The Burnt City (Punchdrunk)

Post by **merry** » Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:47 am

I'm off to see this amazing thing tomorrow, it's 'immersive theatre/dance' across 2 warehouses in Woolwich.

The Burnt City

STPD has been 8 times at least - people seem to make repeated visits as you can't get the most out of it on a single trip.

Basically you walk into the middle of a play and follow the action, which takes place in multiple rooms and sets inside the warehouses, and the action takes place around you. Many things are going on at the same time, so you will only see a fraction of what's going on at any one time.

The whole thing loops around and you get three loops in your visit.

The story is the Invasion of Troy and begins in Mycaenae with Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia to bring good luck for the invasion. FINDING Mycaenae is apparently tricky, as is finding Troy if you happen to start at the Mycaenae end, but things are going on in every room and every space so there won't be time to get bored

I have a few goals for myself on this first visit - I want to see the Watchman in Mycaenae (he gives out packets of seeds to a lucky few - STPD got some once!) - find the Flower Shop in Troy (apparently it smells of 'rose jam') - visit the Sake Bar and encounter Zagreus - and get to see HADES! Hades lives in a big house in Troy and is apparently quite the charismatic character - if you are lucky he might beckon you in, lock the doors and involve you in a special secret scene!

I have no idea how this is all going to go but I am SO excited! I have been following the whole thing via STPD's visits and began to long to go myself.

We are going to the evening performance on Sunday night, staying at the Premier Inn, Woolwich (!) and home on Monday morning. Repeat visits already booked for April and May!

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:29 am

Will you be sworn to secrecy if you get to the secret scene?

mimosa · Post by **mimosa** » Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:11 pm

WOW! That is so fascinating! I had never heard of that sort of thing...being part of the scene because of all the things happening in every room.

ME

Furby · Post by **Furby** » Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:23 pm

Do you have to dress up in Troy clothes.

Post by **merry** » Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:15 pm

eccles wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:29 am Will you be sworn to secrecy if you get to the secret scene?

Actually YES

Well, the performers don't swear you to secrecy - they don't address you 'out of character' as it were - but the massive cult following TBC has would seek you out and destroy you if you didn't put 'SPOILER' on any post describing it

mimosa wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:11 pm OW! That is so fascinating! I had never heard of that sort of thing...being part of the scene because of all the things happening in every room.

It was absolutely amazing, mim. Like we were actually walking through the cities of Troy and Mycaenae on the night of the Fall of Troy. Things going on all over the place, some quite normal as they would be before the invasion.

Furby wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:23 pm Do you have to dress up in Troy clothes.

Not exactly

but all audience have to wear a white plastic 'tragedy' mask throughout, so you always know who is peformer and who is audience. Very effective too as during scenes where many had clustered to watch, you would be seeing the action going on in the centre of Troy Town Square eg, and around it a sea of eerie white plastic masks, like ghosts.

We had the most absolutely fabulous time and have immediately booked to go again on Sat 8 April

It was breathtaking and overwhelming and utterly wonderful.

And I did get a special moment with Hades !

Patience · Post by **Patience** » Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:38 am

That sounds amazing. I had a look at the ticket prices.

Post by **merry** » Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:01 pm

Ticket prices - TodayTix have been selling tickets for £35 for a while, which is very manageable compared with the full-price tickets. They have later entry times which means you miss some of the first loop, but the loop plays three times, so it doesn't matter.

They've stopped that now, but the code GODSANDMORTALS reveals tickets of £45

There's also a weekly TodayTix lottery which gives winners £25 tickets, and if you don't win you often get what is piopularly called 'the pity offer' for £41. So there are ways to get cheap(er) tickets and we haven't paid full price for any .

It was so wonderful we have booked again for Sat 8 as I say, and a few more performances after that!

and talked about nothing else this weekend.

Never seen or done anything quite like it, except it reminded me of the text-based adventure game Pani and I used to play, Mystical Mud, but for real!

asymphototropic · Post by **asymphototropic** » Tue Apr 11, 2023 6:20 pm

Oh man I would love to do that. Wish I could be with you on your next visit. I can grasp the fascination, for sure!

Post by **merry** » Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:33 pm

I wish you could be with us, Asy! it really is the most immersive and amazing thing.

