Sleep No More

Christ on ice - if you live in Massachusetts, buy a ticket for this NOW. Punchdrunk gave me two of the wildest nights of my life.

Fantastic show! I will certainly see it again. Word to the wise: Do NOT dress up for this! I made the mistake of wearing low, comfortable heels. You'll want running shoes.

As in the Donkey Show, Sleep No More leaves an impression that the ART's financial struggles continue. In Donkey Show, the performers were amateurish dancers [who could not have cost much money]; in Sleep No More there were some guides, who actually did not seem to know much about the process, and one rather awkwardly simulated sex act.; but no actors, as such, seem to have been hired. Many rooms in the school were decorated in various ways, all of them quite dark. I walked through every room. There were no instructions for the patrons, who seemed to wander aimlessly in different directions, so, if some silent narrative were being attempted, it would only have been by very unlikely happenstance that a person might have proceeded through all the rooms in some sensible, drama-creating sequence. An analogy might be made to a regular theater that had no money to hire a cast for a certain show, but they did have enough funds to prepare stage scenery. The curtain would raise before the seated audience which would view a well-designed stage set. The curtain then would lower, and after a moment, be raised again to display another scene, and then lower again and the curtain would slowly go up and down, displaying a number of different stage designs but an actor would never appear. The environment was sort of like a haunted house [although I have never been in one] that relied entirely on atmosphere because there were no moving displays, not even any skeletons that jumped out and said, "Boo!"

We came home and immediately bought 4 more tickets. This is such an amazing experience and truly the best of interactive theatre.

I attended alone,(I often attend plays and movies alone) but I recommend attending with your partner or a group of friends. I parked in the wrong garage, got lost and wondered around for 40 minutes looking for the place, Once I arrived I walked smack into a wall in a dark hall, so I wasn't in the greatest mood. After I had a drink and entered with the group I had a blast and intend to attend again. Hints and Tips: Get there in time to have a drink and relax before the show begins. Wear sneakers. Check your handbag and coat, it's like a sauna. Attend with a group of friends and split up, rendevous back in the bar on a regular basis and compare notes. Great fun! Loved it.

My date and I had an incredible experience at Sleep No More last night. This was a beautiful, complex, challenging piece that was brilliantly layered and endlessly fascinating. Wondering around that abandoned school, I felt as though I was observing lost spirits from some parallel noir reality. I can easily see how one could view this show several times and have a completely difference experience depending on which part of the story the audience member choose to follow. This is not like a regular night at the theatre, if you are going to see this show, come prepared to be a living, breathing, part of it. This is truly one of the most unique interpretations of Shakespeare's work that I have ever seen and I can't wait to return with an even bigger group.

Be ready for a challenge - non-linear, non-spoon-fed, non-easy theatre that you must be willing to engage and discover on your own. The environment is at first eerily deserted, then a character strides past on some urgent mission. Follow them. Wear your comfortable shoes. Check your coat. Be willing to run if you have to catch up - with your legs and with your brain. The rooms/sets are not always the same - there are things on a second trip through the halls that weren't there the first time - other places vanish entirely. The choreography and blocking clearly owes a lot to contact improv and a set of highly skilled and very committed professional actors who are intimately aware of their own bodies and each others'. Smell is part of the experience. A room full of trees, a room full of hair, a room full of dirt. The sound of your own feet on gravel, trying to find the bathtubs again, two women locked in a silent battle of wills. And finally, emerging into a speakeasy, with a marcel-waved singer crooning "If You Believe in Me" and elaborate cocktails in elegant little glasses. If you need your theatre linear, spelled-out, easy to understand and set clearly in front of you, there are some fine programs on Hulu.com. But if you're up for a dare - dare big and Sleep No More.

