Punchdrunk is set to return to New York City with Viola’s Room , the company’s first new production in the city since Sleep No More.
Presented in partnership with The Shed, the North American premiere of this intimate, audio-driven experience will open on 17 June and run for 18 weeks, until 19 October, at The Shed’s Level 4 Gallery.
Conceived and directed by Punchdrunk’s founder and artistic director Felix Barrett, Viola’s Room is narrated by acclaimed actor Helena Bonham Carter and written by Booker Prize–shortlisted author Daisy Johnson. Loosely inspired by Barry Pain’s 1901 gothic short story The Moon-Slave, the production leads small groups of audience members barefoot through a labyrinthine installation, guided by Bonham Carter’s voice via headphones.
“Viola’s Room is Punchdrunk’s most intimate and distilled production to date,” said Barrett. “It’s an invitation to step inside a teenage daydream and surrender to the unknown… a live, tactile and fully sensory journey. I’m so excited that New York audiences will soon be able to immerse themselves within the labyrinth of Viola’s Room.”
The production marks a significant reunion between The Shed and Punchdrunk. “Viola’s Room is a mesmerizing, wondrous experience,” said Alex Poots, artistic director of The Shed. “Having collaborated with Felix Barrett for nearly two decades, it’s an honour to now co-produce and premiere this remarkable work in New York.”
Originally staged at Punchdrunk’s London venue in Woolwich in 2024, the show blends visual art, narrative, and physical space to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Each 50-minute journey accommodates groups of up to six participants, highlighting the production’s emphasis on intimacy and immersion.
Helena Bonham Carter, whose distinctive voice anchors the experience, adds a layer of haunting elegance to the narrative. Her unseen presence guides visitors through the dreamscape, enhancing the show’s ethereal tone.
“The Shed was designed for the future of art making,” said Meredith “Max” Hodges, The Shed’s CEO. “Punchdrunk’s Viola’s Room perfectly embodies our mission—offering an enchanting experience that blurs the lines between audience and art.”
Tickets for Viola’s Room go on sale to Shed members on 9 April, with general booking opening on 17 April. The official headphone partner for the production is Bowers & Wilkins.
Immersive theatre company Punchdrunk is once again extending its new show Viola’s Room at One Cartridge Place in London.
The show had already extended to 15 September 2024, and now due to unprecedented demand the show is extending again, this time to 3 November 2024.
Viola’s Room is also rejigging its Wednesday matinees schedule from 31 July for the summer holidays, with performances starting from 2pm to 8.20pm.
The show is PG13 and suitable for adventurous teenagers.
Barefoot, and wearing headphones, small groups of up to six at a time feel their way through a maze-like installation as an unseen narrator – Hollywood star Helen Bonham Carter – guides them on a sensory journey to reveal a story of innocence lost and obsession unleashed.
Viola’s Room is written by Booker Prize-shortlisted Daisy Johnson, and reimagines Barry Pain’s classic gothic mystery The Moon-Slave for a new audience. It distils two decades of Punchdrunk’s immersive practice into an intimate, linear, audio-driven adventure that promises to suffuse the dreams of those who dare to follow the light.
The show opened in May, check out reviews of Viola’s Room here.
The production is conceived, directed and designed by Artistic Director Felix Barrett, with co-direction by Associate Director Hector Harkness (One Night, Long Ago; The Third Day) and design by Casey Jay Andrews (The Burnt City), Lighting Design by Simon Wilkinson (Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks), and Sound Designer Gareth Fry (Macbeth, Complicité’s The Encounter).
Viola’s Room is playing at One Cartridge Place Woolwich to 3 November 2024.
Book tickets to Viola’s Room in London
UPDATE: First published 27 June 2024 with news of the first Viola’s Room extension; Updated 1 August 2024 with the new extension
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