The Drowned Man

The Drowned Man was an original theatre production by British theatre company Punchdrunk, in collaboration with the Royal National Theatre.

The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable
Written byPunchdrunk (directed by Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle)
Date premieredJune 20, 2013 (2013-06-20)
Place premiered31 London St, London
 United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Official site

Overview

Set within the fictional "Temple Pictures", The Drowned Man was Punchdrunk's largest theatre installation,[1] covering 200,000 sq ft., catering for up to 600 audience members per show[1] with a cast of nearly 40.[2] The production fell within several genres of theatre, including so-called site-specific theatre,[3] promenade theatre,[4] interactive theatre[5] or immersive theatre.[1] The audience members were free to roam around the sets at will, wearing white masks to distinguish themselves from the cast, and the narrative was communicated through a series of overlapping scenes blending the mediums of interpretive dance, contemporary dance and traditional acting.[3] The show opened June 2013 and tickets run until 6 July 2014.[6]

Temple Pictures

Temple Pictures was the name of the fictional Hollywood film studio which formed the setting and backdrop of the production. It was physically located at 31 London Street, London, next to Paddington Station, occupying four floors of the building that had previously been a Royal Mail sorting office.[2] It was described within the fiction as the British outpost of major Hollywood studio Republic Pictures around the time period of the 1960s.[3] The various sets and locations within the building represented internal and external locations both within Temple Pictures and also the outskirts of the town near which it was situated. The various locations included a desert, a saloon, a trailer park, a chapel, as well as several dressed sound stages and a Lynchian black and white chequerboard dancefloor.[3][7][8] As in previous Punchdrunk shows, the audience was free to roam around and explore the sets in their own way,[2] and the intricate detailing of the props and locations assisted the audience in picking up the threads of the narrative.[9]

Narrative

Creative Director Felix Barrett noted that The Drowned Man was "the first time that we've played with the idea of more than one lead narrative".[3] The two main narratives formed mirrors of each other, one following the story of a couple within Temple Studios and the other a couple living on the outskirts of the Hollywood town.[10] The main characters played out a tragic love story, with the numerous supporting characters embellishing the detail of that story as well as having some independent side-stories of their own.[3] Many aspects of the narrative were influenced by Georg Buchner's unfinished play Woyzeck, including the main themes of murder, madness and adultery.[11] However, the work also drew on several other sources for inspiration, including Nathanael West's (1939) novel The Day of the Locust[1] and Ray Bradbury's (1962) novel Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Independent
The Daily Telegraph
The Financial Times
The London Evening Standard
Time Out

Several reviews complimented the scale of the production and the ambitious use of multiple narratives, while also commenting that the scale could at times make the experience feel fragmented and difficult to follow.[4][9][12] The majority of official media reviews were written at the beginning of the show's run in June 2013, and as a result several changes were made to improve the audience's understanding of the story, including handing out slips of paper with a brief outline of the plot at the start.[10] Time Out magazine awarded the production 3 out of 5 stars, commenting that "as pure spectacle, Punchdrunk are now operating on a level that makes criticism basically redundant. But in terms of straight-up theatre, they have made better".[7] The Independent commented "For all its logistical flair the show is lacking in heart", awarding it 3 out of 5 stars[12] The London Evening Standard gave it 4 out of 5 stars, commenting "abandon all preconceptions of what theatre should be and prepare yourself for a multi-storey treat"[13] The Daily Telegraph awarded it 5 out 5 stars, asserting that "the masters of immersive theatre have returned with a show that will surely become a cult hit"[2] The Financial Times called it "Thrilling - Punchdrunk’s newest ‘immersive’ piece is seedy, frightening and feels supremely alive", awarding it 5 out of 5 stars.[14]

Credits
Creative team[15] Role
Felix BarrettDirector/Designer
Maxine DoyleDirector/Choreographer
Livi VaughnDesigner
Beatrice MinnsDesigner
Mike GunningLighting Designer
Stephen DobbieSound Designer
Jack GallowayCostume Designer
Magnus FiennesMusic Director and Composer
John Van der PutIllusionist
Hector HarknessAssociate Director
Conor DoyleAssociate Choreographer
Fernanda PrataRehearsal Director/Associate Choreographer

References
  1. Andrew Dickson. "How Punchdrunk breathed life into The Drowned Man | Stage". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  2. "The Drowned Man, Temple Studios, review". Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  3. Masters, Tim (2013-07-19). "BBC News - Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man is theatre on a grand scale". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  4. Gardner, Lyn (2013-07-19). "Does Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man live up to the hype? | Stage". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  5. Richard Godwin (2013-06-28). "Interactive theatre group Punchdrunk's new show The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable - Theatre - Going Out - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  6. "The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable | A Punchdrunk production at Temple Studios". Nationaltheatre.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-04-12. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  7. "Punchdrunk: The Drowned Man | Temple Studios | Time Out London". Timeout.com. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  8. Brantley, Ben (July 23, 2013). "In a Shadowy Maze, Reality Can Get Lost 'The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable' in London". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  9. Gareth Noon (2013-08-12). "Review: Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man is a heady brew of sex and menace | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  10. Healy, Patrick (August 7, 2013). "A London Troupe Thrives With Ambitious Free-Range Theater In London, Punchdrunk's 'Drowned Man' Has Audiences Roaming". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  11. "The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable | A Punchdrunk production at Temple Studios". Nationaltheatre.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  12. Paul Taylor (2013-07-18). "Theatre review: Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man- 'For all its logistical flair the show is lacking in heart' - Reviews - Theatre & Dance". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  13. Fiona Mountford (2013-07-18). "The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, Temple Studios - theatre review - Theatre - Going Out - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  14. Gilmour, Alexander (2013-07-19). "The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, Temple Studios, London". FT.com. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  15. "The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable | A Punchdrunk production at Temple Studios". Nationaltheatre.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
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