The Great Gatsby was performed at the Theatre Royal Windsor last week, and Amy Horsfield went to see Stephen Sharkey's adaptation.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's tragic novel about one man's obsessive pursuit of an unattainable dream is hailed as one of the greatest American novels of all time and helped to secure his place as one of the finest writers of the 20th Century.

In the glamorous 1920s, where life was lived like an endless party and prohibition made booze all the more popular, Nick Carraway (Adam Jowett) arrives in New York, where he soon becomes engulfed in the mysterious world of his elusive neighbour, Jay Gatsby (Max Roll).

Those who are familiar with The Great Gatsby will know that wealth, and the selfish attitude of those who have it, plays a star role. This is why I was initially disappointed when I laid eyes on the plainly simple and oddly modern set.

But no theatre production could ever really do justice to the powers of the imagination (nor the dazzling, fairytale-like sets of Baz Luhrmann's 2013 adaptation) so perhaps I'm being a little harsh. Yet a lot of imagination is required here, as the seven cast members interchange roles and attempt to create the illusion that they are fighting their way through crowds at one of Gatsby's roaring parties.

Another crucial part of creating such an illusion is the music, that played a pivotal role in the 1920s. Luckily, the play delivers on this point with the talented cast providing the music themselves. Though I initially found this unexpected touch disconcerting and unnecessary, it ultimately results in helping to create the party atmosphere as well as adding to the tragedy of the play's dark scenes.

Anyone new to Fitzgerald's story will easily be able to keep up thanks to Nick's frequent monologues. Meanwhile, fans of the source material will recognise many lines that are lifted right out of the novel. These ''breaking the fourth wall'' moments provide the play with some of its best scenes. In one particularly intriguing sequence, Nick hovers over Tom (Tristan Pate) and Daisy's (Celia Cruwys-Finnigan) dinner table, pausing at regular intervals to narrate his observations.

The play does not succeed in all its pursuits. Regrettably, I was unmoved by Stacey Ghent's and Tom Neill's performances as Myrtle and George Wilson that diminished one of the story's most tragic plots. Yet, in many other ways the play succeeds, and I am confident any Fitzgerald fan will enjoy this production.