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what is sleep no more? (a guide for the uninitiated)
(Originally sent in email to a friend who asked, and probably got a lot more than he expected from my reply).
How to explain the event that is "Sleep No More." Have you ever played one of those computer games like Myst, which immerses you in a detail-rich world and forces you to interact with the environment in order to find the clues you need to achieve your goal? Have you ever done any live-action roleplaying, where you physically act out your character in an environment that is designed to be as conducive to your gaming experience as possible? It's like that. It's not a play, or a dance performance, it's something more. It surrounds you completely: sight, sound, smell, touch. Everything.
Imagine if David Lynch had directed "Rebecca" instead of Alfred Hitchcock. Now imagine David Lynch's "Rebecca" blended with Shakespeare's Macbeth, and set in a series of installments throughout an abandoned school building. Most of the characters are from Macbeth, although the Second Mrs. de Winter and Mrs. Danvers are from "Rebecca"; Mrs. Danvers is recast slightly as the Macbeth's housekeeper, and it appears as though Duncan is also Maxim de Winter.
Some 40-odd rooms of sets. In the basement, there is a private detective's office, evidence rooms, a taxidermist's shop, a speakeasy set in a stable, a rave where the witches hold their sabbath. On the first floor, there is the nightclub Manderley, rooms belonging to the second Mrs. de Winter, an abandoned classroom with old-fashioned school desks that smells of mothballs and garlic, a hotel lobby and front desk, and a room that contains a telephone that rings occasionally. If you pick it up, the desk clerk from the hotel will tell you what to do; do it and you get a trinket. On the second floor, we have the Macbeth bedchamber and dressing room, Duncan's bedchamber, a room filled with gravel paths and plants, a chapel, and a small suite of rooms where the Macduffs are staying. Birnam Wood is on this floor, with trees that smell like Christmas, and move around in a threatening manner. There is a banquet that takes place here in slow motion, and is terrifying and beautiful; Banquo's ghost looms over the table as the witches point an accusatory finger at Macbeth.
On the third floor, there is a suite of hospital beds, and a room with several bathtubs, one of which holds a live eel. (I'm convinced that's a visual pun; Macbeth was also known as the King of Moray.) At one point during the evening, Mrs. Danvers leads Lady Macbeth in to the bathtub room; Lady M strips off and bathes, and the water turns red with the blood from her hands.
Nothing is linear. Duncan dies, and is kissed back to life by Mrs. Danvers; he later goes on to dance with Lady Macbeth at a ball. Lady Macduff is brutally murdered and stuffed in a crib; after Macduff lays her body on the floor, she will wake, and wheel a baby carriage down a long hallway. Macbeth and his wife have a passionate encounter before he goes off to kill Duncan.
The overall effect is as if you are walking through a spectacularly haunted building, and the ghosts of things that have gone before simply act out the parts they played so long ago. It is up to the viewer to piece together their own narrative, based on what they experienced; thanks to the sprawling nature of the set and the prevalence of one-on-one interactions with cast members, no two viewers have the same experience. Action is happening continuously in different locations throughout the evening, all the time. I have seen it four times; each night, at least 60% of what I saw was new to me. Tonight, my fourth and final night, a good 90% of what I saw was new to me.
It's surreal. It's intense. It's the most magical, dreamlike, painfully addictive theatre experience I've ever had. It's all produced by a British theatre company called Punchdrunk, and if they do *anything* anywhere near where you are, you need to run - not walk - to get tickets. It will change the way you view theatre.
I am praying that they bring their "Masque of the Red Death" to the States. I would walk on fire to see that.
How to explain the event that is "Sleep No More." Have you ever played one of those computer games like Myst, which immerses you in a detail-rich world and forces you to interact with the environment in order to find the clues you need to achieve your goal? Have you ever done any live-action roleplaying, where you physically act out your character in an environment that is designed to be as conducive to your gaming experience as possible? It's like that. It's not a play, or a dance performance, it's something more. It surrounds you completely: sight, sound, smell, touch. Everything.
Imagine if David Lynch had directed "Rebecca" instead of Alfred Hitchcock. Now imagine David Lynch's "Rebecca" blended with Shakespeare's Macbeth, and set in a series of installments throughout an abandoned school building. Most of the characters are from Macbeth, although the Second Mrs. de Winter and Mrs. Danvers are from "Rebecca"; Mrs. Danvers is recast slightly as the Macbeth's housekeeper, and it appears as though Duncan is also Maxim de Winter.
Some 40-odd rooms of sets. In the basement, there is a private detective's office, evidence rooms, a taxidermist's shop, a speakeasy set in a stable, a rave where the witches hold their sabbath. On the first floor, there is the nightclub Manderley, rooms belonging to the second Mrs. de Winter, an abandoned classroom with old-fashioned school desks that smells of mothballs and garlic, a hotel lobby and front desk, and a room that contains a telephone that rings occasionally. If you pick it up, the desk clerk from the hotel will tell you what to do; do it and you get a trinket. On the second floor, we have the Macbeth bedchamber and dressing room, Duncan's bedchamber, a room filled with gravel paths and plants, a chapel, and a small suite of rooms where the Macduffs are staying. Birnam Wood is on this floor, with trees that smell like Christmas, and move around in a threatening manner. There is a banquet that takes place here in slow motion, and is terrifying and beautiful; Banquo's ghost looms over the table as the witches point an accusatory finger at Macbeth.
On the third floor, there is a suite of hospital beds, and a room with several bathtubs, one of which holds a live eel. (I'm convinced that's a visual pun; Macbeth was also known as the King of Moray.) At one point during the evening, Mrs. Danvers leads Lady Macbeth in to the bathtub room; Lady M strips off and bathes, and the water turns red with the blood from her hands.
Nothing is linear. Duncan dies, and is kissed back to life by Mrs. Danvers; he later goes on to dance with Lady Macbeth at a ball. Lady Macduff is brutally murdered and stuffed in a crib; after Macduff lays her body on the floor, she will wake, and wheel a baby carriage down a long hallway. Macbeth and his wife have a passionate encounter before he goes off to kill Duncan.
The overall effect is as if you are walking through a spectacularly haunted building, and the ghosts of things that have gone before simply act out the parts they played so long ago. It is up to the viewer to piece together their own narrative, based on what they experienced; thanks to the sprawling nature of the set and the prevalence of one-on-one interactions with cast members, no two viewers have the same experience. Action is happening continuously in different locations throughout the evening, all the time. I have seen it four times; each night, at least 60% of what I saw was new to me. Tonight, my fourth and final night, a good 90% of what I saw was new to me.
It's surreal. It's intense. It's the most magical, dreamlike, painfully addictive theatre experience I've ever had. It's all produced by a British theatre company called Punchdrunk, and if they do *anything* anywhere near where you are, you need to run - not walk - to get tickets. It will change the way you view theatre.
I am praying that they bring their "Masque of the Red Death" to the States. I would walk on fire to see that.