Post by **merry** » Sat Apr 29, 2023 9:56 pm

Helen and Juliet have been to this again this weekend, staying overnight in the Woolwich premier inn (I was supposed to be with them.) They've had a super super time, with Juliet getting a much-coveted 1-2-1 with Hades, the most charismatic fella you can imagine. He put his hand on my shoulder last time and told me something secret and I nearly fainted

He wears a sharp grey suit as Hades and seems utterly charming, until you remember he is the actual Devil and Lord of the Underworld

Helen had a 1-2-1 she really wanted too so all in all, it's happy daughters, and they deserved it after the week we've had!

Post by **merry** » Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:02 pm

I am on my 11th visit.... Jay her 14th... Helen many more... and I met a guy in the queue last week who was on his 108TH VISIT!

There's so much to it, you see. New bits to find and understand. The cast swapping roles often, which makes for different interpretations.

The sad thing is, it is closing on Sept 24th. We who love it are ... very sad.

We will be there for all three final performances that weekend.

And we're going this weekend

if we can navigate the train strikes!

I have come to love Woolwich, though I suppose i shall never go there again after September

Hopefully will get some good photos this weekend, as we will take the Uber boat towards Grays

on Sunday morning.

I usually find a Big Gun for a photo op:

... and they had made a beach area for kids in front of an inappropriately named bar, before which innocent kids played all unknowing in the sand....

If you can't read it, it was Bar RumpyPumpy......

Furby · Post by **Furby** » Fri Jul 07, 2023 7:23 am

If its so popular people go 100s of times won't they set up somewhere else.

Don't understand this idea of putting sandpits in cities and calling them beaches.

Post by **merry** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 11:01 am

I suppose for inner-city London kids it's the closest they'll get! they seemed to enjoy it anyway but it wasn't very nice to an adult's eye.

I'm going to make another topic for our weekend Woolwich trip as I took lots of photographs.

Post by **merry** » Mon Sep 18, 2023 10:18 pm

Juliet, JYM, STPD and I have just been to....

The Party at the End of the World - we 'burned our City to the ground' in one glorious blazing celebration!

It was the most amazing thing I've ever been to, sad, exhilarating, wonderful, heartwarming, loud, exciting,crazy. Lots of tears and laughter. 'Sad it was over, glad to have been a part of it'.

I'm just going to post a few pictures without much comment as the Burnt City is not quite over... and I won't be fully back till next Monday

It rained on the party queue, which seemed a little mean of the weather, as it had been warm and sunny all week, and all the partygoers got their beautiful outfits drizzled on! but it damped no spirits and certainly did not set the tone for the rest of the evening!

Post by **merry** » Mon Sep 18, 2023 10:25 pm

This was the first time we had ever been allowed to wander through the streets of Troy without our theatre masks... the City became ours, for one night only....

Furby · Post by **Furby** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 7:26 am

Clever idea to take raincoats.

Still don't understand why they close it if it's so popular just goes to show the way to fortunes is to sell things that are unpopular and then give people no choice.

Post by **merry** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:01 am

It must have been fantastically expensive to stage and manage. 26 salaried performers and numerous front of house staff, plus lighting, music and set engineers. And before the closure was announced, not enough tickets sold to cover it. It's just the last-minute rush to see it before it goes away forever which makes it look suddenly very popular - up until now it has probably had a hard-core of dedicated fans, about 400 in number, all of whom were attending once a week or so.

I bought that pink plastic mac at the last Everything5pounds sale, £5 (obviously) with 10%off and free postage! It's probably one of the most useful things I own

The kids, of course, scorn 'plastic macs' and so JYM had to run off to Tesco and buy an umbrella

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Tue Sep 19, 2023 6:37 pm

Super pics Merry and you all look absolutely fabulous luvvies.

Post by **merry** » Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:54 am

Thank you, Eccles! It's been a long time since I went to a party and got all dressed up

We've been back to our beloved Burnt City!

We noticed a while ago that Punchdrunk were offering a range of tours and workshops, which caused great excitement among TBC fans, and sold out immediately - we were lucky enough to get three tour tickets, and were taken back to Troy (be still my beating heart!) for a tour with the lovely Georgia, who whisked us around those familiar back streets and shops and bars of Troy, now abandoned, but at least still there (Mycenae has been emptied and scoured.) She was a wonderful guide and answered all questions and gave us some insights.... and settled us outside Ciaccos, the Trojan café and gave us a drink and a little time to chat....

And then she took a photograph, which was sent to us afterwards. We three are at back left, me peeping out behind Helen, and J beside me.