I saw the premier on Thursday night and am still digesting it. The entire experience was surreal. The elaborate sets and the actors' performances in various rooms was disorienting -- in a good way. I felt like I was visiting a museum from the 1930's which had been shuttered until now. Except that there were actors and actresses performing around me, and references to the 1500's and Macbeth. The bar which begins and ends the show is a clever idea. My favorite area was the Collector's Room, and the two-headed skeleton. Overall, Sleep No More was exhilarating and mysterious at the same time. Congratulations to Diane Paulus and the ART for its courage in staging this. Bravo!

I've been a big ART detractor for a lot of years now. "Sleep No More" is a violent, necessary shove in the right direction. This is a theater experience, and one that is not to be missed. I walked in blind, not knowing what to expect... I walked around blind, not knowing what would happen next... I didn't leave QUITE as blind, because I knew I experienced something wholly unique and incredible. I've got three pieces of advice for people who are thinking of going: 1) GO. 2) Go blissfully ignorant, and dismiss any preconceived notions of the play on which it's based. 3) Be ready for anything. Go with the flow. If you're lucky, you will see pieces of the show that very few others will see that night. Its a truly special, incredible experience. To ART and Punchdrunk - Bravo. Keep it up. This is exactly what Boston needs to break out of an original theatre rut.

I experienced the theatrical sensation that names itself Sleep No More last night in Brookline. As a local theatre artist, I commend the A.R.T. and Punchdrunk for creating magic. I don't think I've ever experience something much like it. Daring, risk-taking, emotional, immersible and insecure to mention a few. CONGRATULATIONS for continuing to WoW audiences and sharing this work of art locally. BrAvO!!!!

Absolutely amazing event. Incredibly dense theatrical experience, I can't imagine the effort that went into setting up the entire building as an interactive maze. Exhausting but more than worth the effort. I'm making a list of people I must bring back. Brilliant, brilliant work.

Just got home from seeing the show. One of the most amazing pieces of theatre I've seen in years. STUNNING.

You won't wake up from Sleep until a couple of days later when you realize you have no idea what you just experienced or why you are still experiencing it.

It's too big for 1 night. It's like an entirely new language that you need to work on to get it. But this is the beauty of art. It moves you. I think theatre is experience. And this is pure. Some thing we so really need to walk thru. We so rarely have a chance in life to get out of our lives like Sleep offers. Don't Miss It!

We took a large group of 16-20 year old students to Sleep No More on Saturday night and they were still talking about it 24 hours later, piecing together the movements of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Macduff, Banquo and the others. Each attendee had a different experience and was able to interact with the space, the performers and the storyline in a very particular way.

The set is elaborate, atmospheric and incredibly detailed, the actors athletic and inviting. The soundscape as you move through the space is an artwork in and of itself. The smells are sometimes overwhelming. As a spectator/performer you are a sort of ghost who can observe and perhaps vaguely effect some of the action. You may wander through the space, chase after a scene or settle down for some private time with an actor. I had a bizarre, private card game with a handsome young barkeep who kissed my hand when we were done. A few minutes a bar fight erupted and the space, which had previously held two of us, now held 50 or more.

Our group was only in town for the weekend. If I lived in Boston I would purchase tickets again immediately.

Please move the review by Tony Carleton further down so that it is not the first to be read by visitors. It is an out rider.

I do not usually attend theater, however, Sleep No More has totally changed my outlook. I have never in been a space that made me feel so uneasy but alive. It felt like I was inside a movie and allowed to explore each scene as much as I wanted without being forced to move on too quickly. I opened drawers and found hidden love letters. I stood in the middle of a forest and breathed in the smell. I picked up mulch off the ground and crumbled it in my fingers. I stood next to a cradle and stared at a lump of cloth. This all took place inside a Brookline school. I was taken away. And I've already bought my ticket to return.

I went to Sleep No More with great excitement. I trusted de A.R.T. and Punchdrunk to produce an intelligent and meaningful experience. I came out very surprised at the fundamental lack of understanding of the essence of Macbeth, which lies in the SEQUENCE in which the events take place. The first assassination can lead only to the ones that follow in a cycle of bloodshed that is doomed to end, like all tragedies, in self destruction.

