After a year in its new home (One Cartridge Place, Woolwich), award-winning immersive theatre company Punchdrunk welcomes audiences back after the initial 2022 success of The Burnt City, and I spent an amazing night in their unique company last week. This latest production takes you deep inside into the fall of Troy, blending the classic story with dance, physical performance and absolutely jawdropping design installations.
Set across 100,000 sq ft of purpose-built warehouses, inside you’ll discover a complete sensory world that is yours to explore as the action unfolds around you. Depending on your experience when meeting Hades, who welcomes audiences to the story, you might start your journey within one of the warehouse’s huge floor spaces – and from there, you’re free to roam.
Inspired by anicent Gods and mortals, set against the fall of Troy, The Burnt City encourages you to find your own adventure. Move between Greece, to the neon back streets of downtown Troy, following characters emerging from the shadows, or search for stories hiding in the deepest parts of the city.
Explore the world on your own or relax in the underworld’s very own speakeasy Peep, this is immersive theatre on an epic scale. A colossal playground, where furies watch on as mortals play out their fate, and as night falls, the city comes alive. It’s genuinely up to you whether you linger in the shadows and soak up the moment, or dive right in.
With experiences like Punchdrunk, it’s difficult to delve into the event without giving too much away, and every personal experience of the story will be unique. For me, I let the action play out before moving into another area of the building, discovering so many tiny rooms and snippets of stories along the way.
For those ready to escape to Troy, some tips: try every door your come across, take your time and familiarise yourself with the story to get the most from your trip. You won’t regret it.
critical popcorn 