Many theatre producers have toyed with the idea of ‘immersive theatre’ but Punchdrunk has made it their mission since they were founded by Felix Barrett in 2000. Barrett calls their work “site sympathetic” – disrupting form, challenging audience members and blurring the line between reality and fiction. Punchdrunk’s early work includes Woyzeck (2000), which developed their approach of allowing audience members to create their own paths in a story. The Drowned Man (2013), one of their boldest pieces, ripped apart traditional views of narrative in theatre as audiences were encouraged to run free and piece together fragments of their identity. Recently, Punchdrunk built a fully functioning ‘village’ which is being used to host workshops and masterclasses for younger audiences.
