VIOLA’S ROOM

Review by Celia Ipiotis

Viola’s Room is the most recent concoction by the immersive British theater group Punchdrunk. When you reach the top of the escalator at the Shed, you’re taken to a room, asked to remove your shoes and part with your belongings before entering the maze of rooms.  A small group of people (I joined 5 others) move from one environment to another while listening to an alluring narration by Helena Bonham Carter about Princess Viola –the young, emotionally detached dancer — betrothed to Prince Hugo, and prone to unabashed moonlit romps.

Be warned, if you do not have good night vision, this event might not be your cup of brew. However, for the intrepid explorers, the experience will be satisfying. Before embarking on the adventure, one’s group proceeds from room to room by following lights that turn on and off — it’s as if everyone is chasing Tinker Bell through a cavernous fun house.

Each space depicts a different aspect of the gothic tale. Enter Viola’s dianty bedroom room, where toe shoes appear in a box next to her bed. And although no one actually ever dances,  the toe shoe motif repeats throughout–hanging from above, on chairs in frames, everywhere.

Because the journey requires a good deal of sensory concentration, Helena’s voice disappears, overwhelmed by your own inner voice saying, “What am I walking on? Where’s the light? How can I squish through this passage?” Each room opens onto a different landscape surrealistically related to the story.

Sound and music by Gareth Fry (themes from famous ballets flit in and out), lighting by Simon Wilkinson, and the truly labyrinthian design by Casey Jay Andrews (even Theseus would have been stumped) complement  Felix Barett’s multi-textural conception.

This experience decidedly heightens your tactile, visual and auditory senses. It forces a meditative type of concentration on what you see, hear and feel.

Why  not take a break from the everyday, and visit your inner self at Viola’s Room.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis