... [SPOILER] has murdered [SPOILER]!

[learnedax]

Last Thursday cat9 and I went (with a group of people, though that turns out not to matter too much) to see Sleep No More. It was creepy, and vivid, and grim, and I'm glad that I had the experience. But, after lengthy reflection, I don't think that I would want to go again, even ignoring the fact that the full run is sold out.

I would say that, to my surprise, I didn't know enough going in to this to enjoy it as much as I could have. I came in expecting something that was basically a play, although obviously an immersive* one, and was loosely Macbeth. In both of those respects I found it lacking, and because of the find-it-yourself nature of the performance I kept hunting around for more pieces of the puzzle, trying to see as much as I could and figure it all out. Whereas on reflection I don't believe there is any depth to unravel, and it would be better to just enjoy whatever parts of it you happened to see.

The other thing I didn't know was that it was supposed to be an adaptation of anything other than Macbeth. I figured that there were original elements, but I had never seen or read Rebecca, so I had no context from which to recognize those parts. And, to be honest, the Macbeth parts only very weakly expressed any actual Macbethiness, such that if I hadn't known it was supposed to be there I probably wouldn't have worked that out either.

And that's really the crux of my problem with the performance: I went in looking for a play, and this has very little of a play in it. Taken on its own terms, it is a phenomenally creepy haunted house, with superb athletic interpretive dance. But the tantalizing feeling I had that there was something more to figure out, some hidden secrets that seeing just a few more scenes would unlock, is a chimerical one. The plot is the barest of sketches, and you really have to fill in your own interpretation if you want it to mean anything.

So, on its own, without comparing it to a production of Macbeth, it was a dreamlike, or rather nightmarish, potent series of setpieces, and I have absolutely never experienced anything like it, which is a great virtue on its own. But I do wonder why they didn't use more of the truly creepy stuff that's already in Macbeth. The way they handled Banquo's ghost, or the witches' apparitions, or the moving trees, was almost wholly devoid of supernatural qualities. Strangely, the actual actors seemed practically mundane in contrast to the sets they occupied.

At one point, having already seen parts of a couple of plot loops already, I was hoping to catch Macbeth murdering Duncan. Based on what I'd seen I thought it might be a dramatic pas de deux between Macbeth and a dagger outside the bedchamber, each struggling for mastery as he feels himself pulled into the dark act, until he pulls back from nearly brushing Duncan's throat, puts down the dagger, and crumples with obvious relief... as Lady Macbeth steps out from behind a curtain and plunges the blade into Duncan's heart. Wouldn't that have been pretty fabulous? Instead Macbeth walks in with grim slowness, grimly holds a pillow over Duncan's face, stares with stony blankness at his suddenly bloody hands, and stalks grimly out. That's no awful, but... all it shows is "Macbeth murders Duncan", without any character development, without any interaction... without any plot, basically. It's like a speed-through bullet-point version, only carried out immensely slowly. As a play, I was substantially underwhelmed.

But, again, I think that's largely my problem. I wanted it to be a play, and I honestly think that's not how it's best viewed. So my negative reaction is pretty strongly tainted with my mismatched expectations. I guess, in summary, I don't quite no what to make of it, which is probably a good thing for any piece of art.


*I would call this immersive theatre in that it happens around you, but not as I have seen elsewhere "interactive theatre", because you are still a passive recipient of the show, even if you can choose which part of it to receive.

Comments

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

"I went in looking for a play, and this has very little of a play in it."

Yeah, several people I know had trouble with that. I did my best to manage expectations, but it's hard when dealing with something so unprecedented.

"The way they handled Banquo's ghost, or the witches' apparitions, or the moving trees, was almost wholly devoid of supernatural qualities. Strangely, the actual actors seemed practically mundane in contrast to the sets they occupied."

I'm just gonna have to disagree with you on this one. I thought all those things had strong supernatural qualities -- but so did *every* aspect of the show, so they hardly stood out in this context.

I did find the Duncan murder rather underwhelming, I admit.

"you are still a passive recipient of the show"

Most people, most of the time. I take it you didn't experience any of the one-on-ones?

