Latest news with #SleepNoMore
New York Post
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
'Sleep No More' producers owe McKittrick Hotel millions in back rent: courts
The long-running, immersive theatrical spectacle 'Sleep No More' may have taken its final bow at the McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea in January — but the drama's not over. Known for its enchanting, noir-style adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the show had been a fixture in the city's theater scene since 2011. While slated to close in 2024, popular demand kept the production around another year. Advertisement 6 'Sleep No More,' the long-running immersive theater experience inspired by Macbeth, has lost its legal battle with landlord Centaur Properties and is supposedly on the hook for roughly $5 million in unpaid rent and legal fees. Matteo Prandoni/BFA / Shutterstock And while the curtain has finally fallen, producers Arthur Karpati and Jonathan Hochwald apparently still owe millions to the venue. A New York judge ruled last week that the pair are liable for approximately $5 million in unpaid rent and legal fees — siding entirely with the show's landlord, Centaur Properties. Advertisement The decision follows more than a year of increasingly bitter legal entanglements between the two parties, culminating in four separate lawsuits and a courtroom showdown. 'This was not an eviction case, because they left about a month ago — voluntarily left, without tendering the rent,' Terrence Oved, attorney and co-founding partner at Oved & Oved LLP, which represented Centaur, told The Post. 'We didn't ask for an eviction. It wasn't necessary. They left already. We're just chasing them for the approximately $5 million that was owed.' 6 'Sleep No More' producers Arthur Karpati (L) and Jonathan Hochwald (R). Matteo Prandoni/BFA / Shutterstock Advertisement According to court filings, Centaur Properties apparently forgave more than $5 million in rent during the COVID-19 pandemic — in an effort to give the show financial breathing room. But after the theatrical experience resumed and reportedly became profitable again, Centaur alleges the production once again defaulted in 2023, accruing an additional $4.5 million in rent arrears before closing the show for good. 6 The show famously ran for 14 years at the hotel. Matteo Prandoni/BFA / Shutterstock 6 The show originally planned to end production in early 2024, but due to popular demand, extended its performances for another year — before finally closing the curtain in 2025. Matteo Prandoni/BFA / Shutterstock Advertisement The legal battle began in February 2024 — when Centaur sued Karpati and Hochwald as personal guarantors of the lease. In response, the duo countersued Centaur and several of its representatives, claiming they were fraudulently coerced into signing the lease amendment that had previously wiped the slate clean. The tenant's complaint alleged a range of wrongdoing — but the court rejected these claims. 6 'Sleep No More' has been a fixture in the hotel scene since 2011. William Farrington 6 Centaur's attorneys, Darren (L) and Terrence Oved (R) of Oved & Oved LLP. 'This dispute is not about principle but about principal,' brothers Terrence and Darren Oved said in an earlier statement. 'PDNYC's [who the show's producers operate under] complaint is a baseless, misguided and transparent attempt to avoid its obligation to pay over $4 million in past due rent.' Advertisement In its ruling, issued Friday, May 16, the court dismissed all counterclaims brought by Karpati and Hochwald and found them jointly liable for the amounts owed under the lease, including attorney's fees. 'We are grateful for the court's swift and sound dismissal of the baseless allegations against our clients,' the attorneys said in a statement following the decision. 'Harlan Berger and Centaur have acted with utmost integrity throughout this drama. 'Sleep No More' will find neither sleep nor slumber until its substantial financial obligations to our client have been fulfilled.' According to Oved, the decision to vacate the premises was a strategic one, likely made to limit further damage. Advertisement 'They started realizing that it was closing in on them more,' he said. 'And we told them that the longer they stay there, the longer our damages are gonna be accruing. So they left in a desperate attempt to try to shut their damages.' The show's producers have not responded to requests for comment.
