Have you ever thought about what it would be like to step inside a movie and watch the story unfold around you? At Punchdrunk’s award winning production, Sleep No More, you can do just that.
Located in the 5-story, 1930s-themed McKittrick Hotel, Sleep No More is an immersive and highly interactive theatrical experience, which allows its audience to explore the world of Shakespeare’s Scottish play: Macbeth, through the lens of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 Gothic novel, Rebecca.
Here’s a rundown of what it’s like to attend the show.
When you first enter the McKittrick, hotel staff have you check your coats, bags, and purses, as they are not permitted inside. If you still have your phone, you’ll kindly be asked to hand it over. It will be locked in a small pouch and held onto by hotel staff for the duration of your experience. While this may raise some eyebrows, this practice allows audience members to fully immerse themselves in the show, and prevents distractions, as taking photos of and filming the space is strictly prohibited.
Once inside, you’ll find yourself in a 1930’s era jazz bar, where you will wait until you’re called to enter the space where Sleep No More itself takes place. Depending on when you arrive at the bar and enter the show, your experience at Sleep No More will last 2-3 hours.
Before entering, you will be given a white, Venetian-style mask by the staff, and told the three main rules that must be followed at all times: no talking, no phones, and keep your mask on (this preserves audience members’ anonymity, as the masks cover the majority of your face). After that, a staff member will allow you to enter, leaving you to your own devices for the rest of the show.
Choose to chase actors up flights of stairs and through the dimly lit halls of the hotel, or linger in meticulously crafted rooms and environments to explore and gather clues on your own. Either way, your experience is entirely up to you.
Throughout your journey in the space, you will see the “residents” of the hotel (the actors, who are mainly characters from or directly inspired by Macbeth) acting out different parts of the story. If you’re lucky, you may even be chosen by one or more of the residents for a special one-on-one experience.
To add to the mystery and uniqueness of the show, all performances are done with little to no dialogue. In fact, all interactions between characters and scenes of the show are done in beautifully choreographed interpretive dance, which are in turn backed by a spectacular film noir soundtrack. Because of this, much of the story is up to the audience’s interpretation, and not one member of the audience will have the same experience.
Sleep No More is hypnotic, depraved, spectacular, and utterly mystifying – and there’s really nothing else like it. Punchdrunk has set a new standard for interactive theater in the States, by meticulously crafting every detail of the experience. Since my first visit, I’ve been captivated by the show, so when I heard about its upcoming closure, I was devastated.
After running for over 12 years, it was announced on November 8th, 2023, that the show’s final extension would be through January 28th, 2024. Fortunately, this deadline has been pushed back several times due to an outpouring of fans’ pleas to keep the show running.
As of right now, Sleep No More’s final show will fall on June 16, 2024.
For more information and to book tickets, visit mckittrickhotel.com.