Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle of Punchdrunk: In the Prae-sens of Body and Space — The (Syn)aesthetics of Site-Sympathetic Work

Abstract

Felix Barrett: A central feature of the work is the empowerment of the audience. It’s a fight against audience apathy and the inertia that sets in when you’re stagnating in an auditorium. When you’re sat in an auditorium, the primary thing that is accessed is your mind and you respond cerebrally. Punchdrunk resists that by allowing the body to become empowered because the audience have to make physical decisions and choices, and in doing that they make some sort of pact with the piece. They’re physically involved with the piece and therefore it becomes visceral.