Q&A with Mark O'Sullivan and Kelly Ann Stewart - Adaptor and Director of The Great Gatsby
1) What drew you to adapt The Great Gatsby for the stage?
Mark: I’ve always loved the novel, but never loved the adaptations I’ve seen. This is because, I think, it’s a very difficult piece to adapt – there’s so much happening in the novel, but most of it couldn’t be described as ‘action’, which a script is rather dependent on! But I’m very excited about the angle we’ve taken to help this.
Kelly: Exactly as Mark said – Gatsby has been a favourite of mine since I was at school, but it is so famously difficult to adapt, and there is nothing better than a challenge to get you to think outside of the box! Plus with the centenary of the original novel taking place this year, it felt a bit like kismet.
2) Why did you choose to set the production in 1929, at the end of the Jazz Age?
Kelly: Because it’s the year when “the Roaring Twenties” ended, with a rather screeching halt, and the Great Depression began – it’s everything that The Great Gatsby is – hedonism and destitution sitting side by side.
Mark: The story of The Great Gatsby is the end of a dream, the end of optimism, the end of many a ‘what if?’ Our setting – in particular the day on which we’re telling the story – encapsulates all of that.
Kelly: And while that all sounds a bit bleak, I think it’s often the case that when two extremes collide that we get the most exciting, fun and thought-provoking stories.
3) What does the cabaret setting bring to this adaptation of the story?
Mark: It brings many different ways to tell the different parts of the story. And it also gives us a huge excuse to try to capture some of the energy of the 1920s.
Kelly: Plus Mark and I adore Cabaret style Jazz music, and to weave that into the piece in a slightly more nuanced way is always exciting.
4) How did you approach capturing both the glamour and the tragedy of Gatsby’s world?
Mark: I think much of the glamour and tragedy is within the prose itself, which we’ve tried to preserve as much as possible. I love the text so much – every time I’m working on it, I fall in love with it a bit more.
5) This version frames the story through a troupe of performers — what made you choose to do it that way?
Mark: Again, we wanted to capture the energy of the 1920s. It was a time of great cultural strides. Jazz, moving pictures, risque acts. All of these help us to tell this story in what we hope is an intriguing and powerful way.
Kelly: Plus, the original novel has such a strong theme surrounding performance and performativity – it asks: Who do we want to be? Who do we want to be seen as? What parts of ourselves do we hide or amplify? It’s a really important idea that can often get lost in adaptation and it was really important to us not to lose sight of it. Our hope is that the performers as characters in themselves can really bring that to life for the audience.
6) What do you think audiences will experience differently in this adaptation compared to more traditional retellings?
Mark: The novel is told through the point of view of Nick Carraway. But, again, one person recounting his experiences (real and embellished) and his feelings towards them doesn’t make for the most exciting theatre. The audience is going to see stories within a story… within another story!
Kelly: Exactly. I think Mark and I really wanted to capture the world and time period F. Scott Fitzgerald was writing about in the first place too.
7) What role does live jazz play in shaping the atmosphere and storytelling?
Mark: OVO shows are famed for their music. And The Great Gatsby is no exception. Our music is part of the act within the Speakeasy, and helps to tell the story – the fun, the glamour, the tragedy – throughout.
Kelly: It’s so exciting to be getting actor-musicians and a very talented Musical Director on board for this piece. We’re all about creative collaboration at OVO, and by having such an integrated musical component, it feels like we get to invite the audience into that collaboration.
8) The show explores the cost of unattainable dreams — what do you think that cost is, both for Gatsby and for the performers telling his story?
Mark: For me, it’s the loss of hope, of optimism. The shine that fades on the thing you wanted so badly. The fairytale you grew up expecting and wanting, only to find it didn’t exist. But everything cycles – one thing has to end for another to begin. I mean, that’s life, isn’t it?
Kelly: Absolutely. I think everyone can relate to a time in life when things haven’t worked out the way they were supposed to in one’s mind. It’s what we do afterwards that counts – that, and the importance of kindness. We have to lift and build with others to create, not knock them down or shut them out.
9) What relevance does Gatsby’s story hold for modern audiences?
Mark: The parallels with where we are now – particularly in America – are startling. The end of a period of great prosperity, the uncertainty of what lies ahead. One hundred years on – almost to the day – of its publication, we’re right back where we were then.
10) If Gatsby could watch this production, what do you think his reaction would be?
Kelly: I think he’d find us at the bar afterwards, shake our hands as if he were an old friend, say “Great show, old sport – but, you missed a few things”, and then of course have a whole new contradictory story to tell.
Mark: I think he’d be pleased that we’re keeping the dream alive, just for a couple of hours at a time. But we wouldn’t know, because we wouldn’t recognise him. He’d have reinvented himself again by now.
Kelly: Yes that actually – that’s better than what I said!
You can see OVO’s production of The Great Gatsby at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival from 8th August 2025.
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