Punchdrunk
The Crash of The Elysium

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MediaCityUK in Salford was home to one of the major events of MIF11. This spectacular, live Doctor Who adventure for children aged 6-12 and their families was devised by award-winning 'immersive’ theatre company Punchdrunk and the BBC’s Doctor Who team. Together they created an unforgettable event especially for MIF 2011. In 'The Crash of the Elysium’ the audience became the stars of this exhilarating and astonishing new show.
 

The Crash Of The Elysium 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 and 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.  

“I only hope that everyone who enters Punchdrunk’s world is brave and smart and brilliant enough to survive the crash of The Elysium…“
Tom MacRae, writer and co-creator of The Crash Of The Elysium

Click here to watch an interview with Tom MacRae on The Crash Of The Elysium

There are two different types of performance of The Crash of the Elysium – Children Only Performances and Family Performances. Please note that this show is specially made for children aged 6-12. Children outside this age range will not be admitted, nor will adults unless they are accompanying children as part of the Family Performances. 
 
1/. Children’s Performances
These performances are designed for children only. The children must be aged 9-12. Accompanying adults will leave the performance after 5 minutes, while the children complete the show. Adults will be taken to the on-site café to wait for their children to finish.Children will be accompanied by an actor at all times. Each child will require their own ticket. Accompanying adults do not require tickets. Children younger than 9 will not be admitted to these performances.

2/. Family Performances
These performances are designed to allow adults to accompany children aged 6-12 and are particularly suitable for younger children (ages 6-8). A maximum of 1 adult can accompany each child and adults are requested to hold back and allow children to lead the performance.

In response to public demand, MIF, the BBC and Punchdrunk are delighted to announce a very limited number of adult-only performances for adults of 'The Crash of the Elysium’. A limited number of tickets now on sale.

All tickets £25. Start times from 7.10pm.

These performances are only open to those over 13 years-old.

Metrolink Tram
From national railway stations, Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria, you can travel to MediaCityUK by Metrolink tram. You should alight at the MediaCityUK stop.

After exiting the train at Oxford Road walk up Oxford Road towards St Peter’s Square. At St Peter’s Square board an Eccles tram, alighting at Harbour City.

After exiting the train at Piccadilly Station head towards the tram station which is clearly signposted and located beneath the train station. Board an Eccles tram alighting at MediaCityUK.

Metrolink can be contacted on 0161 205 2000.

Parking
There is a passenger drop-off point immediately in front of The Lowry centre, one minute from MediaCityUK.  Secure parking is available in the Lowry Outlet Mall multi-storey car park, which also has designated areas for disabled people on each level.

Bus Information
Buses that go along the Quays and past MediaCityUK: 69 – Eccles – Stretford. A regular service until 6pm excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Buses that stop on Trafford Wharf Road (10 mins walk to MediaCityUK): 290 & 291 – Flixton – Manchester. An early morning and regular afternoon & evening service. No weekend or Bank Holiday service.

Buses that stop on Eccles New Road (20 mins walk to MediaCityUK): 27 – Swinton – Manchester. A regular service excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays.

25 – Bolton – Manchester. An evening, Sunday and Bank Holiday service.
33 – Wigan – Manchester. A regular service.
63 – Brookhouse – Manchester. An evening, Sunday and Bank Holiday service.
Buses that stop on Trafford Road (20 mins walk to MediaCityUK): 51 – Old Trafford – Manchester. A regular service excluding evenings, Sundays and Bank Holidays.
52 – Old Trafford – Manchester. A regular service excluding evenings.
Please check bus routes and timetables with GMPTE on 0870 608 2 608 before you travel.

Need a taxi?
There are a number of local taxi firms which are regularly used by MediaCityUK. Manchester City Centre is only 10 minutes away.
Swan Taxis (private hire) can be contacted on 0161 707 3000
Saltax Taxis (black cabs with full wheelchair access) can be contacted on 0161 737 2222
Defelice Travel (private hire and shuttle service between The Lowry – 1 min from MediaCity – train stations and hotels) can be contacted on 0161 872 2725 or 07894 649 122.
Quays Taxis (visit www.quaystaxis.co.uk for more details). There is a cab rank outside The Lowry, one minute from MediaCityUK, and a contact system which allows you to speak directly to a driver. Contact on 0161 660 6666.
1010 Taxis (private hire) can be contacted on 793 / 794 1010

Arriving on Foot
There are several walkways navigating the rejuvenated waterways of Salford Quays. The Lowry Footbridge offers access from Trafford Wharfside and provides spectacular views of The Quays.

