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A pair of red high-heeled shoes lie discarded on a patterned rug. The fabric is covered in a layer of white dust or salt.

Stunning photographs from inside Punchdrunk's The Drowned Man

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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.

Small locks of hair are tied with white string to handwritten labels and displayed on an orange fabric surface. The labels include names and dates, such as “Angela Bassett” and “Margine Home”.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook
A yellow hardcover book with debossed text. The cover reads “Punchdrunk”, “The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable” and “Photography by Julian Abrams”.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

A person leans forward in a dramatic pose, balanced on the roof of a vintage car. A single bright spotlight cuts through the darkness, illuminating them from above.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

A close-up of two people leaning in towards each other, their faces almost touching. One person has long red hair tied back with a pale pink bow.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

A person is submerged upside down in dark water, their face just below the surface. Bubbles and splashes of white water surround their head against a moody, shadowed background.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

Scraps of printed text are scattered across a worn wooden surface alongside several pencils and a pair of scissors. Harsh light casts deep shadows across the arrangement.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

A wooden director’s chair stands alone in a dark, misty forest. The fabric backrest features the words “Temple Pictures”.
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Julian Abrams: Punchdrunk, The Drowned Man photobook

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

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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.

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