Most of the cast joins together around the long table, while audience members, brand new to the experience, try to piece together the clues they are seeing unfold before their eyes. The formal action begins at a large banquet hall, which should be no surprise to those familiar with Macbeth, and this scene serves as an establishing sequence for the entire evening. Even though they act out scenes from Macbeth and bring audiences through a story, everything from here on out is wordless, though there is a majestic and attention-getting soundtrack that weaves through the narrative. Once patrons leave the elevator, there is no more dialogue from the performers who populate the hotel. Exploration should be a personal endeavor at the McKittrick. Families and friend groups will (and should) likely split up, and that’s a good thing. It’s reiterated again and again by the staff members who herd the guests into this transportive elevator that Sleep No More is best experienced as a solo enterprise.
Entrance into the “hotel” is achieved via a large elevator that stops at different floors of the multi-floor building. At this time, patrons are also asked to wear a mask under this outer mask for COVID-19 purposes. But it’s better to experience Sleep No More with an open mind for adventure and no set plan.Īudience members wear characteristic masks with protruding beaks that seem like they’ve been pulled from Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. The immersive production has become so popular that there are numerous websites devoted to every nook and cranny of the McKittrick Hotel, and sure, some people will follow a path first forged by some previous blogger. It’s best to keep the intricate details of Sleep No More a secret, but, to be honest, the cat is out of the bag on the internet. This is the first of Sleep No More’s choose-one’s-adventure decisions. One can sit and imbibe before the real mystery begins, or, if one demands action right away, the play can begin almost immediately upon entering the bar. This range of interpretation is one of the most welcome aspects of the production.Īfter walking through a disorienting and barely lit maze, audience members find themselves at the Manderley Bar, a riotous nightclub with little tables, specialty drinks and jazzy tunes. Still others, may categorize their adventuring as pure Hitchcockian. Others may feel they have entered a speakeasy during the height of Prohibition. Some may think this production is firmly set in a noir movie, circa 1940s or 1950s. Patrons line up outside the “hotel” building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and leave behind the world of 2023 for the world of … well, that’s never exactly answered. This wondrous world of Hitchcockian mystery retells the story of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the most unique of ways, and this many years after its initial premiere, the Punchdrunk production, presented by the company Emursive, has lost none of its impact and beauty.įor the unbeknownst, Sleep No More is experiential theater at its finest. The immersive theatrical experience known as Sleep No More has called the McKittrick Hotel in New York City home for several years now. Photo courtesy of © Yaniv Schulman / Provided by DKC O&M with permission. Photo: Nicholas Bruder stars as Macbeth and Sophie Bortolussi as Lady Macbeth in Sleep No More.
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