Friday, November 22

Tag: Felix Barrett

Paranormal Activity – Leeds Playhouse
Yorkshire & Humber

Paranormal Activity – Leeds Playhouse

All of us have a personal deep, dark fear – mine is enclosed spaces – we’d run a million miles from, but it says something about human nature that most of us volunteer to be scared half to death watching horror movies. When the Courtyard theatre went totally dark there was a deep sense of both excitement and unease as we waited for this theatrical adaptation of the classic horror movie Paranormal Activity. There are two types of horror – splatter or psychological – and life long fan of the macabre Levi Holloway’s adaptation was most definitely on the creepy side, messing with our minds rather than splashing us with blood. Fans of the wildly successful Paranormal Activity franchise will enjoy this, but there’s plenty for people who never saw them at the flicks to enjoy as Holloway had...
The Burnt City – Woolwich Works
London

The Burnt City – Woolwich Works

Punchdrunk’s new piece directed by Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle is an exhilarating immersive experience which has the epic feel of Greek tragedy fused with a modern electricity. Based on Agamemnon and Hecuba, the story follows the characters as the mythical world comes to life. Audience members enter an exhibition which suddenly lurches into this realm, where space and time feels suspended. We are free to follow whatever takes our interest as a multitude of scenes occur simultaneously across the different spaces. There isn’t a huge amount of audience interaction, but it is visually and mentally engaging throughout as you endeavour to piece together the plot and choose where to go. For a venue with a plethora of different spaces, the set designed by Barrett, Livi Vaughan and Beatrice M...