when will we awake?

Manderley

- The welcome from Calloway at the start of every show. Deciding it was only right by the end of the week to cheer loudly as he took to the stage.

- Violet and Constance might do my favourite welcome speeches of all time, even though I don’t understand a word of them.

The hotel

- Getting to see Olly’s Macbeth, alongside Lily’s Lady Macbeth, as an unexpected treat. The moment that most sticks with me beyond their violent duets, is their distance and distraction as they return to bed following the ‘bathtub’ scene. It’s the perfect touch of stillness and alienation for both of them, sitting together yet alone.

- Even though I didn’t get a chance to spend much time with him on this trip - every glimpse of Andrea’s Macbeth just feels so right.

- The night that the party got really loud as Omagbitse’s Lady Macbeth encouraged “Come on Ladies! Let’s get him up! up! up!”.

- Two variations on Banquo. Daniel’s wonderful solo in the ballroom. Omar’s emergence after his death. The very different feel of their dances in lost luggage and in the crypt with Bald. The flashlight and creeping through the trees. Whispered words in ears. Fights with Macbeth that feel dangerous and violent.

- Malcolm’s continuing obsession with the birds: Feathers from pockets, feathers in his office, feathers on the bed, feathers turning up in seemingly endless, subtle ways. The moment of still as he holds the bird to his face. The distracting owls in the ballroom before Banquo nudges him out of it.

- Malcolm’s truly threatening demeanour in his office, his fall after laying Duncan to rest, his notebook, his politeness when meeting one of the witches on the stairs, the way he gives in to Boy Witch’s distraction and takes his eyes of his father at the crucial moment. Occasionally, being able to see the shaving scene.

- The interrogation - the room is still too big, but there’s something in the pacing that’s working really well, a brief moment where Malcolm’s hand is all that is visible as he holds the light towards Macduff and reaches for him, the clarity of their partnership when they both slump to the floor and take a moment before setting a plan in motion.

- Macduff and Malcolm descending the stairs to the banquet. Such a simple change that makes a big difference to the effectiveness of a transitional moment.

- Gao Yang’s Macduff, a mixture of hope and sadness, confusion and accusation. The ‘crypt’ solo, his dances with his wife, his fight with Bald. Possibly, a moment at the fountain. How I thought the door dance had been dropped one night, only to see it reinstated on a following evening.

- Finally working out the rules of the card game.

- My first ever loop with Lady Macduff. Her giddy, giggly reaction to the milk. The push and pull, and tenderness and fear in her moments with her husband. Tottering along bookshelves and the hopelessness of what’s happening to her, Feeling sick to my stomach with the violence of her death.

- Daniel’s Porter’s moments of forced smiles, his beautiful version of Moonlight Becomes You, his silliness when hiding and his genuine concern for Lady Macduff and her baby.

- Garth’s Porter remembering that there is a mirror in the lobby that can be used during Moonlight Becomes You.

- Going out of my way to see what Duncan is doing after he is killed.

The Witches

- The always-right sight of Conor’s Boy Witch to welcome me into the hotel. He was brilliant, obviously. Sunglasses. Teasing. His eyes full of tears as he showered. His neediness in those moments following the rave. The way he shoved his jacket at me, without even really looking, knowing that I’d take it.

- Being halfway up the stairs when he appeared from nowhere to lead me back to Manderley.

- Following the perfect witch trio of Fania’s Bald, Miranda’s Sexy and Olly’s Boy Witch down the corridor to the rave. The three of them together is intoxicating, mesmerising and irresistible. Definitely my favourite witch combination of all time.

- Miranda’s Sexy bar solo really might be the best thing in the entire show. Utterly, beautifully, heart-wrenching. Her toes and her hands, and never knowing where or when she’s going to rise above the waves again. It’s just phenomenal. (As is everything else she does)

- Fania’s Bald Witch: All of it. Unable to take my eyes off of her during her solo in the Ballroom, her at war with God, spitting and licking, her hands in the lights and fingers restless as she stalks the corridors, her power over everyone, lurking in the trees as the flashlight approaches, her spider-like crawl, holding her stare and both of us laughing as she dances with Banquo, the way she condescendingly acknowledges his fancy dance moves.

