Ok, so it wasn't that I went to see a retelling of Shakespeare's MacBeth that scared me. It wasn't the fact that it was 3 hours long. It wasn't the fact that it was set in the 1930's. It wasn't even the fact that it was in Chelsea. And it certainly wasn't that it was all done through interpretive dance.
So, why was I so scared about seeing this production? I thought there might be a possibility that I would find myself alone, trapped in a room, sitting in the dark.
If you're not intrigued, it's probably because you've already heard of the British theater company, Punchdrunk's, "Sleep No More." What's been described by the New York Times as a "movable orgy," was not exactly that, although it was fascinating.
When purchasing tickets, all I knew about the show was that it was recommended by a friend who was immediately separated from her husband as the show began. Her husband found himself completely alone in a giant 5 story warehouse.
**SPOILER ALERT**
If you're going to see the show and don't want to hear anything else about it, stop reading. I'm probably gonna let stuff slip. In fact, I'm gonna tell you everything. Most people say they want to go in surprised. So stop reading.
I, of course, was terrified and did not want to go in surprised. I wanted to know every little detail about what was going to happen to me and then some. Especially since I found out how the previously mentioned husband became separated from his wife.
There is a 1930's Jazz club as the staging area for this production. Period-ly dressed cocktail waitresses serve absinthe shots and champagne as the guests of the "McKittrick Hotel" listen to performances on 1920's carbon microphones. Small groups are called to enter the 5-story experience and asked to put on white masks, as shown in my picture. All guests must wear these masks so the actors can be identified. It becomes very creepy when large swarms of people wearing white masks are watching two men fight on a bar table. More about that in a minute.
The group enters into an elevator and is told the rules of the show. Besides wearing the mask at all times, guests are allowed to wander into any of the 100+ rooms throughout the warehouse. Guests can open any drawers, read any papers, touch all objects, eat and drink all food, and must find their own way. The elevator operator says one more thing as the doors open, "things are not always as they seem," the first guest steps off the elevator and the operator quickly shuts the door behind him and we continue ascending. Fortunately, I knew that would happen. That person who stepped off the elevator was my friend's husband.
One we got out of the elevator, clinging to a man in a mask that I could only hope was Mike, we began exploring what we quickly realized was a psychiatric ward. The eerie music reminded me of a beating heart, but the ward was deserted. There were hospital beds and doctor-y things (1930's style) but no people. All of a sudden we found ourselves in a windy forest with completely dead trees. We wandered for a while throughout the maze of trees, seeing a bobcat and a locked house.
Continuing to wander, we saw one actor chasing another. We quickly ran after them and found ourselves in a tiny room with a closed door and about 6 other guests. The men began to "question" each other - by interpretive dance. (I mentioned the actors didn't speak and just danced, right)? They swung the lamp on the ceiling at each other. Demanding answers to a clearly important question.
As the door was opened, a woman rushed by and we found ourselves somehow quickly moved to a new room, watching two women drinking. They, too, were clearly fighting about something important. One poured the other a drink and then seemed to squeeze tears from her eyes into a vile. Very weird stuff.
Leaving the floor via the staircase, we opened a door to the sounds of music and a show! A performer was singing in the lounge, while many actors were watching. Mike and I wandered over near the bar. I poured myself a cup of tea near the couch. It was cold. I took a sip just to say that I did it, but thought it was a little gross. All of a sudden, the singer took a break and the actors wandered over to the bar and demanded some information from the bartender. Another cool over-the-bar dance and we realized that scene was over.
After a few more encounters, we found ourselves in one of the most exciting scenes ever. Three witches and Macbeth (even though you couldn't tell by looking at them) began having a party (?) The lights came down and strobe lights lit up the room. All of a sudden there was a man with a full ram's head - horns and everything. The catch was, other than that, he was completely naked. One of the witches ripped off her top and all of them were flailing around. I tried to follow the story, but, admittedly, it was difficult with that ram in the room. Suddenly, the bald witch gave birth to a bloody baby. I didn't recall this scene in the version of Macbeth that I read, but I didn't pay great attention in 10th grade English. Perhaps I should have.
The finale really helped me put together who was Macbeth. He was the one who was killed after all. This was a pretty intense dance scene - 9 actors all moving in slow motion together. I was impressed. Don't miss this if you go see it. Also, don't miss the rave. And I missed the bathtub scene where Lady Macbeth washes off Macbeth's blood.
I'll leave you with my favorite scene. A young man wakes up his pregnant girlfriend. He chases her on top of a bookshelf - only three feet from the ceiling. They twist and turn back and forth, at times literally crawling on the ceiling. You find yourself smiling and thinking - what a lucky baby that will be. Then you realize you're wearing a mask and look really creepy.
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