Theatre: book now to see GATZ

OK, it’s not on till June, and it’s eight hours long and it’s a bunch of actors reading or rather reenacting The Great Gatsby aloud, word for word. But guess what: GATZ is, in fact, eight hours of total brilliance –  that’s the word from New York, where the ERS (Elevator Repair Service) production has been a huge hit. ‘The most remarkable achievement in theatre not only of this year but also of this decade,’ wrote Ben Brantley in the New York Times in December. We don’t always agree with Brantley’s pronouncements (though ‘achievement of the decade’ allows quite a lot of room for manoeuvre), but we do trust our New York friends who were initially sceptical about seeing it (the eight hour, whole book thing), but came out raving and full of its revelations as both an experience and a piece of theatre. We’re sorely tempted to go to New York in March to see it when it returns to the Public Theatre, but may have to settle for waiting till the early summer when it comes to London as part of LIST – The London International Festival of Theatre. Either way, we’re booking tickets now. There will be only 23 performances of GATZ in London all in all, so do choose your day now. It will sell out, and soon. Two things you should know: the eight hours includes two fifteen minute intervals, as well as a proper supper break of over an hour. The other thing: the actor playing Nick, Scott Shepherd, knows the whole book by heart.