8/14/2023 0 Comments Punchdrunk sleep no more new yorkIt is also best described as immersive theatre, rather than interactive theatre, because although the audience may move through the settings, interact with the props, or observe the actors at their own pace, their interference has no bearing on the story or the performers except in rare instances.Ĭontrary to what some believe, Sleep No More is not any kind of haunted attraction. Sleep No More's presentational form is considered promenade theatre, in which the audience walks at their own pace through a variety of theatrically designed rooms, as well as environmental theatre, in which the physical location, rather than being a traditional playhouse, is an imitation of the actual setting. Sleep No More adapts the story of Macbeth, deprived of nearly all spoken dialogue and set primarily in a dimly-lit, 1930s-era establishment called the McKittrick Hotel, whose website claims it has been recently "restored" but which is actually a block of warehouses in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, transformed into a hotel-like performance space. Sleep No More won the 2011 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and won Punchdrunk special citations at the 2011 Obie Awards for design and choreography. The company reinvented Sleep No More as a co-production with Emursive, and began performances on March 7, 2011. It is expanded from their original 2003 London incarnation (at the Beaufoy Building) and their Brookline, Massachusetts 2009 collaboration with Boston's American Repertory Theatre (at the Old Lincoln School). It is primarily based on William Shakespeare's Macbeth, with inspiration also taken from noir films (especially those of Alfred Hitchcock), as well as some reference to the 1697 Paisley witch trials. Sleep No More is the New York City production of an immersive work of theatre created by the British theatre company Punchdrunk. McKittrick Hotel and environs, Gallow Green, Glamis, Forfar, Scotland McKittrick Hotel, 530 West 27th Street, New York City And when you’re done playing on four floors, you can relax watching a jazz band while you sip on cocktails.įor tickets, call of the audience masks used in the production. Punchdrunk may not deal much with the depths of Macbeth in Sleep No More, but they’ve turned it into an even more visceral, exciting theatrical event than any other production of the Scottish Tragedy you are likely to see. It’s more than challenging to name anyone in particular, but the witches are particularly exciting to watch if you can figure out who they are, they’re especially worth the pursuit. The cast is highly engaging, and nimbly darts in and out of rooms, up and down stairs, all the while maintaining a mysterious air about them so that you simply can’t resist trying to follow. And yet, it’s hard not to get swept into the chase. Even if you are quick enough to pursue a character that intrigues you, it’s pretty difficult to discern exactly who you’re following - that doesn’t really become clear until the very end, if you make it that long (you can stay inside the hotel for up to three hours). So Shakespeare is not really in focus here - in fact, you get only whiffs of plot. The slo-mo dinner party in the gigantic banquet room was simply too cool.Įach of these major scenes is acted in silence, or should I say performed dance-style or even lip-synched (I accidentally came upon a man perfectly voicing Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?” in a nightclub. The hunt goes on all night, interrupted by witches climbing up walls, the nuevo-royalty taking a quick bath to wash blood off their hands, and (if you’re in the right room) an occasional murder. The painstakingly detailed set - which is the entire hotel - will have you digging through suitcases, desk drawers, and bookshelves in a desperate, darkly gleeful search of any dirt you can find on your favorite social climbers, the Macbeths. Audience members don Venetian masks and explore the depths of the 1930s-style McKittrick Hotel in pursuit of the dubious characters of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who run amuck throughout. In a rare clash of film noir, performance art, an awesome murder mystery party, and Shakespeare, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More is the ultimate voyeuristic thrill.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |