Sunday, April 19, 2015

Punchdrunk's Sleep No More

Apparently, a UK theater group has brought their act to the Big Apple for a performance titled "Sleep No More".  Ticket holders play the role of ghosts who get to explore rooms decorated with dark and mysterious contents while wearing plague era doctor's masks.



What interests me about this is that the performance combines Shakespeare with   The title is pulled from a line by the Bard from  MacBeth, which apparently is where some of the narrative that makes up this performane piece comes from.




Here are the lines spoken by the eponimous MacBeth in Act II, Scene II of Shakespeare's play from which the title of the current performance originates:


MACBETH 


    Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!
    Macbeth does murder sleep', the innocent sleep,
    Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care,
    The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,
    Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
    Chief nourisher in life's feast,--

LADY MACBETH

    What do you mean?

MACBETH

    Still it cried 'Sleep no more!' to all the house:
    'Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor
    Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more.' 



In this passage MacBeth tells his wife that he heard voices crying out about the murder they conspired to commit.  Now we have a modern day performance that takes its title from the delusions of a murderous 


The performance is immersive, allowing participants to explore rooms filled with xxsx, xxxx






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