A multitude of searing sights crowd the spectator's gaze at the bedazzling and uncanny theater installation Sleep No More. Your sense of space is blurred as you wend through more than 90 discrete spaces, ranging from a cloistral chapel to a vast ballroom floor: a purgatorial maze that blends images from Macbeth with ones derived from Hitchcock movies—all liberally doused in a distinctly Stanley Kubrick eau de dislocated menace.—David Cote
When it comes to theater, who says you have to just sit and watch? Immersive theater in New York City puts you right in the middle of the action, and often draws you in to participate. Whereas most Broadway shows still follow the traditional proscenium-arch model, immersive Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions tend break down the barriers between actors and spectators, letting you follow your own paths through unconventional spaces. Since they are often intimate and interactive, these shows have been slow to return from the pandemic shutdown—the king of them all, the long-running Sleep No More, will not be back until February—but there is still a lot to choose from in the months ahead. To help you navigate the maze of options, here is our list of the city's best immersive and interactive shows.
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