Time Out
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
I took a ferry to New York's newest immersive show—it's a fun night out among comrades
Dressed head to toe in black—from jet black lipstick and a long, witchy wig to a edgy leather harness—I joined dozens of others like me en masse to board a ferry to Governors Island on Saturday night. It looked like we were part of some Millennial goth-cult, which is the required dress code of The Death of Rasputin, the new immersive production by Artemis is Burning—a female-led creative team—at LMCC's Arts Center. I've found that in the wake of Sleep No More 's closure, we're all looking for something to fill the void it left, a show that we feel a real part of, one that we can physically touch and turn over in our hands and express joy, excitement, concern and fear to the actors in front of us. Enter The Death of Rasputin. Was it a success? It certainly tries and for that, it's worth a fun night out. Once scanned in and bag checked, I made my way into a bohemian bar, Katya's, with jewel-toned hanging lanterns and anti-establishment posters plastered on its brick walls, where all my fellow darklings ordered drink specials like a delightful clarified white Russian and snacked on just-OK pierogis. The setting here is 1916 Petrograd (Russia) before the revolution and just as the mysterious mystic Rasputin is gaining (too much) influence with the Romanovs, especially the tsarina—a concept by Ashley Brett Chipman (Servant). The pre-show excitement was electric. My cult-mates and I enjoyed people-watching and checking out the dimly-lit room's little details by set designer Lili Teplan (Love, Brooklyn) and light designer Devin Cameron (The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart). Just before the show began, we were given some rules: no phones, no camera and no talking. We were about to experience. As described in a press release, it's not a mere play—' it is a descent into decadence, a fever-dream of power, prophecy, and betrayal.' 'This debaucherous satire unfolds as a lavish, unholy revel, conjuring the espionage and mysticism that danced at the edges of the Romanov dynasty in its twilight hour. Here, every character claws for dominion, every ambition is laced with poison, and every grasp for power pulls them closer to the abyss. With history and legend entwined, and the specter of Rasputin looming large, this production dares to reclaim the grand spectacle of immersive performance, shattering the mold long held by the few. The revolution is here. The prophecy is written. Will you heed the call?' Featuring an original cast member, directors and a producer from Sleep No More —Zina Zinchenko, Ashley Brett Chipman, Hope Youngblood and Kelly Bartnik, respectively — The Death of Rasputin aims to recreate the breathless excitement of the immersive show that had us returning again and again to the McKittrick Hotel for 13 years. With choreography by James Finnemore (TERRA), costume design by Eulyn Colette Hufkie (The Walking Dead) and sound design by Stephen Dobbie (The Burnt City), we were yanked into this new world like joining the whirling dance performed in the opening scene. We were actively part of it at times and largely fly-on-the-wall observers to this explosive moment in history—made more dramatic, romantic, sensual and mysterious for the production than it actually was in reality. Like Punchdrunk's Sleep No More, Emursive's Life & Trust (RIP) and 2023's The Great Gatsby (did you forget about this one?), we were free to choose our own adventure and follow whomever we wanted to—or choose what cult we were in—the cult of Rasputin, the cult of revolution that takes place in the bar or in the cult of opulence and follow the Romanovs. We got to roam around the two-story space and explore the rooms, which include the bar, a full cabin in the woods, a military tent, a study, the royal couple's boudoir, a garden, the Winter Palace's ballroom and a couple of hidden passages. It's smaller in scale, making for an easier time getting around and following fewer cast members. It could benefit for a smaller ticket cap, however, because it suffers from what a lot of immersive performances do: a swarm of audience members who block the view at times. I wasn't immediately aware of my freedom, so I stuck around in the bar for the first 10 or 15 minutes and enjoyed chanting about the right to food and healthcare with my comrades a little too much. I mostly followed Lohktina (Manatsu Tanaka) as she dealt with the fallout from choosing a life of