![]() Reserve tickets online Since ticket prices vary and the entrance time differs, it’s important to check the information beforehand on the “Sleep No More” website. At “Sleep No More,” the audience has to find its own way into the show. This is completely different from a traditional theatre, where audiences sit in assigned seats and watch the performance. Audiences are free to move around the rooms and choose the actors they want to see and which part of performance they want to watch. Performed over about three hours, the play is divided into 25 actors’ point of view from different areas in the hotel at the same time. The biggest characteristic of this play is that there’s no distance between the actors and the audience. In addition to all these settings, the gloomy atmosphere increases the immersion level. ![]() A six-story high building, the hotel includes 100 rooms, a lobby, hallway, emergency exits and plenty of small spaces for storytelling. It used to be a warehouse space but was transformed into a hotel from the 1930s by UK theatre company Punchdrunk for “Sleep No More.” The hotel is reminiscent of the hotel from “The Shining,” directed by Stanley Kubrick. Additionally, the show’s iconic masks have been newly re-conceived to sleekly incorporate the safer N95 masks into its design.The lights at McKittrick Hotel, located on 27th St. To keep everyone involved safe, the show’s one-on-one encounters have been re-conceived to avoid unnecessarily close contact. Returning to the show post-lockdown, it took me a while to get re-acquainted and comfortable with its aggressive crowds, especially in tight quarters. If the brutality of it all gets too oppressive, there’s always the option of returning to the atmospheric Roaring Twenties decadence of Manderlay Bar (where you enter), where patrons can (re-)imbibe and enjoy some live cabaret performances. As a caveat, Sleep No More isn’t for every one – those looking to be hand-fed their entertainment will surely be frustrated the show richly rewards those committed to being proactive and inquisitive within its “choose your own adventure” framework.Įven after having experienced Sleep No More multiple times – the piece benefits from and grows richer with each successive visit – I continue to be awed by the world’s massive scale, meticulous detail, and voluptuous design, particularly the gorgeously moody lighting (which artfully emphasizes shadow and hazy visibility) and richly cinematic scoring. The current cast is a fearless and attractive bunch (as has always been the case with the show), and they throw themselves into the violent choreography with abandon. Since the play is effectively performed over three continuous hourlong loops, you’ll have the chance to track multiple characters over the course of the evening, thereby allowing you to piece the plot together and gradually uncover the piece’s many mysteries. The play’s events are enacted throughout this sprawling world, and it’s up to you to choose (or not) which character(s) to follow at any given moment. The hugely ambitious production – which kickstarted the city’s craze for immersive theater – takes place over multiple floors, giving audiences ample opportunity for exploration and discovery. No matter that the characters’ motivations are murky at best, what’s crucial here is the unique opportunity for audiences to intimately and voyeuristically observe these characters at their most emotionally (and at times physically) exposed. The show’s success lies in its creators’ fundamental understanding of “The Scottish Play”, namely its pitch black view of human nature and its characters’ turbulent and disturbed inner lives. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the piece – in equal parts theater, dance, and art installation – is a mostly wordless, movement-based adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth shot through the lens of Hitchcockian film noir. The legendary immersive theatrical experience – in my mind, one of New York theater’s great success stories thus far this century – opened at the expansive Chelsea venue back in 2011 and has since become a signature attraction for adventurous theatergoers seeking a sexier, more dangerous alternative to sitting limply in a Broadway theater. Punchdrunk’s “Sleep No More” resumes performances at the McKittrick Hotel (photo by Vincent Tullo).Įarlier this week at the McKittrick Hotel, I returned to Punchrunk’s flagship production of Sleep No More, which triumphantly resumed performances last month following its pandemic hiatus. THE HANGOVER REPORT – The legendary immersive theatrical experience SLEEP NO MORE resumes performances at the McKittrick Hotel
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