The high street

- Tim’s totally oddball Taxidermist. Who I had all intentions of spending a full loop with until he led me to something haunting, and spaces I’d not seen before, that ultimately whisked me away.

- Over the course of my time at the McKinnon deciding that there definitely is a teddy bear loop, and that I had seen most of it.

- Spending time with Olly’s Speakeasy, who is still seemingly having insane amounts of fun. The grin on his face as he teased me/us during the card game. The bit that follows, that is still one of my favourite things to happen in a Punchdrunk show.

- Seeing both sides of the story in a thematically brilliant final show spent with Lee Wen Hsin’s Bride and then Ben’s Husband.

- Side note: Didn’t get to the bottom of the changes in the relationship between Sexy and Bride since December. Where did Bride’s human-clothes go? Hide and seek down the high street? The dynamic of their rep bar showdown feels very different - who is saving who?

- Watching both sides of the Bride’s beautiful dance through the bamboo forest.

- Being stood in just the right spot to see Bride blowing Husband a kiss through the shop window, him catching it, both of them adorable, whilst I can see Sexy Witch slowly creeping down the street to interrupt them and ruin the moment.

- Getting the chance to see that scene once more.

- Watching Bride go from snake, to human, and back again. Her poorly contained anger as she washes herself, the extraordinary dance as she finds the thistle - echoes of Sexy’s shipwrecked bar dance, but like she’s caught up in a ship’s rigging.

- Watching her bring her Husband back to life.

- Husband’s dreamlike walk back down into town, pausing at the doorway to the ward, remembering moments in the bamboo forest, feeling the memory of pain in his eye as he reaches the high street. The fuzzy memories that make it possible to draw an imperfect map.

- His naivety and optimism in finding his shop, and signing the contract, his poor negotiation skills. The whirlwind infatuation that leads to a wedding in so few encounters. More memories of past lives?

- The bonkers visual of Speakeasy and Taxidermist’s performance. The weird echoes of seeing a former Conrad, being teased and made fun of, and distracted, much like Conrad did to William. The way Bride transforms so completely and the horrified reaction of them all to her black blood.

- The sheer violence of Omar’s Cunning Man and Ben’s Husband’s fight after the Dragon Boat festival making me jump every. single. time. It’s brilliant, and hard to not follow out of that scene every time. The moment his heart starts to break as a sign of what’s to come, and Cunning Man’s mock concern.

- His frantic pounding on the door and running through the hallways, taking some drugs, recognising the maps, and stumbling into the rave, before finally making his way back to his wife and the final heartbreak.

The infirmary

- Miranda’s moody, terrifying, always-stealing-me-away Nurse. Sarcastic pouts, commanding me around with a nod of the head or a tiny gesture. Genuinely scary whenever I encountered her.

- Discovering a new-to-me room on the 5th floor that I never saw used, but felt like it should be, and that reminded me of our old friend in the igloo, somehow.

- The perfect pairing of Tang Tingting’s ‘Matron’ and Miranda’s Nurse with their pouts during the wedding, and their mirrored walk and bed sorting on the way down to the banquet.

- Strange happenings when I ended up unexpectedly meeting Gao Yang’s exceptionally creepy James/Matron, the sounds of children’s toys and the feeling of ‘what on earth is going on here’, hearing a story that I think I know but can’t be sure of, wanting to find out more but losing him, only to have him find me at the end.

- Ending up on the 6th floor twice in one show. In two different languages. Somehow still being surprised and letting out a small yelp the second time round.

The laughs

- Sam’s Taxi beckoning at me in the darkness and taking me for something very unexpected to start my final show, not being able to suppress my laughter and delight. “Showtime!”. A black-stained kiss.

