Looks like I'm trying to advertise this, I'm not, did actually go last night. Still not sure what to make of it entirely but know I'm c.£150 worse off anyway.
In a nutshell, you're walking around a very dark 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Woolwich, with I'd guess 30-40 very impressively created and atmospheric rooms/sets, all on different levels. All the while these scenes and set-pieces, loosely based on the famous tales of the subject matter (Greek mythology, House of Troy, etc), are being played out around you by the cast. You split off into groups of I'd say 20 people on entry, and are encouraged by a 'compere', let's say, to just walk off on your own or in smaller groups, leave the people you came with, and choose from any of 5 or 6 doors.
You take your own path and experience of it all, essentially. But you could be suddenly 'involved' in a scene at any moment while wandering about. Or just stand by and watch them mostly. Some of the choreography was amazing, tbf, but had to be really as there's no dialogue whatsoever.
There's an (for me at least) eye-popping amount of both blood (fake) and genitalia (real) being flashed about, and it's all very dramatic, but without any narrative to accompany it it's all a bit startling and confusing at times. Weird experience overall, still having flashbacks now. Also, everyone in attendance is given opera masks to wear, bags to keep phones in which are then sealed with tags & you're not allowed to talk either, so for the most part you can't gauge anyone's reactions to what's going on. We took a friend who is visiting for the weekend for a laugh, not entirely sure she was bowled over by our choice though, even with her mask on.
As there's no dialogue at all, it's all very atmospheric and set to either dark pounding techno (mostly)/industrial, or spooky ambient noise. As a sensory experience it was a good one-off, I'm not a classics expert by any stretch of the imagination & so some of the scenes and more subtle references were definitely lost on me. If that's an area of interest to you, you might well love it. There's various other stuff going on too, but I've probably said enough.
The bar prices bring you crashing back to reality pretty fooking quickly though, and Woolwich is a absolute pain in the arse to get to.
7.5/10 overall. Purely for the novelty value it's worth a trip. But won't be for everyone. It all lasts c. 3 hours, although we left after 2 and a half. Took our own path, to the pub.
I didn't, but at one point a scene involving a young female 'ended', and she ran off the set in the direction of a small room I happened to be standing next to, with two other unsuspecting people, then promptly dropped her clothes for no apparent reason within about 10 feet of where I was standing.
Highlight was probably seeing the Lizzy line for the first time and how Canary Wharf seems have gone all Blade Runner. Actually pretty smart round there now.
The whole Woolwich barracks development is pretty cool too, tbf. Shame about the rest of it.
None taken, I'm fairly sure at least one of our party felt that way about it. Possibly two.
I'm more on the fence because elements of it were very impressive and there's clearly a huge amount of work gone into it. Location is a bit of a pain, yes, but I guess there aren't many 100,000 sq. ft sets about and it really only works at all due to the scale of it. You could feasibly wander round the whole thing pretty much alone. But then there'll be secret rooms, or bigger sets around a corner. Sometimes it's literally just you, in a room/set, watching an actor, and nobody else.
I gather Punchdrunk have done other stuff in the same vein, bit with more light-hearted subject matter and dialogue, which might be more enjoyable. This was much more at the intense end of things.
I've done a Shakespeare version of this called Sleep No More many years ago. You had to wear a mask like in eyes wide shut and the actors were making it their job to try and give people boners / lady boners in the ad lib areas. It was ok. Weird, but ok.
I'd consider going again if I could get a £25 ticket, of which there are limited ones. It's a lot to take in at first, but if you know sort of what to expect I think it'll make more sense. There's some nutters on the Facebook ads comments who have been 5-6 times though, which is a bit much. As someone said earlier, rich students probably, of which there were definitely a healthy number in the queue.
Been thinking about going for a while. You can sometimes get cheaper tickets and I probably would go if new ones came up. I know one of the performers though, and they told me that it’s a toxic working environment. Not surprising given how much time they have to spend naked in front of strangers. It’s probably not most actors’ dream job tbf.
The whole thing is all very dark and foreboding, the sets are actually stunningly rendered but it all makes for a rather creepy & unsettling experience overall, which I guess is the point. Almost sinister in parts, hard to really articulate without seeing it.
We were getting strange vibes in the bar area by near the end though (you can dip in and out of the main warehouse bit and get thoroughly fleeced in the bar, at your leisure). The bar area btw, is a show all in itself.
It'd be a hard place to spend a lot of time for the cast, I'd imagine. Intense environment.
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Looks like I'm trying to advertise this, I'm not, did actually go last night. Still not sure what to make of it entirely but know I'm c.£150 worse off anyway.
In a nutshell, you're walking around a very dark 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Woolwich, with I'd guess 30-40 very impressively created and atmospheric rooms/sets, all on different levels. All the while these scenes and set-pieces, loosely based on the famous tales of the subject matter (Greek mythology, House of Troy, etc), are being played out around you by the cast. You split off into groups of I'd say 20 people on entry, and are encouraged by a 'compere', let's say, to just walk off on your own or in smaller groups, leave the people you came with, and choose from any of 5 or 6 doors.
