Punchdrunk

When we lived in London, I made a point of going to the theater as often as possible.  Most of the time I went alone, but when we learned about Punchdrunk's presentation of Goethe's Faust, Rob was finally as excited as I was about theater.  

Theater in the hands of Punchdrunk is like nothing I had ever seen before.  Rather than sitting and watching a performance, you are part of it ("immersive theater" as described by Punchdrunk) - you enter a formerly abandoned space that has been transformed into the world of the performance.  Rather than watching the show chronologically, you wander around to view pieces of the story and to investigate and discover the story for yourself.  You are encouraged to read letters, eavesdrop on conversations, look in drawers... and the end result is a bit unnerving and much more interesting than normal theater.  Oh, you also are asked not to speak and you must wear a mask.  The anonymity truly makes the experience.  

I will confess that I was reminded about Punchdrunk after watching last week's episode of Gossip Girl where the cast goes to see Sleep No More, which is currently showing at the formerly-abandoned McKittrick Hotel in New York City.  You can read the NY Times review here.  If you live in or near Manhattan, this is not to be missed!