A SHOW THAT REVOLUTIONISED THE WAY WE USED THE BUILDINGThe Masque of the Red Death was a co-production between Punchdrunk and Battersea Arts Centre. It ran for seven months and was experienced by 46,000 people. It completely changed the way we thought about the building. Prior to The Masque of the Red Death, Battersea Arts Centre used three black box studios. Punchdrunk enabled us to look at the Old Town Hall Building with fresh eyes, seeing the potential in every room, corridor, stairwell and cupboard, opening up areas that had been shut away for years. It became the first Playground Project and enabled us to test out a series of ideas across the site. Bloomberg were sponsors of the production, which kick started three years of support for Playground Projects across the building. Bloomberg’s ongoing commitment to artistic projects that propel original ideas and reach new audiences has been invaluable to this process. Another key partner in the early days of Playground Projects, after The Masque of the Red Death, was the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. David Jubb and Battersea Arts Centre were recipients of the foundation’s innovative Breakthrough Fund, a three year programme of support to help an individual and organisation transform. |
![]() THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATHPractically, The Masque of the Red Death allowed important ideas to be tested through theatre before being committed to in the permanence of architecture, something Steve Tompkins describes as 'a rare luxury that is seldom achievable in more orthodox developments.' Punchdrunk's work takes shape in response to a place and the theatrical possibilities it offers. It begins with Felix Barrett sensing the atmosphere of a building and imagining what kind of theatrical world is latent in the space. When asked to describe the essence of Playgrounding, David Jubb often refers to the day when he, Barrett and Tompkins first walked around the building together to discuss the project. He recalls a moment when Felix was talking about the symbolic significance of fire in Poe's work. Steve said that Battersea Arts Centre had a number of boarded up fireplaces and suggested opening one up to use in the show. In the video below David Jubb discusses the scale of opportunities this conversation opened up. Due to the campaign to save the building, Battersea Arts Centre was thrust into the national media at an unprecedented level, at around the same time the collaboration with Punchdrunk and Haworth Tompkins was announced. When speaking about the ‘Wandsworth crisis’, David Jubb (Artistic Director of Battersea Arts Centre) reflected on how positive it was for the Punchdrunk project: Battersea Arts Centre’s board allowed the production costs of the show to escalate from a predicted £200,000 to £460,000 ‘because it was do or die.’ The crisis raised the artistic and financial ambitions of the project. |
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![]() David Jubb'Felix's excitement about the potential magic of this in the show was matched by my excitement of the legacy of that fireplace in the building. It was a moment when theory fell easily into practice and I realised the idea [of Playgrounding] had legs.' |
![]() Steve TompkinsSteve Tompkins is the Director of Haworth Tompkins Architects and was involved in the collaboration with Punchdrunk from the very beginning of the project. |
“The Masque of the Red Death left me Punchdrunk”Lyn Gardner |
![]() THE MASQUE OF THE READ DEATH - SYNOPSISThe Masque of the Red Death drew on eight short stories of Edgar Allen Poe including The Black Cat and the Tell Tale Heart. Using a cast of 35 and a detailed design transformation of the space they created an immersive theatrical environment in which the stories overlapped and the audience were allowed to roam freely. To read synopsis' of all the stories click here |
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The Masque of the Red Death Press Coverage
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“The most extraordinarily dramatic event you will find in any theatre”Sunday Telegraph |