In Lightning & Kinglyface's spooky paper forest, paper moths crawl the walls Jeff Moore

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Update: Punchdrunk Old Vic sell-out hit to have second run this autumn

IN a tangle of tunnels deep beneath Waterloo, an army of faceless workers toil in the dust and dark.

Banging machinery echoes through this dank subterranean maze - while shadowy figures lurk, bloated corpses float by and cigar-chomping fat men lounge in their management offices.

It sounds like a scene from some dystopian movie - but it's actually a bold new performance event set to take London by storm.

It's the brainchild of Hollywood actor and Old Vic Theatre artistic director Kevin Spacey, who was inspired by street artist Banksy's "pop-up" graffiti exhibition in a nearby Waterloo tunnel last summer.

In association with experimental theatre company Punchdrunk, he has assembled a crew of performers and big-name urban artists from Antony Micallef to Slinkachu, to create a creepy underground world in the vein of 1920s sci-fi movie Metropolis.

The whole thing takes place in a network of Victorian tunnels formerly run by British rail, but which have sat disused since the 1970s. During WWII they were even used as a mortuary for victims of the flu pandemic.

"I came across the tunnels when Banksy's exhibition was on and realised it was potentially the most extraordinary performance space," says Spacey. "This is all about bringing art and theatre together into something ambitious and wonderful."

Street artist Slinkachu has created his tiny models of people in hidden nooks, while Micallef has created a gilded statue of two fighting angels.

Elsewhere there is a paper forest, crawling with paper moths, spooky dummies of masked workers by artist Mark Jenkins, and bizarre still scenes, including a woman slumped over a melting table, by Polly Morgan.

Producer Hamish Jenkinson says: "It's a totally immersive experience - expect to be spooked, surprised, even grabbed by the arm and dragged into a one-on-one confrontation."

More than 15,000 people will get to see the performance over the coming 15 days - with entry completely free, but time slots booked online.

It opens officially to the public tomorrow evening.

Go to www.tunnel-228.com to reserve your place and find out where to go.

Update: Punchdrunk Old Vic sell-out hit to have second run this autumn