BWW Reviews: THE DROWNED MAN: A HOLLYWOOD FABLE, Paddington, July 17 2013

It's been five years since Punchdrunk brought 'Masque of the Red Death' to the Battersea Arts Centre and since then the immersive theatre and cinema 'experience' has really captured London's imagination.

Now the early pioneers are back with 'The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable' and under the Artistic Direction of Felix Barrett have reinterpreted 'Woyzeck', an unfinished but highly regardEd Morality tale by German playwrightBuchner.

Set across numerous floors (you will get lost - wear comfy shoes) in a huge abandoned building close to Paddington station, Punchdrunk's preferred modus operandi is for the audience not to know anything about the show in advance. But the pamphlet issued on arrival does tell you that you are about to enter two worlds; a glamorous Hollywood studio inside the gates, and a seedy trailer park town inhabited those left outside them.

An assault on your senses; sight, sound - and what really struck me - smell (sniff some of the hanging costumes and spray some of the scent!) Punchdrunk have created an intensely beautiful and sometimes eerie atmosphere. However, clad in the standard issue mask, you don't feel afraid to explore and its a wonderfully liberating and intoxicating feeling.

The emphasis is to choose your own adventure and people are encouraged to travel through the constructed world on their own, meaning you are a fly on the wall as performers ignore the audience but dance and act out scenes mere feet in front of you.

I hadn't expected the show to be so physically demanding with performers dancing, climbing over cars, bars, caravans and any available surface.

What with the action happening across different floors, I expect I barely touched the surface of the extraordinary goings on inside a unassuming red brick building on a corner in Paddington. Therefore, I'm not going to pick out any particular cast members for praise, however all of the tableaus I witnessed were intense, dramatic and beautifully choreographed by Maxine Doyle.

The attention to detail of the set is incredible. I wandered through shops with original tills and 1960s soap boxes. There's a cinema with popcorn boxes and a film showing; working fountains; lavish starlet dressing rooms; beaches with real sand. Try opening some cupboards and reading things in envelopes.

My only tiny criticism is the pamphlet issued to you on arrival which essentially explains what is about to happen. For me, this aided my understanding of the story so I could follow its progression (something Secret Cinema could learn from). So if you don't want to know what is about to happen, don't read the leaflet!

'The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable' is an absolute work of art and shows how inventive immersive theatre can be. Kudos to The National Theatre for backing it, I will definitely be back to choose another adventure.

Tickets are still available for August with the show running until 8th December.

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