ON a wintry night in North Wales, Mold's dilapidated Dolphin Pub feels a long way from Long Island in the Roaring Twenties.

But don't be fooled by appearances. Step through the door of this newly-converted speakeasy and you're welcomed by a wise cracking New York barman handing you a drink as dames and flappers brush past you in such a convincing way that it's hard to decide who's a cast member or a fellow theatre goer.

Welcome then to the Guild of Misrule's spectacularly immersive version of the greatest of American novels, The Great Gatsby, which since it was first staged has become a cult hit for anyone looking to don their spats, down a mint tulip and prepare to lose thousands on the Wall Street Crash.

With the audience encouraged to dress for the occasion, everywhere you look there are slinky knee-length dresses and chin-length bobs and it quickly becomes clear that non-participation is not an option as we are led to the dance floor and given a quick lesson in the Charleston.

The mysterious Jay Gatsby's parties where of course legendary affairs and like all good parties it quickly becomes clear this one has a life of is own. The superb Michael Lambourne ostensibly acts as our narrator Nick Carraway but the identity and motivation of Gatsby is as much as a mystery to him as it us until we begin to piece together the narrative through snatches of overheard conversation and gossipy asides by put-upon waiter George Wilson (Matthew Churcher) and the flirty Jordan Baker (Zoe Hakin).

As the group of about 50 audience members are gently corralled from room to room throughout the Dolphin's interior your own journey through the story takes on a surreally singular edge: I quickly become 'Bowman', a car dealer interested in selling George a blue coupe, while when I finally get to meet Gatsby, I'm quickly ushered upstairs to help him choose a salmon pink suit and a suitably garish tie to go with it.

If you know The Great Gatsby narrative missing the odd piece of plot won't matter a bit but for those new to F Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece I couldn't help thinking a few gaps would appear in between the scripted-set pieces. The relationship between Myrtle (Bethan Rose Young) and Tom Buchanan (Jake Ferretti) for instance remained unmentioned unless I missed it while helping Gatsby to dress himself or participating in a golfing quiz with Jordan.

As the story reaches its climax though the excellent cast provide an object lesson in drunken tension and regret as their hedonism catches up with them and we are left as uncomfortable eavesdroppers on all the recriminations. It was time to leave the party. By then it's testament to the skill and ambition of this production that the likes of Daisy and Tom almost seemed like friends even to the shyest of participants.

Venturing back out into the snow and grabbing some chips for the cold journey home I instantly missed my time in West Egg and longed for a return to Gatsby's mansion. If you do receive an invitation don't turn it down.