magic and 'communing' with Rasputin (Jake Ryan Lozano) but had fun watching the priest Iliodor (Tim Creavin) lose his shit when he finds out the tsarina is also getting down and dirty with Rasputin—honestly, who wasn't? As a lover of history, I was surprised by this version of Rasputin, who in the performance is a raving and whirling madman, careening from room to room and womanizing with wild abandon. The character was missing the mesmerizing (read: sexy) quality that would explain why everyone was so entranced. Notably, The Death of Rasputin is different from shows like Sleep No More in one major way: it had dialogue. I did wonder if the broken silence signaled some to audience members that it was OK to speak—because some of them did and had no qualms about it. And unlike many other immersive productions, humor found its way into the script and in off-hand comments and in the delivery by the cast, which lightened the tension at times, which I enjoyed but impacted the tone. It turns out my Millennial goth-cult was actually a pretty fun hang and one that I'd recommend to those looking to live through a historic event that had nothing to do with us for once. Performances of The Death of Rasputin are on Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2:15pm through May 31. Tickets are $148 and include ferry transportation to and from Governors Island, and a limited number of $44 student tickets are available.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Priyanka Jonas, Hunter Schafer Join Olivier Rousteing for Johnnie Walker Vault Launch Dinner
On Saturday night, the McKittrick Hotel — the longtime home of immersive 'Macbeth' production 'Sleep No More' — opened its doors for a new Scottish arrival. This time, the story looked a little different: more whisky, less murder. And a lot more Balmain. Olivier Rousteing, in New York for the Met Gala, and Johnnie Walker Vault teamed up to host a launch dinner for their new collaboration, four 'couture' bottles of whisky inspired by Rousteing's connection to the four seasons. More from WWD Here's a First Look at The Mark Hotel's Met Gala Baseball Cap That's Exclusively Gifted to Celebrity Guests Leon Bridges, Julez Smith and More Attend 'Grace Wales Bonner: Togetherness' at the Guggenheim Sarah Jessica Parker, Walton Goggins, Julia Fox and More Celebrate the Cult100 With Valentino at the Guggenheim VIP guests arrived at the venue through a blue-lit hallway, perfume-scented and filled with a trance-y audio track voiced by master blender Dr. Emma Walker and Rousteing, which set the mood for the 'sensorial dinner' ahead. 'The aromas and textures move like a cold spring day. You've got a sparkle in the air.' The Scottish voice then shifted to a French accent. 'When the art of couture meets the art of blending.' 'Hi fabulous goddess,' said Rousteing, emerging from the hallway and greeting Priyanka Jonas on the blue-carpeted step-and-repeat. 'You know I'm with one of the most beautiful women in the world?' he called out to the small group surrounding the pair. Afterward, they made their way hand-in-hand past the photo booth and descended into the dark dinner space, where an inverted pyramid, housing a swirling hologram, extended from the center of a large square table. 'I'll see you tomorrow afternoon,' Rousteing told Jonas. Final Met Gala fittings awaited. ' It's gonna be a really busy day [tomorrow], and I think it's even more complex than last year,' said a jubilant Rousteing before dinner. He and several other guests wore a small gold 'couture flask,' hanging from a long chain shoulder strap. 'Tonight we're celebrating Johnnie Walker; in two days we're gonna celebrate the Balmain dresses and suits. So I feel proud. I feel proud of what I'm achieving. After 14 years of career as a creative director, I feel like I just wanna explore,' he added. 'This incredible collaboration makes me more creative and more curious about everything.' 'He's just so incredibly talented,' said Jonas, who launched her own collaboration with Johnnie Walker last fall. 'Walking together at the Met, and [Rousteing] dressing me, is just really exciting. I think he's one of the most accomplished designers we have right now.' Other dinner guests included Hunter Schafer, wearing a tiny pair of wings, and Lupita Nyong'o — 'Olivier's Angels' — as well as Jeremy O. Harris, Rege-Jean Page, Stormzy, Nicky Hilton-Rothschild and Henry Goulding. 'It's Met Gala weekend. Everybody's in town,' said Goulding, dressed in a tux. ' It's always a fun circus, but it's quite stressful. There's a lot happening,' he added. 