Stunning photographs from inside Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man

Date
20 April 2015

As Hollywood stars and wounded lovers flew around me, I found myself strolling around a sandy expanse, playing on a rickety old piano, sipping from a hidden whisky bottle and finally being pushed against a wall as someone whispered “you’re wonderful” into my ear. It’s safe to say a night at a Punchdrunk production is as disorientating as it is thrilling. The theatre company’s The Drowned Man, which ran for a year from 2013, was utterly exhilarating, breathtakingly complex and stunningly beautiful. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but lordy it was impressive. However, the visceral, immersive nature of the whole thing makes it damn hard to convey in two dimensions; though this new photo book of images shot by Julian Abrams comes pretty close. From a steamy tryst to a poignant pair of red shoes, the drama, the emotion and the sense that you can never truly piece together the full story of the production are communicated brilliantly. If it could whisper affirmations into our ears, it’d be just about spot on.

Above
Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook
Above

Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Above

Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Above

Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Above

Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Above

Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Above

Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Share Article

About the Author

Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.