- Every single interaction between Omar’s Cunning Man and Ben’s Husband: “Well, you’ve been eating your dumplings!” / “Who is that?” “I don’t know, I only met her a few times!” “But… you MARRIED her!” / “Brush up on your Mandarin! Good luck with your wife!”.

- Cunning Man and Taxidermist bartering over a snake.

- Taxidermist’s conversations with the bear.

- Whenever I followed Speakeasy and Taxidermist as they caused trouble throughout the town on their way to perform. Both trying to get through a door at the same time, Speakeasy’s arm getting stuck in his jacket, carrying Taxi down the high street.

- The moment in one rave where Sexy Witch gave an unwitting audience member who didn’t want to move a witchy lapdance, before barking in their face.

- Bald slapping Sexy across the face immediately afterwards. The surprise in Sexy’s eyes.

- Watching Bald dance a friend through the Macduff’s suite and out into the walled garden.

The tears

- Hearing the Grandmother’s Story from Lily’s ‘Matron’

- Under the bed; heartbreak in close-up

- Looking around the ballroom thinking it’s highly likely that it was the last time I’d see all these people doing this together

- Dialogue! Oh, dialogue! This isn’t a silent show. I caught audible (adorable, haunting) conversations between Boy Witch and Lady Macduff in the ballroom. There were shouts of joy and sorrow throughout. There’s Cunning Man. Who’d have thought that character would be the one to end up providing so many moments of dark comic relief in his conversations and interactions with the Husband, and with the Taxidermist.

- The new storyline provides some much needed sweetness, tenderness and love, with an arc that sits well outside of the Macbeth story. Yes, it’s still heartbreaking (literally…), but it reminds me of the emotional rollercoaster that so many characters in TDM offered in their narratives. Higher highs and lower lows, and a welcome escape from the thematic monotony of death! blood! nudity! evil! etc.

- Almost every character now has an incredibly fulfilling loop. They have much more to do, particularly on the top two floors, in a way that makes the entire world feel richer. Choosing between spending time with the Macbeth characters and those on the upper floors, feels much more like the choice between the studios and the town in Temple Studios. There’s something for every mood, and the spaces are better used as a result.

- Everything has more clarity. I spoke about this a lot after my last visit, but I think it’s even more true now. Each character feels clearer and more deliberate and sheds a little more light on why they’re doing what they’re doing. And changes in some of the choreography, for instance, when the witches come together before the party are just brilliant. There’s more foreshadowing and sense of inevitability, and for other characters, more sense of memory and awareness from loop to loop.

- There’s a lot more joy to be found too, often in unexpected places. I laughed so much. I cried too. But I really did laugh. And anybody who knows me, knows that a lot of my favourite Punchdrunk moments are likely to be the ones where I laugh. Speakeasy and the Taxidermist in particular, are an absolute hoot when they get together.

- The chemistry. This cast is just crackling with energy. It’s not just between the ex-TDM lot either, it brims over, and nearly everything feels like it’s just on the knife-edge of danger in some way that I can’t quite explain.

- The wide-angle views and tiny moments of connection are really starting to work. When you can catch them through the audience, there are an increasing number of brilliant moments of characters passing each other between scenes, or opportunities to glance across a space and see another character in the distance. It feels like each of these moments is being made use of, whether accidental or not, and it’s incredibly rewarding when you begin to notice them.

- The McKinnon has the uncanny ability to take you on some pretty perfect ‘Punchdrunk journeys’. This one is harder to explain - but there are multiple points where following one character can lead you straight to another, or that you can be unexpectedly re-routed from what you were doing, or you are dragged or stumble into a private experience (or series of experiences) that is almost embarrassingly epic for a single audience member. It has surprised me night after night in ways that I don’t even think The Drowned Man did. 

