The New Wolsey Theatre and Ipswich Arts Festival are delighted to announce that tickets for The Crash of The Elysium, Punchdrunk’s live Doctor Who adventure which plays in Ipswich from 15 June – 8 July as part of the London 2012 Festival, go on sale at 10am on Friday 20 January.
Created by Punchdrunk, award winning internationally acclaimed pioneers in immersive theatre, The Crash of The Elysium is a live Doctor Who adventure in which the audience is the star of the show. Premiered to great critical acclaim as part of the 2011 Manchester International Festival, The Crash of The Elysium is revived in Ipswich this summer for 3 weeks only.
Tom MacRae writer and co-creator of the Crash of the Elysium said: “The show is unlike anything else you have ever experienced in the world of Doctor Who. This is your story, your mission, you are the hero. Everything depends on you. If you don’t turn up, the world does not get saved.
Punchdrunk are theatrical wizards. Their shows are a stunning blend of magic, excitement, adventure and impossibility. Once you enter a Punchdrunk show, the laws of physics are switched off until you leave again. There is no stage, there is no comfy seating, there is no division between the world of the audience and the world of the show. You are at the heart of the action, you drive the story forward. No two shows will ever be the same, no individual adventure will ever be repeated.
The madness and brilliance of Doctor Who could not find a better theatrical partnership than Punchdrunk, and slamming these two incendiary giants together has produced the most exciting hour of entertainment anyone could ever wish for.”
Felix Barrett, Director of Punchdrunk said: “We started this process with ‘What would be the dream show to see as a 10 year old? ’. This is it. To embrace the cultural icon that is Doctor Who and to work with their extraordinary team has been an incredible adventure and I can’t wait to bring to bring the show back to life in Ipswich.”
Liz Hughes, Creative Programmer for the East of England for London 2012, said: 'We are delighted that The Crash of The Elysium will be part of the London 2012 Festival this summer. The show offers a truly extraordinary experience which will help make this summer one to remember for a lifetime. As well as helping Doctor Who you can also get dancing with the world’s finest choreographers, ring bells with Martin Creed, or go Walking with US artist Robert Wilson. In addition to paid-for events, there are over ten million free opportunities to take part this summer across the UK. It is going to be an exceptional year.”
There are three different types of performances of The Crash of The Elysium – School performances for years 4 to 7 ( ages 8 - 12), Family performances for ages 7 – 12 and After Dark performances for ages 13+.
Family performances These performances are designed for ages 7 – 12 but children must be accompanied by an adult. A maximum of 1 adult can accompany each child and adults are requested to hold back and allow children to lead the performance.
Preview family performances begin at 6.30pm on Friday 15 June, run from 2pm on Saturday 16 June and from 11am on Sunday 17 June. Subsequently there are 18 family performances between 11am and 5.50pm on the following dates: Sat 23, Sun 24 and Sat 30 June and Sun 1, Sat 7 and Sun 8 July.
School performances These run from 10am to 1.50pm Tuesday to Friday from Tuesday 19 June to Friday 6 July. At school performances, children and accompanying teachers do the whole adventure together but we ask that teachers allow the children to lead.
After Dark performances These performances are designed for ages 13+ and anyone under this age will not be admitted. Previews run from 7.30pm to 8.20pm on Sunday 17 June. Following the opening weekend After Dark performances run from 6.30pm to 8.50pm Tuesday to Friday from Tuesday 19 June to Friday 6 July and from 7.30pm to 8.20pm on the following dates: Sat 23, Sun 24 and Sat 30 June and Sun 1, Sat 7 and Sun 8 July.
Performances are 60 minutes long and will take place at Crown Street Car Park, Audiences will be required to register at least 15 minutes before their allotted entry time and due to the nature of the experience sensible footwear is compulsory.
Created by Felix Barrett and Tom MacRae Written by Tom MacRae Based on an original idea by Steven Moffat Directed by Felix Barrett Designed by Livi Vaughan Lighting Design by Paul Normandale Sound Design by Stephen Dobbie