'There's so many people in town — I'm not looking forward to the traffic — but [looking forward to] seeing everybody and catching up.' Guests sat for dinner by chef Yann Nury, as the central hologram unveiled the collaboration's spring bottle. Jon Bon Jovi's 'Livin' on a Prayer' queued up as servers placed the first course, setting the scene for the first whisky pairing. Eighties pop hits accompanied each course — from Rick Astley to Kim Wilde and Rick Springfield. 'By the way, the music is my playlist, I'm so sorry,' Rousteing revealed to the room, as 'Whip It' played during the meal's dessert course of whisky-flavored ice cream. 'Tonight we are celebrating more than incredible blends — we are celebrating love, happiness, strength, and togetherness,' added the designer, closing out the evening. After dinner, seats were whisked away and the bottle hologram transitioned to a rotating silver Johnnie Walker mascot. The room's dark hue switched to blue, and a curtain opened to reveal the afterparty's Johnnie Walker Blue bar. New guests arrived, some VIPs lingered for a nightcap, and others made their exit. Tomorrow, and tomorrow: the Met Gala finish line is in sight. Launch Gallery: Lupita Nyong'o, Hunter Schafer, and More at the Olivier Rousteing x Johnnie Walker Dinner Best of WWD A Look Back at SAG Awards Best Dressed Red Carpet Stars SAG Awards Wildest Looks of All Time on the Red Carpet, Photos From the Archive: A Look Back at Marc Jacobs Annual Holiday Party [PHOTOS]
Euronews
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
'It's a sacred space': Inside the new sound exhibition from immersive theatre legends
ADVERTISEMENT A short drive away from Manchester is Dunham Massey, a 17th century National Trust property where a new soundscape installation will give audiences a unique experience of the cycle of life, nature and grief. 'ORIGIN' is the latest art installation from A Right / Left Project, Stephen Dobbie and Colin Nightingale's soundscape collective. The pair met through Punchdrunk – where they are Creative Director and Associate Creative Producer, respectively – the innovative stage company that changed people's perceptions of what was possible in immersive theatre through shows like 'Sleep No More' and 'The Burnt City'. With A Right / Left Project, Dobbie and Nightingale have expanded from working within the structures of immersive theatre to creating their own experiences from the ground up. Related Why are we still being scammed by immersive art exhibitions? Immersive exhibition celebrates the colourful 'queen of fado' singer Amália Rodrigues Together they've created bold works that break apart – sometimes literally – audience conceptions of what a sound installation can be . 'Beyond the Road' at London's Saatchi Gallery in 2019 took the work of electronic musician UNKLE and created the first 'walkthrough album'. Their next project, 2023's 'The Retiring Room' was a sonic expedition in a hotel room that could only be experienced one person at a time. Whether it's in one of Punchdrunk's expansive settings or their more intimate installations, both agree that sound is beyond essential in the experience. 'An image can be as grainy or as distorted as you want, but people will not forgive bad sound,' Dobbie says, noting how films like The Blair Witch Project could get away with shaky cam footage because they'd pushed the budget on telling the story through audio. Stephen Dobbie and Colin Nightingale A Right / Left Project 'We used to joke that, essentially, as long as we had a building and we could get sound through it, we could literally switch the lights out and give someone a torch, and they'd have an experience,' Nightingale adds. 'All the rest of it was actually just an additional bonus. Without the sound there's nothing.' For 'ORIGIN', Dobbie and Nightingale are back with one space. It's a far cry from the elaborate Punchdrunk production of 'Sleep No More', which loosely followed the plot of 'Macbeth' as audience members independently traversed the many rooms of a hotel. 