Punchdrunk's "It Felt Like A Kiss" sounds terrifying

The Manchester International Festival should be pretty familiar to Victorian Horror readers (and/or Damon Albarn fans). It is, of course the birthplace of his, and Jamie Hewlett's, Monkey: Journey To The West. This year, Damon's contribution is even more oblique than a Chinese opera. His score accompanies Punchdrunk and Adam Curtis' It Felt Like A Kiss.

Punchdrunk is a performance art theatre troupe (if I'm understanding it correctly). They've created a sort of haunted house in an abandoned Manchester building. It's not your normal haunted house though, instead of ghosts and monsters, you're haunted by the spectre of America's rise as a superpower...and the dark secrets hidden behind the happy pop culture.

I've read several reviews, and, well, it sounds terrifying. At one point I briefly flirted with the idea of flying to Manchester to see the Blur show, then staying on until July to catch this. After reading the reviews, I'm sort of glad I didn't get myself into that position! Not that I don't think it'll be amazing, it would be cool to hear Damon's score performed by the Kronos Quartet, but I'm not a fan of enclosed spaces...or being chased by a maniac with a chainsaw!

The Times' Review: It Felt Like a Kiss at the Quay House, Spinningfields, Manchester

The Guardian: Theatre reviews: It Felt Like a Kiss, Forbidden Broadway, Apologia

It Felt Like a Kiss

The Untied States of America
It Felt Like a Kiss scared me to death