This is something i'd highly recommend doing if you find yourself in New York.
Sleep No More is an interactive theatre piece created by the British theatre company
Punchdrunk.
It is loosely based on Shakespeare's Macbeth and there are clear nods to Hitchcock (the bar is called Manderley and The McKittrick Hotel can be found in Vertigo).
You enter the building and are given a card from a pack of playing cards.
Therefore if you go with friends, it is likely you will be separated from them as you will not receive the same card.
All spectators are required to wear a mask and speaking is discouraged.
Groups are taken into a lift and let out at any one of the 5 floors of the "hotel".
(I'm not going to spoil anything, but my heart almost stopped beating after an unexpected plot twist occurred in the lift...Granted, I am a bit of a scaredy cat!)
The hotel possesses many features that you and i would not normally associate with a hotel.
Like the padded room for example... the cemetery, shops, children's bedrooms, lunatic asylum...
At first I was a little scared as i thought it would be like a haunted house or a scary movie
(people jumping out at me, my least favourite thing ever.)
But it was much more of an experience. And the actors are brilliant at creating atmosphere!
JB loved it as he is very inquisitive and there are so many details to pay attention to.
At one point we ran in to each other and he'd found sweets in a shop that i never found!
You are given 3 hours to explore the 5 floors of the "hotel" and there are actors who perform various silent scenes, alone or in groups, either through dance or acting. You are free to follow them around the "hotel" - a few times i was almost knocked over by a stampede of humans chasing one of the several storylines!
As the end of the experience drew near, the crowd became bigger and bigger, which did admittedly make the experience less special, but that was my only complaint.
You are then back in the Manderley Bar where you are treated to a show with some very exuberant and talented musicians.
This was probably my favourite part, as i got to have a glass of wine (or two!)
I think Puddles was my favourite. What a voice! You can find videos of him on YouTube.
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I found my card when i was unpacking this weekend, and it took me right back to NYC! |
For more information, the Sleep No More website can be found
here.
It isn't cheap, but it works out about the same as going to see a Broadway show.
Lou
xxxx