A show left me lost in space and time... much like Nasa’s jettisoned library

I never read reviews of Punchdrunk shows before I see them - I try hard not to read anything at all, bar where and when to turn up, which these days is usually the theatre company’s home in Woolwich, southeast London, a warehouse space that can, thanks to the imagination of founder Felix Barrett and his team, be transformed into any number of immersive spaces.

- Erica Wagner

I loved last year’s Viola’s Room, in which Helena Bonham Carter whispered a story by Daisy Johnson into your ears and you flowed through a setting that was half child's bedroom, half folktale sprung to life. So Iwas eager to mark the turn of the year with a visit to Lander 23, a show configured as a game. I won't say much in case you want to go, but it’s set in outer space and you have to run and hide ~ heart-poundingly authentic to my sheltered self. And yet. Itwas curiously empty, and ~ despite having to work in teams - didn’t provide the sense of connection to your fellow audience members you usually get with their work. Note to self for 2026: seek connection. Not just at the theatre - everywhere.

f my critical brain was disappointed, the part of me that desperately wants to climb aboard the Starship Enterprise, that watches the film of Apollo 13 over and over, that listens to the brilliant podcast