Adam Curtis meets Punchdrunk in Manchester
When the details of this year's were published lots of things caught my eye: Elbow with the Halle Orchestra, Laurie Anderson performing with Lou Reed, but one event in particular leapt out - .
Poster for It Felt Like a Kiss
A collaboration between installation theatre group and the documentary maker , the piece is about "America's rise to power in the golden age of pop, and the unforeseen consequences it had on the world and in our minds". This summary might seem a little dry, but previous experience suggests that this could be a really exciting event. Punchdrunk are masters of immersive theatrical event - I first saw their production of back in 2006 and was so impressed by the imagination and energy of their version - performed in a dilapidated warehouse with the audience wearing masks - that I went twice. Adam Curtis has made some of the most visually inventive and intellectually stimulating documentaries of the past couple of decades. The Century of the Self charted the development of psychoanalytic theory in the 20th century and its role in the rise of mass consumerism, while drew parallels between Islamic fundamentalism and American neo-conservatism.
Damon Albarn and the Kronos Quartet are also involved in the project, but I'm really intrigued to see what Curtis and Punchdrunk are going to come up with. The show is apparently "not suitable for people of a nervous disposition", which augers well.
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