Punchdrunk: 'The Drowned Man'

Paddington, until 06/07/14 LAST CHANCE

So, there was Theatre. And then there was Punchdrunk. No actors to enter from the left, no linearity, no more walls to be broken, nothing left unchallenged, including our reservations. The BAC’s Masque of the Red Death reaffirmed, reimagined and reinvented the theatrical and the art experience in its entirety, the same way the free event in Old Street later on reinvented advertising.

There is no doubt or discussion on how Punchdrunk are still the forefront of immersive experience, copied so badly by so many and so successfully by others like the Secret Cinema. Immersive, inclusive, they have come back to London to set up a wonderful game for all. ‘The Drowned Man’ might be pricey but be assured that this price is cheap for what’s on offer. Refresh your Woyzeck and Day of the Locust quickly and offer yourself to this faceless game of what’s a set and what’s not, on a spotless trip back to early Hollywood, fears, black magic and jealousy.

And at this point, I would ask the readers that are Punchdrunk novices to stop reading and just book their slots.

For the rest, fans and followers for years, it is here that the storyline turns a bit sourer. Because ‘The Drowned Man’ came and left without any extra heartbeat. Though the attention to detail was, again, fascinating and impressive, it felt cerebral. I realised very early that what I was feeling was amazement, the scale of it all fascinating and the imagery of the highest stage production and art installation taste. But all this, only in my head. For three hours I walked and roamed, trying to catch a glimpse of the soul I hoped for, but didn’t. Though I also was of the few blessed to actually have a small interactive experience, this was also lost in the vastness and the impersonality of it. The actors have been replaced by silent dancers. The improvised, private, intimate conversations replaced with dance routines. Masses of audience encouraged, like sheep, to run after dancers, missing whole worlds in between, and reaffirming their social importance as followers. The impersonal of the masked faces seemed to saturate everything.

There is an accounting concept called ‘economy of scale’: the point where a company decides if going big as an entity or as a product actually is beneficial or not to the organisation and its end goal.

There are no economies of scale here. ‘The Drowned Man’ by expanding, lost its uniqueness. Still utterly impressive, but soulless. While you used to wear a mask as a character and be everything, now you wear a mask to be nobody. You walk, you watch, you observe, feeling a bit clever getting a clue here and there but you are back to where you belong: the audience.

I am certain that the experiment Punchdrunk started at the dawn of the new century is not over, it’s not a cycle closing into itself. No. I feel this was another experiment on how big the game can grow, and not for any profit but to include as many as possible of everyone, to make it massive in scale and democratic in inclusion. But somehow it feels this new experiment has failed. Even though I still spent that night in dreams of things I saw in that evening of seeing things I have dreamed. But like Woyzeck, I felt lost. I felt directed by those in charge on what to do. I felt jealous of the beautiful overwhelming feeling I felt in the previous shows. Jealous of the time that I was special, I was the only one, when it was only me and them and all the other individuals. Jealous of the new people that came in and felt amazed and in love cause they don’t know what that love used to be. And this jealousy, I fear, is holding the knife that might kill my love.

UPDATE 10/02/14: Since writing the above article, revisiting the event and having conversations with a lot of Drowned Man Addicts, I am pleased to be able to reassess a few of the views and comments made. Though I still feel that its gigantic scale makes it impossible for someone to get inside the beauty and genius of it in just one visit, I think my review has been quite harsh. I am very pleased to hear that the group have been granted the council extension and I urge everyone that can afford it to definitely save up and go.

UPDATE 19/06/14: My 6th and last visit last night to 'The Drowned Man'. Amazing as always, still new things to see and experiences to be had. Thank you and goodbye. You have been ingenious and exquisite.


more info:
http://punchdrunk.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23329899