![]() After surrendering my phone and possessions, I found myself downing a glass of period-appropriate absinthe and embarking on a journey through the deconstructed narrative that is Sleep No More Punchdrunk Theatre company's bizarro mashup of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Hitchock's Rebecca. The box office line plunges you into pitch-black darkness, lit by a single low-hanging ceiling lamp, evoking a film noir interrogation room. Sleep No More is definitely one play not to miss.On a balmy Monday evening this August, I entered a non-descript brick building in the Chelsea warehouse district with a black awning and a single gold plate outside declaring it the 'McKittrick Hotel'. The entire play becomes part of your own sensorial experience and you are an actor in it, it changes the typical theater experience completely. This level of intimacy with the actors improves the experience as a whole since it really creates an organic connection between spectator and performer. As explained above the actors may reach for you to touch them, talk to you, grab you, and in one scene even dress them. This is really fascinating because it creates an experience that wont be repeated twice, one can go back on another time and be sure to see different scenes and different momentum.Īnother part about this play that makes it so entertaining to see is how interactive it is. ![]() The scenes are for you to encounter on your own, and depends on where you are at a specific time. So many different feelings by the scent, sounds or lack thereof, and objects present in each room that you can feel anything from happiness and comfort to scare and depression. The scenery is spooky, creepy, dark, oaky, grimy. The play is intended to recreate Macbeth, by Shakespeare, but definitely draws influence from so many contemporary and 20 th century artists and filmmakers. Through every floor you will also encounter the actors, doing a scene in random spaces and you are just a couple of feet away, can follow them through their scene, and sometimes can even interact with them. All floors are open for one to explore, search through, read and look for things, which makes the experience super interactive and inclusive. ![]() As an attendee, you are usually separated from your group in order for you to experience the play on your own. However, this is not your regular hotel, there are cemeteries, insane asylums, orphanages, doctor and chemical offices, in addition to, what seems to be the only typical part of a hotel, the lobby and hotel bar and café. The space is a 5-story warehouse that has been designed to represent a hotel of the early 20 th century, the McKittrick Hotel, as it is called in the play. In the neighborhood of Chelsea, in what seems to be an abandoned warehouse space, lays the site-specific stage for this play that takes you traveling back to the early 20 th century. I had the opportunity of attending the play “Sleep No More”, a recent addition to works of theater in New York City. ![]()
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