Punchdrunk’s new immersive theatre project is one which all the family will enjoy. Providing members of the family are fans of running around in all-action melees set on distant planets. And who isn’t?
The new production is called LANDER 23 and is billed as a live action video game, in which the ‘usual’ (ie mind-melting) immersive theatre techniques pioneered by Punchdrunk are underpinned by video game mechanics.
Here’s the tantalising set-up pitch:
‘The Lander Division of the Centre for Astrobiology is responsible for exploring the outer realms of the galaxy. No division goes further or deeper into the unknown.
A week ago, the crew of LANDER 23 vanished while harvesting a new and valuable energy source on Hisarlik 426. A distress signal, then silence.
You are the next crew in.
Mission Parameters: LAUNCH, SEARCH, SURVIVE ‘
Now if that doesn’t whet your whistle, then you’re probably not a video game fan or Alien fan. But even then, the sheer ambition behind this one should surely draw you in. A real-life multiplayer stealth game in which you have the agency to save lives, solve puzzles and escape whatever the hell is out there… exciting no?
Certainly the Artistic Director of Punchdrunk, Felix Barrett, thinks so:
“I was really keen to try and make something that would be the dream show for my inner 12 year old,” he says, “Where you bring a video game into the real world and make people feel like they are their own avatar.”
“Punchdrunk is actually 25 years old this year, and LANDER 23 represents an apt production to mark their ethos. Barrett says the term ‘immersive theatre’ which was applied to Punchdrunk, came from the media applying video game terminology to the show: “the most immersive form of entertainment are video games because you’re completely submerged in a world where you have total agency to do whatever you want to do.
“When we first opened with Sleep No More in New York [their original production from 2003, based on MacBeth], one of the papers gave us ‘Game of the Year’. I suddenly realised what we do is quite similar to gameplay. And ever since then I’ve been fascinated by the idea of going the whole hog: what if we took the game mechanics from a big popular adventure game and applied them to a live world. Where an audience member had that much control and could really do whatever they want.
“They follow a narrative, they can explore, they can try and beat their friends for points, they can go off on side quests.
“I genuinely believe it’s the future. LANDER 23 is our first step on that pathway.”
This then, is not simply a fun new production for them, but a sign of what the future may hold for Punchdrunk and for entertainment in general. Particularly when there’s a generation who are brought up on video games, who will truly appreciate gaming in ‘real life’, with all the physical rush that a proper experience will bring.
“There’s a whole generation who are going to demand more agency,” Barrett says, “Those who didn’t know a time before this digital age, and who are used to having complete control over their daily lives online, and who are going to be really fascinated about having the same for their evening out. For us as a company, it's definitely the future.”
See also: Punchdrunk's new live action video game is searching for early access players
LANDER 23 will be taking place at their permanent site in Woolwich, partially using old sets in the name of sustainability. Visitors there will be immediately plunged into the action, he promises.
“The idea of being on board a ship that's plummeting towards a planet, knowing that you're then going to immediately have to disembark and go straight into the melee, feels like the most intense hit of adrenaline that anyone would want. There’s nothing like a space adventure.”
The adventure is very much for adults and children, and is a chance for some true escapism from all the pressure and noise of modern digital life; “the empowerment that comes from being able to step inside a different version of yourself, to lose yourself in a character, and conquer exciting situations.” But there is a special kind of magic that comes when you’re involving children in these things.
“When we did The Crash of the Elysium, which was a Doctor Who work with Manchester International Festival 15 years ago, it was a show for 6 to 12 year-olds and adults weren't allowed in. They had to save the Doctor like they were in a live episode of Doctor Who, and turned out being the most emotionally impactive show I've ever done. These kids were so in it because of the immersive nature, experiencing it as though it was real. were real. So when they actually saved the Doctor and defeated the baddies they felt victory. It was incredibly emotional for them. Transformative. They realised what it was like to push through to the other side and actually achieve something.”
On that basis, it’s going to be a big deal for everyone who attends, an escape, transformative, a huge dose of fun to take you out of a difficult, bewildering world, and put some faith back in your ability to act.
“It’s going to be an amazing adventure, but at its core is something that we all need to remember about what we have inside us. To be able to have that sense of: you can do it.”
LANDER 23 is previewing from 17 September 2025. Tickets from £23. www.lander23.com.