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

I guess what I mean by them being devoid of supernatural qualities is that I didn't see them signaling that something weird was going on, either through special effects or through actors' reactions. When I saw Banquo (or who I guess was Banquo) at the banquet he had a spot on his face, but everyone carried on as if he were any other guest, as far as I could tell. I guess the witches' lair was sort of special effecty, but I interpreted the strobe lights and frenetic dancing as more a metaphorical altered state than a specific spooky thing, possibly because everyone participated equally, rather than Macbeth playing the straight man for it.

Actually, come to think of it, it could just be that a lot of SNM is primarily amenable to metaphorical reading, rather than physical. On a physical level what happens with the witches doesn't make any sense - but for me the metaphorical level was too open-ended to connect back to something that would have an emotional or visceral impact on me.

I saw one girl get pulled into a one-on-one, but I didn't experience any. I was really surprised to read in your journal later that so many people seem to have had them.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

When the banquet is already being attended by a significant number of dead people and witches, the addition of one more ghost is less notable :)

The goat-headed demon and the bloody baby didn't strike you as supernatural?

I would estimate that there are on the rough order of fifty one-on-ones per night. I'm near-certain that there are fewer than a hundred. In an audience of 300, that's not so many. If you go several times, your odds go up, and there are steps you can take to further increase your chances.

[laura47.livejournal.com]

from all i've read, going in expecting a play is the biggest cause of sadness with SNM. i warned all my companions when i went for my second time, which i still need to write up.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I think you would have been better served with a spoiler or two. Knowing what to expect a little more would have helped. Also, picking a character and following him/her -- even if you're not sure who the character is -- generates a more linear plot, and makes that part of the story easier to comprehend, even if it means sacrificing the other storylines.

The murder of Banquo is pretty spectacular and much like the pas de deux you describe. The Witches' Sabbath, which I think is Macbeth going back to see the witches, is bloody, ghastly, and supernatural.

Some of the theater is "interactive" in the "actors interact with the audience" sense. I've danced with one of the witches and had the porter sign me into The McKitterich Hotel, but yes -- for the most part it's no more interactive than a play on a stage. This one just has lots of stages. It's the "Choose Your Own Adventure" version of Macbeth.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

I did try to follow people some of the time - I caught most of Macbeth's loop at one time or another, and a fair amount of Lady Macbeth's. If I had already seen a certain scene once, I usually wouldn't stick around for it again, and I lost people fairly frequently due to large crowd sizes. I bet that would happen less if I were following a less central character.

The disco dance party was certainly... really weird. I guess, as I suggested to Alexx above, it didn't really read as supernatural to me because the whole thing was so surreal that it couldn't be tied back to reality at all. Maybe that's splitting hairs. For me that scene was less creepy than walking through the third floor - which, to be fair, doesn't really mean it wasn't supernatural.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Even the less-central characters are a challenge to follow for long periods. Sometimes they run *fast*, and with little warning.

[eclecticmagpie.livejournal.com]

One of your aspects of disappointment is one that I felt with "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?", which everyone described as being an updated retelling of the Odyssey, set in the '20s. Well, I loved that movie, but missed half the references to the Odyssey and was disappointed by the others. Even the over-arching theme of the main character trying to get back to his wife was vastly altered by the addition of a deadline. But I digress. I'm glad you got to see SNM, even if it was somewhat disappointing; I appear to have missed my chance and regret it, though I suspect I would have responded similarly to the way you did.

[rickthefightguy.livejournal.com]

I agree on O Brother. It is not a retelling of the Odyssey. Its a movie by someone who had the Odyssey described to them many years ago.

As far as SNM, I describe it as a performance art/modern dance piece based loosely on Macbeth with some other inspirations thrown in. I loved it, by the way.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I loved it, by the way.

I was neither surprised by this nor by The Ax's lack of enthusiasm for it.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I also discovered (after the fact) that at least two of the players were missing on the night we were there -- Elsie (not so important; the other singer in the bar), and one of the witches. I didn't spend a lot of time with the witches on this run, but I'm sure it diminished some scenes.