Imagine my surprise when at the essence of the production lies a lack of sequencing. The fundamental idea of Punchdrunk and the beauty of the environmental design, the music and the staging merits a play written for this form or one that fundamentally serves de central ideas of a play.

I came out with a great desire to stand at the exit and ask the people not familiar with Macbeth what the experience was all about, thinking that this central idea was the last thing they took with them. In the interest of attracting a younger crowd we should not succumb to today's popular formula of empty sophisticated forms, with food and drinks. Matt Haimovitz has kept it honest and truly great by radically changing venues and the way in which classical music is presented, but not by re-writing the great classical works of music. His success in attracting younger generations is the example to follow.

The "Sleep No More" experience was one of confusion and ambiguity for me. I'm familiar with the play and with plenty of Shakespeare since I've been an English teacher for numerous years now and was an English major in college. Very appreciative of the arts from the time I was a teenager (age 40 now). But this experience was at times frustrating and confusing. Perhaps I should not have gone after a long day standing on my feet at work. Perhaps I should not have felt that I deserved at least SOME guidance, including a warning that I'd be separated from my friends for the ENTIRE NIGHT. That was disappointing to say the least since I wanted to discuss things with them but had no warning that I'd never see them again for 3 hours. I had no cell phone on me and no talking/noises allowed anyway. Disillusioning. I don't need to be spoon-fed by any means, and I am always up for something new and fresh. But this experience was a tad ridiculous. No warnings and no heads-up. My feet hurt after two hours on them and my shoulder killed from carrying a heavy purse. I could not find the folks I came with for hours and at one point wondered how I'd get home. I also ran into others who'd been separated from their friends and were not able to enjoy themselves. Preparation would've been good. I'm very familiar with Shakespeare AND Hitchcock, and even I didn't have a clue what some of the rooms or scenes were trying to convey. If you do nothing all day, have loads of energy, and don't care if you understand what you're seeing (or if you're seeing it with anyone you know), then you'll have a grand time at "Sleep No More." Otherwise, forget it and hear about it from someone who already went. This way you'll get to save your feet. A bonus. I've lived and travelled all over the U.S. and Europe, have a great appreciation for the arts, and have a master's degree. So lack of intelligence and experience is not my problem. I just didn't care for this show.

to see this viscerally gripping and visually stunning immersive re-imagining of Mabeth and Rebecca. I was so involved in the suspense that I found myself breathlessly running after the different characters full of excitement, but also trepidation, to discover what happened next.

The movement was glorious and at times, almost overwhelming, in it's animal ferocity.

One of the most intense and fulfilling experiences I have ever had at the theatre. I can't wait to go back again!

Just in time for Halloween? A haunted house for adults? Telling people to have a drink before seeing the show?

I only got to see 1 hours worth of the performance and saw acts that I recognized from the actual play. If you think this production is confusing, disjointed, or not in sequential order then you got it! You are supposed to piece this together like a puzzle and figure out who the characters are, what scenes you are watching, and see what they've done with it. It is a Macbeth inspired play not Macbeth itself so don't go expecting to see what you know as Macbeth in it's exact form. Instead go looking to explore and be part of this incredible world that Punchdrunk has created. Put your expectations of theatre as you know it aside and explore like a child. If you can't do this you might be a bit of a stick in the mud.

Macbeth takes place continuously and eternally in time. Play back play forward. Amazing. Macbeth for everytime/place/person

