A Techno-Future, Wartime, Drunken Stupor - a review of The Burnt City by Punchdrunk in

London

When thinking about adapting the Trojan War into a piece of interactive theatre, many

would likely not think of mixing a dystopian cyberpunk future with a classic wartime aesthetic.

Still, the creators at Punchdrunk, an artistic company known for their interactive piece of theatre,

Sleep No More, in New York City, based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Punchdrunk is known for

its extra-visionary artistic works that go beyond what was thought capable or what was deemed

inside-the-box thinking.

At a Punchdrunk experience, you enter at a certain time, are given a playing card to hold

onto, a bag for your phone that locks, and are ushered into a bar area where you can purchase

beverages and small bar snacks. Each Punchdrunk show has specialty cocktails that can be

purchased while in the area. Throughout the night, an announcement is made with the number on

your playing card, from that point on you can head into the space. You enter as a group and are

given masquerade masks that you wear to distinguish yourself from the actors. While walking

through the space, you are more than welcome to look at every detail, follow a character around,

or stay in the same place and see what happens, but you cannot speak and not take off the mask.

Not everyone will see everything that happens, so conversations after the show can help you

piece together what happens. Having previous knowledge of the topic would be helpful and

attending with multiple people willing to split up is recommended. The actors perform their route

three times before performing an ending or two.

In The Burnt City, you enter on the side of Greece, which has been at war with Troy for

many years. There are wartime tents everywhere with World War II aesthetic desks with many
documents describing the situation. As you continue through to the middle section of the space,

you see big iron pieces in the shape of a jax where actors perform dance pieces, including the

sacrifice of Iphigenia, played by Fern Grimbley on the May 30, 2023, performance to Artemis by

the Grecian army. Most actors’ performances are silent dances with small grunts and gasps. As

you continue to the upper floor, you will see a long table with a lightbar above, where Aegisthus,

played by Andrea Carrucciu, who worked on Sleep No More, Shanghai, and Clytemnestra,

played by Brenda Lee Grech, a dancer from the Scottish Ballet engage in a stylishly sexual dance

and bloody dinner. Later Agamemnon, played by Jonathan Savage, is murdered nude in the

shower. In Punchdrunk shows, nudity is common. Polyxena, played by Eleonore Cabrera. On the

other side of the space, there are rooms with sand on the floor where cult-like activities happen

with the bones of a ram. In Troy, we see the dystopian cyberpunk neon aesthetic of a cityscape

with a bar, shops, restaurants, and a hotel. The details in the dark space are immaculate as the

combination of the lighting and haze with the neon lights create an outdoor nighttime aesthetic

inside of the building.

To follow the plot even slightly, it is recommended that you are familiar with the events

of the Trojan War, as described in Homer’s, The Iliad (which has many straightforward

adaptations in different formats). Particularly the main events of the royal families from Greece

and Troy, as that is the main focus of The Burnt City. Many of the sacrifices that occur within

these families are demonstrated.

If you are someone who is interested in experimental theatre, Punchdrunk products,

including The Burnt City are for you. The experience is not for the faint of heart because there

are some gross and disturbing topics that are explored, however, it is a fun experience to go to,

especially if you go with a group of friends and purchase a drink or two. Even if you were to sit
in one room and watch what happens, you are likely to see a decent amount of the show (until it

repeats itself) and follow at least one plot line, but it is recommended to explore the entire space,

or at least as much as you can. You will still miss something unless you were to come back again

and again.