Review: THE BURNT CITY, Punchdrunk
Photo credit: Julian Abrams
If you pass a queue of curiously buzzing punters outside a nondescript building in Woolwich Arsenal, you can probably assume that these lucky people have secure tickets to Punchdrunk’s latest immersive promenade theatre experience, The Burnt City.
It is customary for West End Best Friend reviewers to tweet a pre-show photo prior to posting our reviews. Not so in this case. In the increasing trend of physically disabling phone cameras to preserve the secrets of the set and the theatrical experience (e.g. the Kit Kat Club stickers presented by the Cabaret front of house team to cover phone cameras), audience members’ phones are locked away in portable bags for the duration of the performance.
You may have heard tell of the epic promenade productions of Felix Barrett’s Punchdrunk, which manage to keep the content of their shows tantalisingly shrouded in mystery. They also make reviewing a difficult job as these productions so defy description or summarisation. Suffice it to say – this is an experience like no other.
The audience members of The Burnt City are first led through an introductory exhibition that provides some historical context about the mythos of the ancient city of Troy, the eponymous burnt city. After this guided and structured summary introduction, audience members spill out into the main performance space and are free to explore winding corridors and expansive performance spaces that extend over several stories.
The sensuous choreography by Maxine Doyle is stunningly executed, with the cast of performers moving confidently throughout the often unnervingly dark spaces in this venue.
Anyone au fait with Punchdrunk productions will undoubtedly enter into this world with one goal in mind - the Holy Grail of immersive productions…to be led into a locked room for a private interaction. You can find detailed articles online focused specifically on Punchdrunk performances and the best tactics to secure one of these sought-after one-on-one encounters. But to miss out on that coveted prize in no ways detracts from the overall experience. The sets and rooms and cast of characters are so extensive and intricately detailed as to occupy you for an entire day. This is why these productions (bank balance permitting) stand up to at least several repeat visits).
By the time I stumbled across the bar, about an hour and a half wandering through archeological sites, sacrificial altars, and about half a dozen fake bars, I was absolutely gasping for a drink. This central bar is a space where you can be relieved of your anonymising audience mask, chat freely, and enjoy some probably much needed refreshment (bar staff can temporarily unlock your phone pouch so you can pay with a phone if, like me, you were remiss enough not to bring a physical bank card with you).
In the bar area, there is a variety of ongoing cabaret style performances, compered by such a charismatic and saucy duo, it is tempting to relax with a cocktail for at least another couple of hours.
The list of creatives involved with this production take up over five pages. General management and front of house teams are frequently the unsung heroes of the theatre world. Never is this more true than in the case of Punchdrunk’s expansive productions. The scope and vision of Felix Barrett’s mind-bending universes would be impossible to realise without some fearless venue managers and eminently bold producers.
What unfurls within the secret walls of Cartridge Place is a spellbinding tale of gods and godlessness, of bloody sensuality and lost civilisations. A world and a story that has to be seen to be believed.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett
Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City runs until 4 December, with tickets available here.