'We've been a part of some massive scale projects,' Nightingale says, 'getting the right circumstances to allow those projects to happen is really tough.' From the pair's interest in spatialized sound, ''ORIGIN' came out of us trying to scale down a little bit and explore what you could do in one room where there's minimal intervention, but there would still be emotional impact.' After people spend some time enjoying the 300-acre parkland around Dunham Mass where fallow deer run free, they'll be able to enter the opulent house at the heart of the estate where 'ORIGIN' will be set up. In the room, audience members will lie down around a structure designed around the Himalayan Lily to experience the soundscape. ORIGIN at Dunham Massey Stephen Dobbie 'We wanted to take an approach of cinematic sound and reimagine it in an environment where an audience is more static,' Dobbie says. Although everyone is in the same room hearing the same soundtrack, through the way they've spatialized the music, each experience will be unique. 'You might get slightly more flute or slightly more violin. I think in animating the space like that, and animating the composition, it shifts the way you experience music.' 'It's almost as though you're experiencing music as you experience sound in quite a naturalistic way,' Dobbie adds. A Right / Left Project first created 'ORIGIN' with the composer Toby Young and lighting design by Ben Donoghue. It was first unveiled last year at World Heart Beat in London's Embassy Gardens before a stint at London Design Festival. As it returns, now in Dunham Mass, the pair are still reticent about what 'ORIGIN' is actually about. 'We all have our own relationships with births and deaths over the last couple of years and a lot of that thinking has gone into the work,' Nightingale will admit. 'But that's all we really want to say to people.' The only true way to experience something is, after all, for oneself. It's on the audience to find their own experiential narrative. While the music might occasionally play into 'familiar tropes', Dobbie says of its 'dramatic swells', there are also 'breaks of sparse atmospheric sections'. All of these give the audience room to feel it as they wish. 'We're trying to create a piece of music as an invitation to explore within yourself. To explore what might be going on in your head,' Dobbie suggests. ADVERTISEMENT 'ORIGIN' at Dunham Massey Stephen Dobbie Anyone who's seen Punchdrunk's work such as the 2022 London show 'The Burnt City' will be familiar with the production company's abrasive and in-your-face approach to immersion. They've never shied away from violence, nudity or gore. Yet, 'ORIGIN' represents a quieter and calmer side to the sound engineers' artistic impulses. 'A lot of that work is coming from a place of taking people out of their comfort zone as a way to then engage them in an avant garde approach to theatre,' Nightingale says. Punchdrunk began at the cusp of the millennia, 'where people were starting to get fractured information, but you were still kind of in control of how you received information.' 'Now we live in a world that's just madness out there with so many truths,' Nightingale continues. 'So we were interested in creating a sanctuary. It's a sacred space where people actually listen to music and disconnect from the madness out there and maybe regulate their nervous systems a little bit.' 'ORIGIN' will be at Dunham Massey, Cheshire from 3 May to 2 November. ADVERTISEMENT
Borneo Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Borneo Post
Tianjin turns streets into stage with immersive ‘Sunrise' revival
Performers of Tianjin People's Art Theater perform Chinese classic drama 'Sunrise' at a commercial street in north China's Tianjin on Oct 26, 2024. – Xinhua photo TIANJIN (April 24): In the bustling heart of the historic Jinjie commercial district in Tianjin, a northern Chinese port city, the rhythmic clatter of a rickshaw and the elegant swish of a qipao-clad socialite's fan whisked the audience away to the ambiance of 1930s China. Here, a groundbreaking adaptation of renowned Chinese playwright Cao Yu's seminal work Sunrise unfolded – not on a traditional stage – but amid the cobblestones and colonnades where its story was first conceived. Set in the 1930s, the play reveals the stark contrast between the decadent lifestyle of the privileged elite and the harsh struggles of the underprivileged in that historical period, blending a poignant critique of systemic inequality with a hopeful vision for a better future. Since its debut in October 2024, this immersive street-corner production by the Tianjin People's Art Theater has attracted over 60,000 spectators across more than 30 public holiday performances, redefining how audiences engage with classical theater and how cities harness cultural heritage to boost tourism and revive consumption. Staged near the iconic giant copper coin square and the historic site of Huizhong Hotel – the original setting of the play – the production dissolved the boundary between performers and spectators. Audience members were invited to dress as rickshaw pullers or thugs and speak improvise lines, creating an immersive experience that emphasised interactivity and made every spectator an integral part of the performance. 