Participatory – Archive

The Gate Theatre is thirty years old this year, and they’ve been involving their fans in the celebrations…Taking part in the exhibition engenders a strange feeling of connectedness.

Participatory theatre is hard. Especially when the audience don’t want to play ball. But I remain to be convinced that relentless pestering, emotional blackmail and the odd physical shove onto the dancefloor is the answer.

Punchdrunk have woven iconic cultural references from the myth of Faust into the physical appearance of the rooms, corridors and stairwells of the building at 21 Wapping Lane.

It’s fascinating when the real world comes into the theatre. But to what degree can you make it come in realistically?

Part 1 of a two-part retrospective article on Shunt’s production of Amato Saltone.

Part 2 of a two-part retrospective article on Shunt’s production of Amato Saltone.

Can anyone really accept with open arms the responsibility of another’s sensations?