There was famously an eight-year gap between immersive theatre leading lights Punchdrunk’s shows ‘The Drowned Man’ and ‘The Burnt City’. But with a permanent base established in Woolwich – aka The Carriageworks – the company said it would be back sooner rather than later this time and so it has proved.
‘Viola’s Room’ sounds like it’ll be a much more intimate affair than the gargantuan ‘Burnt City’. Essentially a remake of very, very early Punchdrunk show ‘The Moon Slave’ – which was only ever seen by four audience members – it is an adaptation of Barry Pain’s haunting early twentieth-century short story of that name, with a text by Booker Prize-shortlisted writer Daisy Johnson. Pain’s story concerns a strong-willed princess who is drawn to an ancient, forbidden maze; more detail will be apparent but in ‘Viola’s Room’ small audience groups of two to six will start off by attending ‘a slumber party’ where they’ll be read a bedtime story that bleeds into Pain’s chilling story.
With sound design by Gareth Fry, it’ll be audio-led but there will doubtless be a spectacular set – it sounds like we’ll end up entering the maze.
At just an hour in length and with only tiny audience groups, the show – which is directed by Punchdrunk founder Felix Barrett – promises to be a complete change of gear from recent shows by the company. Running for just over a month, it’s hard to see how supply is realistically going to keep up with demand: so get in ASAP when tickets go on sale on March 20.
Entry times are staggered throughout the day.
