It’s had huge commercial hits with shows such as The Great Gatsby but critics fear the genre is now just in it for the money With seven cast members, three understudies, 59 different ways to see the show unfold and more than 1,000 performances in four years, the Guild of Misrule’s The Great Gatsby has established itself as the longest-running immersive play in the UK. Each night, in a converted mansion block in central London, about 200 people pack in – often in roaring 20s fancy dress and most likely tipsy – to experience a two-and-a-half-hour production that lands somewhere between a Fitzgeraldian fantasy-scape and an office party . What was still considered a left-field artistic proposition a decade ago, popularised by the likes of Punchdrunk and dreamthinkspeak, has become one of theatre’s biggest commercial money-makers. Now, dozens of events across the UK are riding on the immersive gravy train. Continue reading...