How I love New York; let me count the ways. I love that you can be as anonymous or as conspicuous as you want to be; you can even do it depending on your mood. I love that you can wear whatever you want, grubby or outrageous, and barely anyone will give you a second look. I love the history of it, knowing the sheer amount of fascinating people that have walked the streets I'm now walking on. I love its unique beauty, at once grimy and exquisite. All the song lyrics are true, really.
But what I love most is how much unique art and culture is going on around me at every minute of every day. I've sat in the front row as Alan Rickman performed Ibsen in front of me. I've sat in the back row as Daniel Radcliffe sang out to the rafters and I've seen a lot of amazing things in between.
And this is the world's longest intro to talking about one of those amazing things: the theater/dance/interactive art piece Sleep No More, which I recently attended.
The experience takes place at a 5-floor warehouse that has been converted into the fictional McKittrick Hotel. Upon entering, audience members are given a playing card and a mask that looks like this:
For the duration of the 3-hour show, the audience must wear these masks. And then you are set loose upon the five floors, free to roam as you choose, trying to find and follow different actors who are performing various scenes all throughout the space. They are maskless and, mostly, silent (and wearing fabulous vintage garb that spans from the twenties to the forties).
It involves a lot of running around, opening drawers, sometimes being led into private rooms by the actors and more. (I should mention here that it also involves a lot of nudity so it's not meant for children.)
The story is very, very loosely based on Macbeth, which I brushed up on before going to the show. I can tell you that, for the most part, I still had no idea what was going on. But I loved every minute of it. It's such a unique, extraordinary experience...not to mention that my thighs got a great workout running up and down those stairs for three hours.
If you're in the New York area, I highly recommend checking this out. You likely won't see anything like it again!