Shanghai is an incredible, bizarre, mystifying, confusing city - there were things I absolutely loved about it, and things I hated. The bizarre clash of architecture constantly amazed me, the consumerism and golden buildings were somehow not what I had expected. The food was brilliant, the lack of cold drinks less so. I never got used to the constant threat of being run over by a moped on a pavement. It was maybe 7 days into our trip when I started feeling less lost - I guess it’s like that with most large cities - it takes a while to figure out which areas are most like you, and least like Oxford Street or Times Square. 

I loved how the parks were used by people practicing tai chi, or playing music, or dancing - and how cats roamed amongst them. I hated the lack of personal space or patience for getting anywhere. I loved when we wandered off a main road and down a narrow street, laundry hung over head and market-stall-like shops lining the road. Figuring out the Metro was easy, Disneyland tested my patience - although Tron and the new Pirates of the Caribbean made it worthwhile (but you couldn’t pay me to do it again). 

I never really expected to visit the McKinnon so early in the run - I had imagined I’d wait until next year - if at all. But, when @drinkthehalo made the suggestion and gave me dates and a plan, and I heard whisperings about the cast... it would have been silly not to. Always say yes to these things.

I’m so glad we went when we did. The show feels so very alive. I only visited the McKittrick after The Drowned Man closed, and it’s never come anywhere close to feeling as vivid and energetic as The Drowned Man did. Whilst the McKinnon can’t compete with Temple Studios in terms of scale or ambition or depth of narrative - it’s amazing to see a version of Sleep No More that has a more similar degree of life to it, that is providing the opportunity for experimentation and reinvention as it settles into this new space, with a (largely) new cast - in lots of small ways, as well as a few bigger ones.

The hotel is gorgeous - luxurious and so beautifully well lit. I’m completely in love with the new art deco design of the logo and accompanying paraphernalia. And the experience of arriving and entering the show, logistically, feels like it’s been rethought with such care for the audience’s experience. Just a lot of little things that add up to quite a big difference. The new coat check ‘tickets’, the comfier masks... and a few other things that I’ll leave it to you to discover.

Beyond that though, the show has dealt with a few things that always bothered me in New York - everything flows together much more smoothly, there’s less dead time and space - no deserted high street, or lifeless infirmary. 

And there’s an extraordinary interweaving of the show’s new location. Not only are there new characters, but the more warren-like high street feels to me inherently like the old streets of Shanghai. As @drinkthehalo also mentioned - the corridor to the rave has been elevated with a very simple, but deeply considered, addition.

I think the space is smaller, there are certainly places where that feels apparent, especially when it comes to ceiling height - but in many cases, the way it has been rejigged and lit makes it easier to see a number of scenes at once - there are some wonderful wide angle views, particularly in the lobby and through Duncan’s suite that allow for moments that the McKittrick could never have.

Given those great cinematic views, and as someone who loves to hang back and watch from afar, there were moments when the audience here bothered me in a way I’ve never experienced in NY or London. I don’t want to linger on it, but it’s my only really big negative from the entire experience, I think I had to duck out of more overcrowded, overeager loops whilst in Shanghai then I have probably ever had to before. A number of scenes are consistently being stifled and constrained by the crowd. I understand the cultural difference, but I really hope the hotel, black masks and cast find ways to manage this better over the coming months, or that audiences start to understand that by standing as close as possible, they’re reducing the number of people who can have a clear view.

To get back to the space - there are a few things I miss from the McKittrick: The interrogation room is the one space where a change in its scale, had a significant impact on how much I like the scene, which had always been one of my favourites in New York. I also missed the crypt, and the Shanghai version of the stained glass window, is sadly, rather tucked away.

Even with those niggles - I adore the space, the fifth floor is utterly beautiful, I love the new layout of the high street (despite the occasional traffic jam and that every time I thought I had it figured out, I’d end up in the wrong place all over again), and the suites of the hotel just make so much more sense. The lobby in particular has become a real focal point, and on many nights I saw people sat around in it, just watching each scene unfold, one after another.

It’s worth saying, amidst all this praise, that the show is not perfect; there are some elements in a few of the characters which make little sense in the wider context, some are currently missing scenes, and a few definitely need a bit more to do within their loops.

