Last week, I had the exciting opportunity to enter Viola’s Room in London. I had this experience due to my role as a New Creative for Peterborough’s Jumped Up Theatre. Jumped Up Theatre is based in Peterborough, giving artists the opportunity to showcase work to the local Peterborough community. You can find out more through their website here https://jumpeduptheatre.com/. The role of a New Creative allows young people to work together to create a creative project for Peterborough, which as a team we are currently working towards. As a team, we embarked on a journey into Viola’s Room, giving us an insight into theatre, which will be beneficial for our projects in Peterborough.
Viola’s Room is a theatrical experience like no other – as the audience you are invited to enter a sensory experience through an audio-driven journey. The theatre company Punchdrunk created Viola’s Room – Punchdrunk are a theatre company who have been creating game-changing theatre since 2000. Punchdrunk create theatre that goes against the stereotypical norm of theatre, through inviting the audience to be physically involved. Most people assume theatre involves sitting in front of a stage and viewing a production, but Punchdrunk’s Viola’s Room allows you to enter an immersive physical space that makes you feel as if you are inside Viola’s mind.
Upon entering the theatre in London, the experience begins before you set foot in Viola’s Room. The bar has a creepy feel to it – with statues and lampshades revealing limited light into the space. Before entering Viola’s Room – you are required to take your shoes and socks off, as the entire event is barefoot. Audience members are then given a set of headphones, and instructed to walk into Viola’s Room, where the story of Viola’s Room is narrated. This is a group experience, however it is advised you are silent throughout as you take your own journey into Viola’s Room, as each individual is given their own set of headphones.
Viola’s Room takes you through various rooms, some of which are in darkness, inviting you to “follow the light”. Each room shocks and surprises you with various sensory experiences, such as physical things to touch, or music or lighting that shocks the senses. Storytelling is a powerful form of art, which can be portrayed in differing exceptional ways. Viola’s Room was an exceptional way of portraying a story through an immersive sensory and audio experience. The intimacy of the sensory experience makes it unforgettable – once you enter Viola’s Room, you are entering an experience like no other. Punchdrunk aims to create theatre that leaves the audience “spinning and intoxicated”, which is exactly how I felt towards the end of the experience.
I would recommend Viola’s Room to anyone who wants to be captivated away from reality and entered into a gothic world. Particularly, I feel that Viola’s Room will give young people the opportunity to experience theatre, as the story could be interpreted as a metaphor for growing up. Further, the creepy, gothic element is different, modern and exciting – which appealed to me as a young person who is interested in spooky stories.
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As someone who attends theatre productions regularly, I was initially skeptical about entering a physically immersive experience, but I soon changed my mind, due to the complex psychological experiences I felt throughout. As soon as the experience finished, I wanted to re-enter Viola’s Room and become immersed in her story again and again.
Entering Viola’s Room was a psychological shock on the senses that can only be explained if you enter the experience yourself. Go ahead and enter Viola’s Room by booking your tickets on the website here - https://www.punchdrunk.com/work/violas-room/
Will you dare to follow the light?
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