You take your own path and experience of it all, essentially. But you could be suddenly 'involved' in a scene at any moment while wandering about. Or just stand by and watch them mostly. Some of the choreography was amazing, tbf, but had to be really as there's no dialogue whatsoever.
There's an (for me at least) eye-popping amount of both blood (fake) and genitalia (real) being flashed about, and it's all very dramatic, but without any narrative to accompany it it's all a bit startling and confusing at times. Weird experience overall, still having flashbacks now. Also, everyone in attendance is given opera masks to wear, bags to keep phones in which are then sealed with tags & you're not allowed to talk either, so for the most part you can't gauge anyone's reactions to what's going on. We took a friend who is visiting for the weekend for a laugh, not entirely sure she was bowled over by our choice though, even with her mask on.
As there's no dialogue at all, it's all very atmospheric and set to either dark pounding techno (mostly)/industrial, or spooky ambient noise. As a sensory experience it was a good one-off, I'm not a classics expert by any stretch of the imagination & so some of the scenes and more subtle references were definitely lost on me. If that's an area of interest to you, you might well love it. There's various other stuff going on too, but I've probably said enough.
The bar prices bring you crashing back to reality pretty fooking quickly though, and Woolwich is a absolute pain in the arse to get to.
7.5/10 overall. Purely for the novelty value it's worth a trip. But won't be for everyone. It all lasts c. 3 hours, although we left after 2 and a half. Took our own path, to the pub.
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If that wasn't in Woolwich I would go. But that's too much effort. Looks cool tho
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Woolwich is on Lizzy line.
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Did you get your knob out?
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I didn't, but at one point a scene involving a young female 'ended', and she ran off the set in the direction of a small room I happened to be standing next to, with two other unsuspecting people, then promptly dropped her clothes for no apparent reason within about 10 feet of where I was standing.
I wasn't expecting that, it would be fair to say.
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Highlight was probably seeing the Lizzy line for the first time and how Canary Wharf seems have gone all Blade Runner. Actually pretty smart round there now.
The whole Woolwich barracks development is pretty cool too, tbf. Shame about the rest of it.
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Sounds like the sort of thing for rich students, the owners will clean up. And have to, by the sound of it. Ick.
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None taken, I'm fairly sure at least one of our party felt that way about it. Possibly two.
I'm more on the fence because elements of it were very impressive and there's clearly a huge amount of work gone into it. Location is a bit of a pain, yes, but I guess there aren't many 100,000 sq. ft sets about and it really only works at all due to the scale of it. You could feasibly wander round the whole thing pretty much alone. But then there'll be secret rooms, or bigger sets around a corner. Sometimes it's literally just you, in a room/set, watching an actor, and nobody else.
I gather Punchdrunk have done other stuff in the same vein, bit with more light-hearted subject matter and dialogue, which might be more enjoyable. This was much more at the intense end of things.
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You sure it wasn't the Secret Cinema does Eyes Wide Shut?
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I've done a Shakespeare version of this called Sleep No More many years ago. You had to wear a mask like in eyes wide shut and the actors were making it their job to try and give people boners / lady boners in the ad lib areas. It was ok. Weird, but ok.
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“ad lib areas”
V gd, will steal, thanks,
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There is very much an 'Eyes Wide Shut' vibe to it.
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That's pretty close, I'd heard that previously mentioned as a comparison. But with a massive budget for this one, presumably.
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I've been getting bombarded with ads for this so good to hear from someone who has been. Might try it
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I'd consider going again if I could get a £25 ticket, of which there are limited ones. It's a lot to take in at first, but if you know sort of what to expect I think it'll make more sense. There's some nutters on the Facebook ads comments who have been 5-6 times though, which is a bit much. As someone said earlier, rich students probably, of which there were definitely a healthy number in the queue.
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Some of the cast are brilliant, it has to be said. The creepy looking chap at the end of the bar in the trailer, especially,
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Been thinking about going for a while. You can sometimes get cheaper tickets and I probably would go if new ones came up. I know one of the performers though, and they told me that it’s a toxic working environment. Not surprising given how much time they have to spend naked in front of strangers. It’s probably not most actors’ dream job tbf.
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The whole thing is all very dark and foreboding, the sets are actually stunningly rendered but it all makes for a rather creepy & unsettling experience overall, which I guess is the point. Almost sinister in parts, hard to really articulate without seeing it.
We were getting strange vibes in the bar area by near the end though (you can dip in and out of the main warehouse bit and get thoroughly fleeced in the bar, at your leisure). The bar area btw, is a show all in itself.
It'd be a hard place to spend a lot of time for the cast, I'd imagine. Intense environment.
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