Melbourne’s cultural calendar was graced with a soirée of rare refinement on Wednesday evening, as BIGLive unfurled its sumptuous production of The Great Gatsby at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne.
In a curious twist upon tradition, the velvet ropes gave way not to Melbourne’s seasoned theatrical doyens, but to an assembly of the city’s youthful digital era, social media “influencers” whose phone-curated charm lit the red carpet with new era dazzle.
Tasked with capturing this glittering cavalcade was none other than the illustrious lensman Lord Murray Schoorman of Peak Hour Images, who has chronicled the upper echelons of glamour nationwide. His camera traced every shimmer of silk and cascade of laughter as guests arrived, an aesthetic tableau worthy of Daisy Buchanan herself.
Among the evening’s standout attendees were philanthropist Susan Alberti AC, highly acclaimed journalist Allan Raskall and his elegant wife Martine Raskall, television newsreader Candice Wyatt, media personality Ash Pollard, 3AW Melbourne radio voice Pat Panetta, and famed MC and vocalist Brihony Dawson. Each adding their own lustre to the intimate affair.
The production itself, staged with BIGLive’s customary precision, enveloped the audience in a spell of decadent nostalgia. Glittering chandeliers, satin costuming, and seamlessly choreographed dance numbers conjured the Jazz Age in all its opulent melancholy.
Speaking exclusively to Peak Hour Images following the curtain call, a visibly impressed Allan Raskall remarked, “Fabulous stage sets, the skill, athleticism and synchronicity of the dancers were outstanding.”
Unlike Melbourne’s grand theatrical openings of yesteryear, those crowded spectacles thrumming with stage royalty, this premiere unfolded on a gentler scale, its intimacy lending the night a whispering elegance. The mood was less champagne explosion, more flute raised toast; a discerning celebration of artistry rather than excess and grandeur.
As the final notes faded and applause rippled like the effervescence in Gatsby’s coupe, one sensed a quiet rebirth within Melbourne’s theatre scene: proof that even in subtlety, splendour may thrive.
