northern ballet's the great gatsby

hello! on tuesday night i went to see northern ballet's latest production, the great gatsby, at the grand theatre in leeds. i recently read the great gatsby and didn't think too much of it as i found the writing style to be a bit boring, so i was really excited to see how it translated on stage.
our seats were in the stalls, which i don't usually like to sit in; i prefer the dress circle as, personally, i think it gives overall better views of the sets and staging, which i really like to take in. however, the seats were fine, (the sets were quite simple and minimalist so there was no issue with not being able to take it all in) and i could see everything! well, actually, not everything, as a woman with large hair sat directly in front of me so i had to lean all the way over to the left to see anything. slightly annoying but it didn't ruin the show for me!
this was my first ballet and at first it was a bit strange to watch something that was all dancing and no talking, and i was worried that i might not enjoy it, but the novelty wore off very quickly and i settled in to the style of the show. i also found it quite difficult to tell which characters were who, so i didn't really understand what was happening at first - although this isn't the fault of northern ballet, it's just that i mistook a blonde maid as daisy in the first scene and confused myself for the whole first act, haha! when all the men were in suits, also, it was quite tricky to tell who was gatsby, who was nick, etc., especially as they were moving around so much, but it didn't detract from the performance.
other than those things, i adored it! the dancing was so stunning and obviously a lot of work had gone into those two hours. i fully understood the story which i think is an amazing achievement for northern ballet, as i didn't think that such a complicated story would translate into dance. the emotions and the reactions were all perfectly acted and the choreography reflected those things exactly; it was so spot on!
i absolutely loved the woman who played myrtle, i thought her character was stunning. she really captured the idea of a hot, dusty summer with her acting and movements, and the way she moved around was so unique and bizarre in a strangely beautiful way.
i did find it super hot in the theatre though, and i badly needed to cough all throughout the second act. so annoying as i couldn't properly concentrate on the dancing as i was just praying for loud music or applause to happen so i could cough without disturbing the show! other than that i absolutely adored every second of it! the grand theatre is possibly my favourite place in the whole of leeds so i love every minute i get to spend there; it's so beautiful inside, you should google it and have a look at their ceiling, it's insane!
so i think that is it! let me know in the comments if any of you have been to the grand theatre or seen the great gatsby! thank you for reading! :) xx