With excitement building for the opening of The Burnt City at Woolwich Works, immersive theatre company Punchdrunk has been opening up the secrets of its new show to local residents in more ways than one.

Alongside an amazing ticket offer for people in the borough, more than 80 locals have worked on placements during the development of the show, opening doors to new careers in the creative industry.

Royal Greenwich resident Am was a Shadow Director during their placement. "Shadowing at Punchdrunk was a great experience and useful insight into the process of making devised and responsive work on a large scale,” they said.

“As a theatre maker, performer and writer it was really interesting to see how all of the production elements came together (sound design, set, performers , directors) to build the show and also gain insight into the evolution of the process from seed of idea to full realisation.

“It was also interesting to look at how the work was structured in order to story tell effectively, I felt really welcomed by all the staff and teams and it was great to meet everyone. As a queer working class artist on universal credit, getting opportunities like this one are few and far between, so it was brilliant to be given the opportunity."

Cllr Danny Thorpe, Leader of the Council said: “From the moment we welcomed Punchdrunk to the borough, we have been excited to celebrate the opening of The Burnt City. It is a huge milestone in our support for cultural organisations and our vision of high-quality arts experiences in Woolwich. Having a world-class theatre company on our doorstep also means that not only will our young people be able to access new opportunities and residents across the borough realise the economic benefits, everyone will have a special chance to enjoy the magic of the show through this fantastic ticket offer too.”

The first wave of £25 tickets will go on sale on Friday 18 March at midday, with further releases at midday on the final Friday of each month. Tickets will be for the performances taking place the following month, allowing local audiences priority access to the show, which will be the internationally-acclaimed theatre company’s first time in London since 2014. Residents’ tickets and more information will be available at theburntcity.com.