Punchdrunk, LOVE.

This weekend, I spent the evening with Tea Pot, Corque and Avegi at the incredible Punchdrunk theatrical production, The Drowned Man.

The show was one of the most imaginative, interesting and complex performances I have ever seen, so it is going to be difficult to sum up the whole experience in a short blog. What makes the task even harder is that this is the type of experience you don't really want to explain in too much detail, as it will frankly spoil it for anyone who does end up going.

However, I shall try my hardest, especially considering we nearly missed the whole thing (being the moron I am, I instructed everyone to meet at South Bank when the show, despite being advertised as a National Theatre co production, was in fact in Paddington)! 

Punkdrunk have been specialists in critically acclaimed immersive theatre since 2000.This partiuclar performance, The Drowned Man, is set in a very unassuming location right by Paddington station.  There are no signs outside, no bright lights to woo you in, and no overpriced ice cream for you to purchase before the show begins. Instead, there is only a man standing next to an entrance to a huge 4 storey warehouse.

After asking the man if we were in the right place and showing him our tickets, we were asked to wait in the foyer (which was really just a semi permanent structure with a cloakroom) and were instructed to read a small piece of paper which outlined the evening's performance. 

Bearing in mind none of us had any idea what we were getting ourselves in for, when we were then taken into a dark room and told to wear a mask, we started to get a little curious. However, it was only when we were then led into the main "theatre" that we realised the scale of the show we had just paid to go and see. You see, as an immersive theatre experience, instead of building a stage for you to sit around and look at, Punchdrunk had created a 4 storey set for their audience to explore. 

The Drowned Man's audience have never looks happier

In turn, whereas traditionally you would watch actors perform a show in front of you, with The Drowned Man, you saw the actors performing all around you. So, if you wanted to learn more about a particular character's story, instead of waiting for his next scene, you simply followed them around the warehouse and watched what they did and who they interacted with.

The amazing thing for me about this whole concept, is that despite each member of the audience being empowered with the ability to have an experience totally different to the next, and there being very little dialogue in the performance (the story was quite brilliantly explained through expressive dance), you really did still manage to grasp what was going on*. 

However, even with the incredible acting and gripping storyline, for me the standout thing with the whole production was the set itself...quite how Punchdrunk managed to transform an empty storey warehouse into this miniature and mysterious alternative reality was absolutely MIND BLOWING. 

For me the show was nothing short of ingenious, and with tickets at £39.50 each, I'd recommend it to anyone. In fact, if you like anything to do with the arts, then this show is an absolute must see. It's going on until December, so there really is no excuse:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-drowned-man-a-hollywood-fable?dates=2013-10#tabpos 

1luv,

Finey

x

*Granted there were parts that were lost on me, but it still didn't matter!

Holi shit!

When word started spreading that there was a new one day event in town called 'Holi Festival of Colours', it wasn't long before tickets were sold out. In fact, it only took twenty minutes, forcing the event promoters' to add a Sunday event to their billing as well.

Battersea Power Station: Epic setting

So, why all the fuss? Well if you're the type of person who likes stepping outside of the box, would you pass up the opportunity to spend the day next to an iconic London building (Battersea Power Station), dancing to awesome tunes whilst throwing eco-friendly dry paint on strangers? 

Well I certainly wouldn't, and neither would my fantabulous group of fellow Holi-dayers: Teapot, Jo-Jo, Benchatz, Almsy, Diva and Nikolai. So with tickets in hand, off we went on a Sunday early afternoon to find out what the festival had in store for us.

I was particularly interested considering the tickets came in at £40 for a basic (i.e. no paint or t shirt) . For me this may not have been a price to turn me away from going, but it could certainly be a price which means I'd need good reason to go again. Therefore, coupling this with some peoples concerns that  this could whole event is an example of western exploitation of Eastern culture, it was important that the organisers proved us wrong, and created something that was more than just throwing a bit of paint on each other.

The crew: Banter

So, what was the verdict? Well, as a day out, we had a lot of fun. The crowd were friendly, the sound system was great and apart from one DJs quite shocking mixing, the music on the whole was wicked. The weather and setting was amazing, and considering I spent half my time spitting dry paint out of my mouth, the paint throwing gimmick was hilarious.

HOWEVER, it would be difficult to argue that this was anything but cultural exploitation at its best...and to tempt me back, I would need to see serious improvements:


1. Entertainment: this was possibly the most budget festival I have ever been to. Quite how the event organisers expected people to be kept entertained in what was effectively a massive car park with one music stage is beyond me. Yes, 85-90% of the music was awesome, but the best festivals for me are the ones that have little distractions that tempt you away from the main dance areas (at Field Day this year it was the small old school hip hop and soul band stand that held about 25 or so of us). Quite literally, apart from a few food and drink stands on the outskirts, the only thing we could do for entertainment is go to the porter-loos' and time (by shouting out the seconds) how long it took people to do a wee. 

Holi Festival of Colours: BYO dust masks.

2. Shading: I'm not just saying this as a Ginger man with less melatonin than normal folk. I'm saying this a ginger man who spent the whole day drinking in the boiling sunshine leading to mild heat stroke: next time you put on a festival, MAKE SURE THERE IS SOMEWHERE FOR PEOPLE TO RELAX....especially if the festival isn't on grass. If you weren't dancing by the music stage, the only other place you could relax was on the concrete floor further back...otherwise, your best bet was to pretend you were faint and lie on a medical bed for a bit.

We had to entertain ourselves...

3. Theming: you'd think that considering the event was on concrete (immediately making the aesthetics cold and soulless), the organisers would try even harder to bring a bit of India to Battersea. Well, apart from a few cheap pieces of decor that you can find in Camden market on the main stage, there was nothing at the festival that highlighted the organisers had put serious effort into 'transforming' the place as opposed to simply do the bear minimum to make as much $$$$ as possible.

4. Safety: If you're going to have an event where people are throwing coloured dust on each other, it's probably a good idea to give out / sell dust masks...hell why not even give out goggles as well? 



So, all in all I'm glad I went. Our group had a great time and laughed from start to finish, but if Holi Festival wants to get people back, I personally think they are going to have to seriously step up their game, or my £40 (and probably that of a lot of other peoples) will be going towards bigger and better summer festivals. 

 Can't decide whether I speak the truth? Check the festival out and decide for yourself:

http://www.holifestival.com/uk/

1luv,

Finey

xxx