One Minute World Arts- The Burnt City: Immersing Yourself in the Trojan War

The Burnt City: Immersing Yourself in the Trojan War

​#Punchdrunk is a British theatre renowned for its making of immersive theatrical experiences, among which is Sleep No More, an immersive piece based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth that won international acclaims. The theatre group’s latest work, The Burnt City, started its run in April 2022 at One Cartridge Place, a performing space located in the Royal Arsenal in southeast London, and will continue into early December this year. The story of The Burnt City focuses on the #TrojanWar, and explores complicated issues related to humanity through the fascinating combination of dance, sci-fi, and myth, with two famous scenes - the killing of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra and the blinding of Polymestor by Hecuba – included. It shows how these characters are doomed to suffer because of the war, and the price they would have to pay.

​Felix Barrett, founder of Punchdrunk, has devoted himself to the creation of new theatrical experiences, handing over the right of choosing what to see to the audience-participants, and making them move freely in the performing area. The Burnt City begins with a tour through the exhibition of Troy-related artefacts recovered by a real-life archeologist, which would prepare the participants for a journey full of make-believe experiences. Then they are invited to cover their face by wearing a beaked mask, hiding their identity for the benefit of freely walking around in the #labyrinth formed by more than 100 interconnected rooms, and selecting whatever scenes they feel like seeing in order to create their own unique ways of understanding the story. Meanwhile, performers would be acting and dancing in the atmospheric lighting, as instructed by the directors and the choreographer Maxine Doyle, so as to present revenge, lust, and death embedded in the story for the audience to feel and think.

 

《#燃燒之城》：希臘悲劇的沉浸式體驗

英國 #眩幻劇團（Punchdrunk）以打造體驗式劇場而聞名；其先前改編自莎士比亞《馬克白》的作品《不眠之夜》（Sleep No More），曾擄獲全球觀眾關注的目光。今年4月起，該團全新創作的《燃燒之城》（The Burnt City），在倫敦東南區由皇家軍械廠空間裝修而成的「彈匣展演館」（One Cartridge Place）裡，進行為期超過半年的 #沉浸式表演，預計至12月下檔。《燃燒之城》以希臘悲劇為本，主題聚焦於 #特洛伊戰爭 之上，透過融合舞蹈、科幻與神話的方式，探討複雜的人性議題，其中含括著名的克萊泰涅絲特拉（Clytemnestra）刺死阿格曼儂（Agamemnon），以及赫卡柏（Hecuba）刺瞎波里梅斯托爾（Polymestor）的劇情，看盡兩個家族為了戰爭所衍生的悲劇，以及所付出的代價。

​眩幻劇團的創辦人菲利克斯・巴雷特（Felix Barrett），致力革新劇場的體驗方式，將觀看演出的自主權交給觀眾，使其根據本身意向，自在地於展演空間內移動。《燃燒之城》從一開始，就讓觀眾置身於特洛伊城的遺物展中，將心靈抽離現實，轉而投入虛擬的戲劇情境間；之後再配戴上鳥喙面具，隱匿自己，在超過100間相連的「#迷宮」內，自行擇取演出片段來欣賞，以直覺去觀照個人對故事的所思所感。於此同時，表演者們則會依據編導的指令，在迷幻的燈光裡，演繹出希臘悲劇中有關復仇、慾望以及死亡的動人片段。

 

Reference: 
https://www.thestage.co.uk/long-reviews/punchdrunk-the-burnt-city-review-at-woolwich-works
https://www.cityam.com/the-burnt-city-review-punchdrunk-return-in-spectacular-fashion/
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/apr/21/punchdrunk-the-burnt-city-review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igTF4HHskw0&ab_channel=Alex_VS 

Photo Credit: Punchdrunk、Abundantart、Julian Abrams、Londontheatre1