'Experiencing the play in its actual historical setting creates powerful verisimilitude, giving the audience an unparalleled sense of immersion,' said Lu Sen, director of the production. An actress of Tianjin People's Art Theater performs Chinese classic drama 'Sunrise' at a commercial street in north China's Tianjin on Oct 26, 2024. – Xinhua photo Tracing its roots to the early-mid 20th century, immersive theater fundamentally redefined performance spaces, from repurposed factories to urban streetscapes, by making environmental engagement and audience interaction its central artistic tenets. Performing in this immersive street production presented unique challenges, said Xu Nuo, an actress in the play. 'With audiences surrounding us 360 degrees, every flicker of emotion becomes visible,' she explained, adding that they had to live their roles more intensely than on conventional stages, while continuously engaging spectators. 'The characters step right out of the screen,' marveled a visitor from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region who grew up watching a TV adaptation of the play. 'This innovative approach provides a brilliant way to introduce Tianjin's heritage to visitors.' The approach also mirrors global trends. In recent years, productions like Sleep No More, pioneered by British immersive theater company Punchdrunk, Then She Fell in the US, and Apollonia, adapted from the South Korean musical Mia Famiglia, have redefined live performance, engaging audiences through deeply interactive experiences. Not far from the giant copper coin square, Riverside 66, a luxury mall owned by Hong Kong-based Hang Lung Properties, was transformed into an immersive theater, hosting multiple performances of Sunrise. Tenants joined in with promotions, turning theater-going into a vibrant blend of shopping and cultural experience. Gong Hongru, director of the management committee of Jinjie commercial district, emphasised the transformative impact of the immersive street-corner production. 'When audiences time-travel through Tianjin's history here, they don't just watch a play; they fuel the district's economic vitality,' Gong said. Performers of Tianjin People's Art Theater perform Chinese classic drama 'Sunrise' at a commercial street in north China's Tianjin on Oct 26, 2024. – Xinhua photo Scholars view this participatory wave as part of a broader generational shift. According to Zhang Hongsheng, a cultural economist at the Communication University of China, younger audiences increasingly seek immersive experiences over passive consumption. Social media is amplifying the trend. For instance, on Xiaohongshu, the Chinese lifestyle platform known internationally as 'rednote', posts tagged 'cultural tourism' have surpassed 50 million views, with interactive cultural activities and hands-on intangible heritage experiences emerging as popular trends. 'Immersive cultural travel experience isn't just about sightseeing,' wrote a Xiaohongshu user. 'It's mindful living. In this hectic era, this is how we reclaim our heritage heartbeat.' The surge in cultural deep-dive tourism also helps revitalise historic districts. Official data show that over 300 cultural blocks and 1,800 heritage buildings nationwide were rejuvenated between 2023 and 2024, weaving historical legacy into contemporary vitality through cultural tourism and commerce. Each performance of the immersive Sunrise is livestreamed, drawing a massive online audience. 'I was completely captivated, and I hope more people know about this production,' echoed viewers on social media. 'It's not just a play; it's a love letter to the city.' Tianjin's 'urban theater' initiative has now emerged as a cultural signature of the city, said Zhang Lijuan, deputy Party secretary of Tianjin People's Art Theater. 'We're turning streets into stages, integrating art into daily life and letting visitors experience Tianjin's cultural heritage and artistic vibrancy.' As the performance concluded, the cast returned to the giant copper coin square. Their synchronised bow toward the site of Huizhong Hotel wasn't just a curtain call, it was a silent homage to the literary giant whose work has now breathed new life into this historic space. – Xinhua China Sunrise Tianjin People's Art Theater Xinhua
