Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man

I'm guilty of being somewhat slow on the uptake at times, and until recently had never even heard of immersive theatre, let alone tried it. It took a friend's suggestion before I finally tootled along. She booked the tickets, I transferred the money, and promptly put it in my diary and out of my mind. As the big day rolled round, I hopped on the website for a couple of minutes, felt decidedly confused about what it was all about and distracted myself with cute cat videos instead.

In hindsight, my shameful lack of swotting worked in my favour. Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man is definitely a better experience the less you know about it. The mystery, intrigue and confusion all contribute to an awe-inspiring evening.

So I'll limit my explanation other than to say that this is theatre like you've never seen it before. Donning a mask, you're left to wander a huge-scale set, which spans over four floors of an old Royal Mail sorting office in Paddington. It's dark and eerie with dozens of rooms and incredible, haunting music blaring out. The actors are the only ones not wearing masks, making them instantly recognisable. Pockets of acting spring up all over the set, meaning you are left to piece together the storyline through snippets of dancing, singing, dialogue and occasional nudity.

Having loved it so much the first time, I decided to go again with Frank a week later, and saw a completely different show. My suspicion is that you could probably visit a dozen times and see different parts of the play each time. Without wanting to spoil it any more, I'll say this - if you're looking for an entirely different theatre experience that is eerie, confusing, creepy, extraordinary and perfectly brilliant, give Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man a try.

At home, I immediately added the soundtrack to my Spotify favourites. Have a listen to the songs below to get a feel for what it's all about.

Have you ever tried immersive theatre?

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