Off-Broadway’s highly acclaimed long-running show “Sleep No More” will stick around for just a bit longer.
Originally scheduled to stage its final performance on January 28, the production has announced its final extension through May 27. The play was first extended to February and then March.
Based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with influences from noir films, “Sleep No More” began previews on March 7, 2011, playing to more than two million audience members with over 5,000 performances until today.
The creative team behind “Sleep No More” is the British theatre company, Punchdrunk (Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle, directors). They have staged four separate productions of the play in London in 2003, in Boston in 2009, in 2011 in a permanent installation – McKittrick Hotel – in New York City, and in 2016 in a permanent location in Shanghai through their international arm. The New York City production belongs to Emursive in association with Rebecca Gold Productions.
In a statement posted on the play’s website, the production thanked all who outpoured their admiration for the show as they bid a final farewell.
“We’ve heeded your call,” the production said. “We are honored to announce the final extension of Sleep No More through May 27, 2024.”
“For those who have graced our halls, and for those who’ve yet to embark on our mind-altering journey…” it continued, “seize the splendor of these final weeks together. Together we’ll linger in the moonlight a moment longer, to cherish the culmination of this groundbreaking experience. Let’s keep dancing…”
What makes “Sleep No More” distinctive is its non-linear storytelling and being deprived of nearly all spoken dialogue. The production invites theatergoers to explore five floors of the McKittrick Hotel freely — where scenes, tableaux, and scenarios unfold — immersing them in the world of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Audience members wear masks and maintain silence throughout the experience while opening drawers, pulling back curtains, and reading journals while following the performers. The classic tragedy takes a new look through a darkly cinematic lens and via the tools of immersive theater.
“Sleep No More” previously won a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and a Special Citation for Design And Choreography at the Obie Awards.
Theatergoers can catch the production once last time before the final bow in New York via the show’s official website.
