Have you heard about ‘immersive theater’? ‘Immersive theater’ is a presentational or theatrical form or work that breaks the ‘fourth wall’ that traditionally separates the performer from the audience. In immersive theater, the audience can interact with performers as a part of the play. There are different types of immersive play like ‘Choose-your-own-adventure theater’ and ‘Bespoke theater.’ In ‘Choose-your-own-adventure theater,’ which is the type of the show “Sleep No More,” the audience can choose the way of the play goes selectively so they are following the performers as they want during the show.

 “Sleep No More” is one of the world’s famous immersive theaters which has the Mckittrick Hotel as a stage in NYC. The whole show is played in non-verbal situations so it doesn’t matter whether you can speak English or not. But it is hard to say as a compliment because the plot of the show is referred to the “Macbeth” of William Shakespeare and a few films of Alfred Hitchcock, so it is already hard to understand the whole story of the show. Indeed they are not using any words except some screaming sound, it is hard to catch what is going on between performers. 

 But I can give you one advice that helps to understand the background of the whole story. The Mckittrick Hotel has 6 floors but mostly audience can’t enter the top floor of the building. If you want to go to the hidden floor, you should be brave and not be shy. When you take the elevator with other audience, the worker from the hotel makes the elevator stop on the 6th floor. No one tells about the fact that only one can get off at that floor, so you should be the one who immediately jumps off from the elevator. And don’t panic if there is no light. One actor would be there soon for you acting as an ex-lover. And your adventure starts with the hidden opening scene. It is just a simple explanation of the background why the audience is there. The opening story is simple but the performance production to show it is extraordinary. You can see the motive from the movie “Rebecca” of Hitchcock, and they show you the ceiling with miniature buildings and a forest so it can be shown like a landscape scene from the movie. After all of it, you can wander the set just for looking around or to find the actors. From that point, the Macbeth story begins. There are 19 casts in each show so you can not follow and see them all. You have to choose someone or not choose to follow them in the story. The adventure is all yours. 

 The show has its own charm in a certain way. First, at the point that you receive the ticket which is shaped like a playing card, the all workers in the hotel start treating you as a guest of the hotel. They call the ticket as ‘card key of your room’ and all of them make their voice very mysteriously. Second, after you get your ticket, you can get into the Manderley Bar decorated like a 1920s’ jazz bar so they also have cocktails and jazz shows. These installations already make you feel in the 1920s like taking the time machine. Third, the way they control props. Like the other theaters do, there is a limit to product the stage. Even they have 5 floors to use, still they have limit and the way they conquer this problem is truly amazing. They know most of the audience are following the main performer, so other performers who’re not in the story mainly and the staffs who control music and lights change the stage. They change the light, move some props like trees, etc. So even the main performer comes back to the same space, you will not notice it is the same place you’ve already been. Last, the show itself. There is a famous scene that Macbeth and Three Witches are dancing together and the witches summon a series of apparitions that tell Macbeth of the future. Unlike other scenes, it has psychedelic lights, fast EDM beats, and dancers with nudity and blood. It is a very eye-opening experience and beyond the description. Not only that psychedelic scene but also the scene of Macbeth killing Duncan, and Lady Macbeth washing his bloodied body are very stimulating and fascinating to watch.

 However, it is hard to say I like all of those stimulates. According to the former paragraph, the storyline is complicated and hard to catch it at once. And also there is no backstage so even the character is dead, still they have to move in front of the audience, the situation of it makes people more confused about the story. In that kind of situation, there isn’t any explanation synopsis for the audience. And it is easy to get bored of the show. I’m not going to say the solution they chose for it was good. It seems they needed some famous scene and being notorious about complicity. As result, they made the show which needs spoilers before watch. 

 They nailed to get rid of the smartphones from the audience and get them back to the theater again. That’s why the immersive theater is getting popular these days in the show business world. But I can say it is in the step of beginning so it seems to need to be more repaired and organized. Unquestionably they have extraordinary choreography and performance skills but still it seems more like a contemporary dance than theater. I recommend this show to people who are already into theaters and musicals so already have experience with theater shows a lot.

78th Cub Reporter • KANG SEE EUN • ks3en29@gmail.com