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Friday, October 28, 2022
'The Burnt City,' Punchdrunk's Latest, is a Strong Follow-Up to 'Sleep No More'
thebroadwayblog.com: If you have any knowledge of Sleep No More, Punchdrunk’s immersive hit that’s blossomed into a New York staple, the beats of the company’s newest show, The Burnt City, now playing at a warehouse-like venue in London, will ring familiar. There’s lots of space, lots of darkness, and lots of paths to take.
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6 comments:
This is so cool to see happening! I have been an avid lover of Sleep No More for a long time and I’m so cool to see that Punchdrunk has something new. I also love that it follows the fall of Troy. I think that this is a really interesting way to have an immersive show. I also really hope that they end up bringing The Burnt City to NY in the future as long as it goes well in London which I’m sure that it will. I really love the interactive and versatile nature of these shows in general and I hope to see more of them come up around the country. I also think that having audiences attend these types of events will be really cool to see to gain different experiences with theatre. Having a myriad of experiences can open more people up to the world of theatre.
I saw the name "Punchdrunk" and immediately clicked on this link, not for any particular fondness for the company on my part, but just because it is a familiar name. I did a project in one of my classes this semester where we used Punchdrunk's interactive piece Sleep No More, as is stated here, as the core subject. It seemed like a really cool concept, and the pictures I found of it were very intriguing, so this new venture of theirs is certainly of interest to me. As far as I am aware, it is based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, which is even cooler to me because that's one of my favorite dramas. I also love that this follows the fall of Troy. I am quite the sucker for Greek mythology (sure, I was one of those kids. Sue me), and I am excited to see where the Burnt City goes after London, if it does.
I have yet to experience Sleep No More, but its very existence excites me. I find immersive theatre in found and unusual spaces endlessly fascinating. I just love the idea of turning what we know about theatre on its head. Punchdrunk is a company I admire for its creativity in innovation, and because of that, I'm really intrigued by their new venture. I'd probably be even more excited if I had been to a Sleep No More show, but from everything I've heard about it, it's an experience worth having. The Burnt City sounds similarly unmissable and unforgettable... as well as perplexing. I'm a bit confused as to what this show actually is, how long the shows are, if it is a show or a performance art piece. Is there a formal run time? I'd love to see this show just to know how it functions without dialogue. Truthfully, London seems like a strange place for this project, but maybe I'm wrong and audiences there will react positively to more experimental theatre.
I love productions or even just experiences that embrace curiosity and push their audience members to truly explore. Therefore, I believe this type of show would be right up my alley. I saw another immersive story with multiple paths and storylines this summer in Los Angeles and it was really interesting. We were split up into multiple groups then switched around and even taken off on our own to have one on one scenes with different actors. My favorite part of this was the debriefing after the show. I went with seven of my friends and each of us had such different experiences which made us want to go again even though it was like a three hour experience. I am sure that is a similar thing that occurs with this show as well especially since it has very little dialogue. I would be a bit afraid that I wouldn’t be able to follow but I still think I would have a good time.
Hooray for theatre that isn’t just trauma porn or a musical! I’ve never gotten to experience Sleep No More, but good lord do I know too much about it. With friends who have worked on it and been a part of this show, they really do sing the praises of how different and exciting SNM is. My undergraduate professor was obsessed with this show and he would try to recreate what they do in New York City in Edmond, Oklahoma and let me tell you: a lot of people were very uncomfortable with the experience he gave, but there are so many different reasons for that. Overall, this new production in London with all of the Greek gods and goddesses sounds exactly like what I would expect from punchdrunk and it’s really cool that they get to take another show to other parts of the world and progress their impact as an amazing theater company.
This sounds pretty exciting. I haven’t seen Sleep No More but I have done quite a bit of research on it. I keep going back and forth on if it something that I actually would like to participate in. I physically cannot do a haunted house. I tried doing a maze once and I had to walk back to the car. So again, not sure that I can do them but I do like that Punchdrunk exists and that there is always that opportunity if I decided to attend. I think that the new theme sounds fascinating and I wonder how this type of immersive art will do in London. I hope that it succeeds as well as Sleep No More does in New York but only time will tell. I find this article interesting because I can’t tell if it is a review or just an announcement. There doesn’t seem to be a strong opinion about the work.
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