I was going to try to crow-bar this review into one of the other topics, but couldn't decide which, so I created a new one.

The Book of Mormon

I don't want to talk about the plot of this really.

All I want to say is that it is qualita, and should be seen. I'm sure Drew (sorry, NEWLY ENGAGED DREW) will back me up on this.

He's not really engaged until he declares it on here. As such he may be the first person to get married without ever getting engaged.

The Drowned Man (Punchdrunk)

You can probably file this under tl;dr but here are my thoughts anyway:


The Drowned Man is a tough experience to explain; it is called, by the makers, a 'promenade performance'. Taking place over four floors of an ex-sorting office in Paddington, the show invites roughly 600 audience members to don white masks and wander freely as 30-odd performers act out scenes over 3 hours. Each actor runs through their story three times a show, interacting with different characters as they weave in and out of their own tales.
I didn't look into the show too much before going as I decided it would be best to be surprised. So we arrived at the appointed time to a long queue, eventually depositing our bags and embarking into a twisty maze of dimly-lit passages accompanied by a daunting, clashing, droning soundtrack. Issued with our masks we were told to keep them on at all times, keep silent and, if we were to get the most out of the experience, ditch our friends. Then we were let out into 'Temple Studios', a fictional film studio in a 60's American wasteland. We ignored the latter piece of advice and toured the basement together, not really knowing what we were looking for. Occasionally we would witness a white mask doing weird things; making themselves comfortable in a chair, slitting open letters and settling to read; searching under a banquette, digging out a shirt and giving it a good sniff; a small contingent trailing an (unmasked) actor like weird, ghostly shadows.
Eventually we went upstairs to come across a snow-filled room next to a bedroom in which Wendy and Marshall (according to the blurb) dance-argued in front of and around a crowd of watchers. They separated, each trailing their loyal followers, leaving us to explore:

Further on we were shut out of a dressing room as a small contingent presumably had a private(ish) scene; afterwards we watched, confused as one white mask loyally gave a half-dressed man a back massage.

Exploring some kitchen cupboards Jess discovered words scrawled in red lipstick across the back: WE LIVE IN A DREAM.

Venturing out of the studios into a tin shack of a church where a completely naked man is splashing about theatrically in a bath of water.

Eventually picking a character to follow; Lila, as she enters the studio innocently by invitation from the sinister head, Mr Stanford; a taunting dance by the security guard before he finally letts her in; a strange moment where she listens to her son on a dictaphone, reciting a poem that merges with the foreboding tones of Stanford; a reluctant dance with Alice on the boardroom table; a solitary dance in the trees of Studio 8 followed by being entertained and then scared by The Fool in the birthday tent as he too recites Stanford's words; before losing her in the crowd as a veritable torrent surge after her downstairs.

Slightly nonplussed we ventured back out to the badlands, capturing a hoe-down in the bar, witnessing an infidelity, and eventually following the cuckolded William around town and upstairs to the desert for his unthinking revenge. We ended up back in the forest of Studio 8 with a full-blown, stomp-along dance featuring the whole cast; white masks seated on the bark chippings; a party atmosphere giving way to something more sinister as the murdered are submerged in water; then a select few of the audience are whisked away and we follow to the bar and the end of the show.

In the end I was impressed by the staging and commitment of the show; the props were extensive and the stage was bewildering and comprehensive, but I felt a little removed from the experience. In retrospect I decided it has been a mistake to go in as a pair; we had the same experience and hence not much to talk about beyond what we thought of it. I was not much the wiser having been in Temple Studios for three hours than before. As I looked into others' experiences however, I realised that you get out what you put in; if you wander round at a remove, glimpses is all you'll get.

So we went back for the 'studio executive experience'...