Only question of concern was about the health of the eel

We went to the same performance that Don Aucoin, the Globe reviewer, went to, and we walked around the space for about 2 hours (as he did). We knew going in that we had to find out for ourselves what the show was about, and we know Macbeth very well indeed...yet we ended up feeling that we had, regrettably, not seen much of anything. My wife asked, "In what way is this THEATER?" We were in every room in the place several times, but 90% of the time they were empty...so we waited in some rooms for something to happen, or we wandered around and tried to make sense out of the furnishings, the props, etc. In the course of our time there, we saw exactly 3 moments involving actors: The dead Duncan (I assume) lying in the bed where he must have been murdered, then wrapped and carried into a chapel; during this time Lady Macbeth (I assume) fondled the face of the corpse lovingly. Later, in what appeared to be a school dormitory with mostly empty beds, Lady Macbeth wandered through--I guess our mistake was not to follow her for the rest of evening. Later, on our second visit to a room filled with pine trees, we saw Birnam wood march to Dunsinane. We never saw the actor playing Macbeth (whose photo was in the Globe review, and we never saw about 80% of the incidents that Don Aucoin mentioned. I have no problem looking around or following a non-sequential series of incidents in a plot (that's no problem after reading Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury"--which is, of course, a reference to Macbeth), but we felt that at least a LITTLE bit of guidance would have been very welcome--some kind of indication when and where something was going to happen, since we waited in a number of empty rooms and saw--nothing. I am amazed to read all the reports here by people who had a fantastic time....and I regret that I seem to have wasted my time and money for the most part. As a hint to people who read this and haven't yet seen the show, you may want to be much more active in looking through the rooms briefly and hunting down the places where things are actually happening. If nothing is going on where you are, go somewhere else. And when you do find something happening, it seems to be worth following it to whatever end there is before looking for something else.

I went Saturday night and I'm going again this week and prolly next as well. It is the most exciting interactive performance theatre I have ever experienced in my 30+ years of theatre going. I'm going back for many reasons; I missed rooms the first time, I want to look at the sets/rooms in more detail (they are exquisite) and it's just so incredible...multiple floors, multiple rooms/sets, action taking place in many places at once...just brilliant! And the speakeasy, The Manderley, was a real treat with a live jazz trio and two incredibly talented singers that are worth the ticket price in their own right. Absolutely the best avante garde theatre, full stop. Kudos to the new ART director! Keep up the brilliance. I look forward to more.

As someone who has been very involved in theatre for more than half of their life, I have to say that this is perhaps one of the most thrilling pieces of theatre that I have EVER experienced. It's challenging, engaging, and more insightful into the psychology of perhaps one of the most psychologically intriguing characters ever written. I have studied this play in and out and found myself discovering very new points of view to these characters. If you want a passive piece of theatre, go elsewhere. If you are closed-minded, skittish, and curmudgeonly, go elsewhere. Or actually... DO GO, get over yourself and experience something new and thrilling. But be warned, you WILL get tired, your feet MIGHT start to hurt, and you will have to give up some control over the situation. This is not passive theatre. Also, this piece is like the Louvre... you can't go through the whole thing and absorb it on one trip. I've gone twice, but still have a myriad of discoveries to make in Punchdrunk's mad labyrinth. PS: MacBeth got some blood on me, so I have a bone to pick with him, and those prop people need a year's paid vacation!!

Another great showw has come to kick boring and proper bostonians in
their nethers. This is NOT Macbeth, this is Sleep No More, please wear comfortable shoes and have an open mind. During my 2 plus hours, I
visited every room on 4 floors AND saw enough of the show to see my favorite scenes twice...the blue ballroom dance scene and the dinner on stage. I also saw at least another half dozen plus scenes that I walked in on as they started and followed several characters around, but found it more to my liking to happen upon the action. Will you see the whole play?
Probably not...but you will see a piece of theater that you are part of.
Please keep up the great work, saw it saturday with a friend, we split immediately but met up several times. Going to see it again with more friends.

if this performance is anything like "The Masque of the Red Death" the Punchdrunk Theatre Co did in London (which it looks like it is), then i HIGHLY suggest going to this!! Absolutely amazing and a one of a kind experience for sure! My advice is if you're with a group, trying to stay together through the whole thing will put you at a disadvantage so stick with one or two other people at the most and meet up with the others at the end. We actually dressed up for the performance in London and we were fine, but perhaps it is difference in this space? I would also suggest reading Macbeth beforehand, but it is certainly not required.