As I mentioned in my previous post about the book The Night Circus, part of the inspiration for the circus in the novel came from the theatre show Sleep No More, created by the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk. I have had the pleasure of seeing this show three times over the past year and a half and I felt that it required a post of its own because it is truly amazing.
The premise of the show is that it is Macbeth mixed with Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, set to dance, in a few abandon warehouses that have been converted into an old hotel. That alone spiked my interested and little did I know what I would be getting myself into.
The whole idea of the show is to break down the wall of traditional theatre while exploring the idea of voyeurism and continuity in modern theatre.
How the show works is you buy your tickets online and it is as if you are booking a room at a hotel and they tell you to check-in with the concierge at your designated time. You show up right before your time and they make you wait outside. Once it is your time to go in they open the doors and you are immediately ushered in a darkened hallway. Once you find your way though a few twists and turns you arrive at the concierge desk. You check in and they give you a playing card.
Once you have your card you make your way through more dark hallways and finally emerge in a bar.
Keep in mind, this is all before the show has even started.
Eventually, when the time comes for the show to start, the first group of people (first ones to book their tickets and pick up their cards) are called. People are called in groups of approximately 10 based on which playing card they have. After your card has been called you make your way to a room in the corner of the bar. There they explain the rules of the show to you and give you a mask.
They explain to you that from that point onward you are to wear the mask at all times and there is no longer any talking. Also, that if for any reason the experience becomes a bit to overwhelming for you, you can make your way back to the bar for some fresh air or a shot of absinthe. (yes, this is the part where i was kind-of peeing my pants. Although i should have known something was up when I received an email before going that included the line "guests may experience psychologically traumatizing situations"). The idea behind the masks is that if the audience is wearing them at all times it becomes a voyeuristic experience with the performers. This means that the audience is more likely to react to situations and behave in a way that is without restriction, hesitation, or due to embarrassment. The audience is free to explore the space in a way that is limitless.
After you have been warned, they put you into an elevator. The "hotel" that they have created has 6 floors total. The bellhop takes you up to a random floor and starts letting people off, sometimes only one or two on each floor. Once you have been let off the elevator the show has begun. The idea is that you are free to roam around the hotel. They have converted approximately 100 rooms into everything you can imagine. A funeral home, a hospital, hotel rooms, a church, a forest, a graveyard, etc. each in a different area, and each one more unique than what came before.
All of these rooms are filled will papers and artifacts and the audience is free to rummage through them all. If a door is open, you can go in. The whole idea is, the play runs on a loop, each time for an hour. You are generally there for 3 hours so you will have a chance to see the play three times. But the crazy part about it is that what you see of the play depends on what rooms you are in a what times. If part of the play is happening and you are in the vicinity, then you will see that scene. Generally an actor will come into the room and perform their scene (all dance remember, no talking, only music for queues.) From there you can either follow a character and see how all of their scenes play out within the hour or you can bounce back and forth between exploring the rooms and chasing after characters to see where they are headed next. After the first hour is up, the play restarts from the beginning and you could follow different characters in an attempt to piece together parts of the story you are missing.
This concept creates a very exciting theatre experience. Each scene you see is based on being at the right place at the right time. The scenes as you view them will never be in order so to try and piece together the plot and the overall play you would have to either follow a character, or see as many characters interact as you can. This is intriguing because no matter how many times you go and see this play, it will never be the same. You can't possibly see all 100 rooms in one visit, or even see all of the characters, let alone how they interact with one another. This means that every time you go you can see something new. The 3rd time i went I encountered a character in the last 10 minutes that I hadn't even known existed up until that point.
Oh yeah, and on top of all this craziness that is already happening there are also these things called one-on-ones. These occur when the characters do not have a major scene. If you are following them at this time you may have a chance to have a scene with them one-on-one. This means they take one person into a room and act out a private scene with them (it's not quite as creepy as it sounds but it happened to me and to say i was nervous would be severely understating the situation). This is an aspect of the show that most people will not get to see. (for example, if a character only has one of these interactions per loop, only 3 people will get to do it per night) This is just another aspect of the show that makes it unique. No matter what your experience was one night, if you go back it will be completely different. Hell, if you go with a friend (you WILL get separated from whoever you came with) your experience will probably be vastly different from that friend's experience the same night.
Overall, this show is amazing and it completely revolutionized the way I see theatre. I am used to sitting in a chair staring at a stage. This production allows you to interact with the set and the characters all the while experiencing this amazing dancing that is telling an incredible story. I knew from the moment I saw it that it was something I would not soon forget, and it is an experience that I can not wait to have again.
sleepnomorenyc.com
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