“Sleep No More,” the immersive theater experience inspired by Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” is set to end its 13-year run March 28 after more than 5,000 performances.
The show initially had a six-week run, said producer Jonathan Hochwald, who’s been with the show since before it opened.
“We’ve just continued to extend ever since,” he said.
When “Sleep No More” began, one of the biggest concerns, said Hochwald, was whether or not New Yorkers would understand the idea and want to be a part of it.
Unlike most of the city’s theater offerings, the show doesn’t take place in a black box theater, or in the round, but at the “McKittrick Hotel,” a performance venue in Chelsea comprising six floors, each with a maze of rooms.
Audience members are encouraged to explore the space and to follow actors from room to room as they enact scenes – not with words – but with ballet-like movements.
The result is a surreal, dream-like rendition of Shakespeare’s classic story of power, ambition, and murder – and no experience of the show is the same.
“It’s an organic, living, breathing masterpiece of theatrical art that you’re actually in as an audience member,” said Hochwald. He said that, plus the fact that no two experiences of the show are the same, are reasons why New Yorkers have connected with the show.
Alison Stewart, the host of WNYC’s “All of It,” caught up with producer Hochwald and the show’s “chief storyteller,” Ilana Gilovich, as they approach the end of the run.
Below is an edited version of their conversation.
Stewart: Jonathan, when this project first got underway, what were some of the challenges?
Jonathan: Thinking about staging this new art form as native New Yorkers and believing that New Yorkers would really embrace this, and figure out what it is.
At the time, we really were committed to the idea that this would be a word-of-mouth phenomenon if it was going to work at all.
We set out with a short run in mind of six weeks. We’ve just…
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