The Wanderlusting

Sleep No More is an interactive play for those of us who love theater as well as the ones who don’t… Hidden in New York City is the best live performance show in town. Sleep No More, loosely based on Macbeth, is an interactive play that completely breaks the barriers between actors and audience.

For starters, there is no theater per se, the performance takes place in the five-floor McKittrick Hotel where the audience is first brought into the parlor for champagne cocktails (think “The Shining”-style lounge) where they are then, group by group, given white masks (think of the orgy scene from “Eyes Wide Shut”) and brought up in the elevator to various floors of the building.

The “audience” is encouraged to wander through rooms, rummage through drawers, and go wherever they please. There are no rules, except that you cannot speak at all for the duration of your stay. The actors are the only ones without masks and perform throughout various rooms, whether you’re around to see them or not. A trench coat clad man zooms past with an umbrella and hordes follow him to see what he’s up to, a man, drenched in blood, de-robes and hops into a bathtub – these are the “scenes” and you might just see the same one twice since more audience members are let up in the elevator continuously.

Don’t expect to see every scene or even every room of the McKittrick upon your first visit. The entire experience is what you make of it, which is why it’s interesting to attend multiple times; no two performances are going to be the same for you. Sleep No More is an incredible experience and even if you have no idea what the hell is going on (most of us) it’s a crazy, roller coaster of a ride.