Punchdrunk Tranforms Hotel in West Chelsea into “Sleep No More” Interactive Performance

The performance consisted of six floors of this abandoned hotel, 10,000 square feet in total, with about 20 actors roaming throughout. Apparently there were four stories going on simultaneously, it was up to each of us audience member’s to view what they wanted, at any given time. We were free to roam around, wander from floor to floor, go into each room and look at whatever it was decorated with. In every room, there were old photos with names and dates on the back, old journals and diaries to help viewers better understand the show.

One large room was transformed into a hospital wing; dimly lit and crucifixes were everywhere. There were two long rows of empty beds and scattered hospital records, very spookily. A room of the hospital was filled with hundreds of hair samples sealed in vials. I sat at the chair, touching, reading some of them. One of the rooms that sent a chill down my spine was a child’s nursery. In the middle of the room a crib with an enormous hanging mobile of decapitated stuffed bears. YIKES. A bloody tub was raised upon a pedestal in the center of Macbeth’s bedroom. As Lady Macbeth stripped off her clothes to briefly reveal a nude body, only to quickly put back on a black sequined dress. She proceeded to dance and throw herself against the walls of her bedroom, all with this trancelike gaze…then dipped into a bloody tub. Although the actors barely spoke, watching them personify these characters inches from you is enthralling, voyeuristic and the opportunity to follow these characters to different locations within the space and follow the story of Macbeth or whatever else you wanted was an amazing experience.

Sleep No More will have performances through June 14.  Buy now! Tickets are almost sold out.

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