• This is a promenade, walk-through production. The audience will be walking for the entire production, which is approx 60 minutes.
• Like any Doctor Who episode, children will find this event both scary and exciting.
• Children will be accompanied by an actor at all times.
• The audience will be admitted in groups of 25, every 10 minutes. Each group of 25 will experience the show separately; it is not possible to meet up once inside the event.
• Some ground surfaces are uneven. We therefore suggest wearing sneakers or trainers. No open-toed footwear of any kind allowed. Anyone not wearing suitable footwear will be refused entry.
• This event is not suitable for people with a heart or respiratory condition, for people who have a fear of the dark or who dislike tight and/or confined spaces
• This event may contain strobe lighting, theatrical smoke, low lighting levels and high sound levels
• Patrons enter at their own risk and there is no re-entry or re-admittance.
• Due to the nature of the event, it is not possible to admit late-comers.
• For the Children’s Performances, ticket purchasers must explain in advance to the children attending the show that they will be taking part on the show on their own.
• For the Family Performances, children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. We therefore recommend that there are sufficient adults as part of the booking so that should a child wish to leave before the end, an adult is able to exit with that child.

PLEASE NOTE THAT TICKET HOLDERS MUST ARRIVE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE START TIME PRINTED ON THEIR TICKETS.

• Some ground surfaces are uneven. We therefore suggest wearing sneakers or trainers. No open-toed footwear of any kind allowed. Anyone not wearing suitable footwear will be refused entry.
• Patrons enter at their own risk and there is no re-entry or re-admittance.
• Due to the nature of the event, it is not possible to admit late-comers.
• For the Children’s Performances, ticket purchasers must explain in advance to the children attending the show that they will be taking part on the show on their own.

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

We’ve been doing some research into the Elysium and thought you might be interested in finding out what we’ve discovered.

Click on these links

northwesthistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/

darylthediver.blogspot.com/

“Punchdrunk is delighted to be working with the BBC once again, this time for an exciting new audience and one that’s very dear to our hearts. You might say 6 – 12 year olds are at the perfect ages for Punchdrunk’s work. Certainly, we’ve always been on a mission to spark our adult audiences back to that childhood state of imaginative freedom and sense of adventure that kids possess in abundance. Over the past couple of years, our Enrichment department has been developing innovative work with children in schools, exploring the same immersive techniques that make up the Punchdrunk theatrical experience. Now, with The Crash of the Elysium, there’s a fantastic opportunity for Punchdrunk to take all of that imaginative energy back to the source, in a thrilling live show made especially for kids.“ Felix Barrett

Felix Barrett is the Artistic Director of Punchdrunk and a graduate and Honorary Fellow in Drama, University of Exeter, Felix has conceived, designed, and directed all of Punchdrunk’s  productions since founding the company in 2000. He is a Critics’ Circle Drama Award winner (Best Design, Faust, 2006) and one of the first recipients of a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Breakthrough Fund Award (2008-2011), which supports exceptional arts practitioners in the development of their vision. In 2009, he directed (with Tom Morris) the Stoppard/Previn Every Good Boy Deserves Favour at the National Theatre, London, It Felt Like A Kiss, a collaboration between Punchdrunk, documentary film-maker Adam Curtis, and rock musician Damon Albarn for the Manchester International Festival (2009), Punchdrunk’s award-winning US debut production, Sleep No More (2009) and The Duchess of Malfi (collaboration with English National Opera, 2010). Most recently, Felix was Creative Director for Shakira’s current world tour The Sun Comes Out. 

Tom MacRae is an award winning screenwriter and author.  He has written for Channel 4’s No Angels and As If, Lewis and Marple on ITV and several episodes of Doctor Who for the BBC, as well as on numerous other drama series.  He was nominated for a BAFTA in 2002 for Off Limits: School’s Out for Channel 4, and is the writer and creator of a new seven part comedy-drama series for Comedy Central, premiering in 2011.  MacRae has also written three books for children; Baby Pie, When I Woke Up I Was A Hippopotamus and The Opposite, which won the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award in the United States.

“ Doctor Who has always been interactive. Children don’t just watch it, they join in, they play at it, they become part of it . It invades their living rooms, their dreams, and sometimes the space beneath their beds. To me, ordinary theatre never quite seemed right for the Time Lord and his monsters – you don’t want to see all that terror and wonder tamed behind a proscenium arch – but that’s not what Felix and Punchdrunk are about. In Tom MacRae’s brilliant play the audience will tipped into the terrifying heart of a Doctor Who adventure – not a theme park ride, not an exhibition, an honest to goodness battle to the death, with the worst nightmares of the Time Lord’s world. ” Steven Moffat, BBC

Punchdrunk is the internationally acclaimed pioneer of a new form of immersive theatre that places the audience at the centre of the experience. Award-winning productions include Faust (in collaboration with the National Theatre, 2006), The Masque of the Red Death (2008), Tunnel 228 (in collaboration with The Old Vic, 2009), It Felt Like A Kiss (with Adam Curtis and Damon Albarn, Manchester International Festival, 2009), Sleep No More (with the American Repertory Theatre, Boston, Mass., 2009), The Duchess of Malfi (with ENO, 2010). In 2008, the company formed Punchdrunk Enrichment, its education and outreach department which now works with schools and community groups across London. As well as producing epic theatrical productions, Punchdrunk occasionally works with partners in the execution of  unusual experiential projects and events. Punchdrunk is currently presenting its New York debut at the legendary McKittrick Hotel in the Chelsea district, which opened 7 March 2011. 
www.punchdrunk.org.uk

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