To enter one of Punchdrunk’s ‘performance installations’ is to immerse oneself in a self-contained, alternative universe, in this case one inspired by the gothic nightmare visions of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories.
Following their critically-acclaimed Faust, staged in a Wapping warehouse, the company has transformed BAC’s echoing Victorian building into a labyrinth of decadent opium dens, mysterious woods, suffocating society drawing rooms, servants’ garrets, insane asylums and sordid bedchambers, through which audience members wander at will.
Some 28 performers also roam the building, enacting Poe’s haunting narratives - all of which seem to centre round incest, insanity or murder - oblivious to their onlookers, who risk being spat on or jostled out of the way if they get too close.
Letting go of any desire to pursue a narrative thread from beginning to end, and giving in to curiosity, is the most rewarding approach. Those of us who pushed our way through a Narnia-like cupboard found ourselves emerging through a fireplace into another room where Roderick, from The Fall of the House of Usher, was losing his mind.
Equally, some of the most memorable moments came when find yourself alone in a room, weaving your own story about what a just-abandoned tea set, mysterious love letter or rumpled bed sheet might mean.
After an exhausting round of exploration, it’s a relief to stumble across the Palais Royale, a vaudeville drinking den, where you can sit down and have a shot of (real) absinthe, while being entertained by series of bawdy and macabre acts.
Being made to wear a mask throughout the proceedings adds to the exquisite feeling of invisibility, but the anonymity also encourages intriguing behaviour from audience members. By the extravagant finale, some have almost become performers themselves, excitedly twirling across the ballroom with the actors in Prospero’s palace.
Returning to the Clapham Junction drizzle seems more than a bit of a jolt after such a magical experience.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Content is copyright © 2012 The Stage Media Company Limited unless otherwise stated.
All RSS feeds are published for personal, non-commercial use. (What’s RSS?)