But for every minor hiccup, rough edge and dangerous step - there was dozens of brilliant new moments to discover, and I cannot stress enough just how good this cast is. Every night was littered with absolutely breathtaking performances.

I’ve already mentioned how great Miranda and Fania are as Sexy and Bald. Whether I was following them, or not, every time I stumbled into them they just blew me away. Along with Olly’s Boy Witch, their trio is certainly the best I’ve seen. I can’t shake the image of them heading into the rave - mysterious, seductive, terrifying, intense, and loud! They manage to suck everyone in, and make the rave as bonkers and overwhelming as it should be. And they have so many tiny touches that make each of their scenes more powerful, from Fania’s controlling, ever-moving hands to Miranda’s unexpected singing and wonderful pout - spending time with them in these roles (and in their alternate roles) was a complete delight. 

And it was a joy to see performers I didn’t really ever expect to see in a Punchdrunk show again: Watching Daniel Whiley’s Banquo ballroom solo as a near-lone audience member was one of my highlights of the trip, as was spending a loop with his Porter. 

This is the point where it’s hard to resist not just rattling off a long list of praise: Fred Gehrig’s Cunning Man is funny and unexpected and has a beautiful dance; Tang TingTing and Lee Wen Hsin are both wonderful as the new female character; Shen Ni’s Hecate is perfect; Garth, Olly and Luke are all making Speakeasy the most fun; and the brilliant use of flashlights by at least three characters is inspired... I could go on and on, but instead, let’s talk about Malcolm.

Malcolm, is, for better or for worse, and completely inexplicably, my favourite character in New York. I’ve never really been able to explain why. Most characters I consider favourites are ones I find easy to talk or write about (See: Conrad), that give me a lot to think about, or make me laugh, none of that’s the case with Malcolm. Even if I try to explain the fondness I have for him, I still mainly just come up with stairs! incompetent detective! the interrogation! the 1:1 that never fails to make my heart jump out of my chest. 

So, in a strange way, rediscovering the Shanghai Malcolm, has been representative of my experience with the McKinnon as a whole.

Ben Whybrow (and Jude Monk McGowan, although I spent less time with him) managed to take a character that I love, but have never been able to explain and helped me start to understand him. @drinkthehalo mentioned this in her write up - but I believe it’s true too - there just feels like there’s a higher degree of intentionality to the choices being made in each scene, by each performer - in many small ways.

And it makes sense that a new iteration of the show would rediscover this - take a character like Malcolm, who was created in London a long time ago - who has had to survive and adapt through iteration after iteration, and performer after performer. In some ways, through this, it feels like the version of Malcolm in New York has become one formed from broad brushstrokes. When I follow him in New York, it often feels like a race to the inevitable conclusion of his story - and this is no criticism of those performers that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed - but he often feels like he lacks depth or substance. 

The magic of Ben’s Malcolm in Shanghai is that it’s bringing back a level of detail that I didn’t even realise had been missing: I actually felt his pain when his father is murdered, and could read the suspicion so clearly as he looked at Macduff and Banquo. I understood after his encounter with Boy Witch why he was struggling up the stairs and was panicked as he headed back to town. I even started to feel a sense of why he’s taking that razor to his arm. And the way he played his shaving scene with Duncan had a nuance I’ve not seen before - that was haunting and dark and changed my interpretation of their relationship. I still find the encounter with Agnes strange - but that too, had been adapted to feel more sensical.

There’s no one big change I can point to in a character like this (there are far bigger changes to be found in others) - who is part of the main plot and has been there since the beginning - but the difference in a multitude of tiny moments for Malcolm in Shanghai feels representative of the difference in the show overall. 

Everything is just that bit more alive, and that bit more detailed. It’s reflected in the sumptuous set, and in the bit-brighter lighting - the story is, somehow, just that bit clearer. 

In short, I came away from our set of shows, feeling like the story I knew from New York had finally managed to emerge from a fog and started to come into focus for me. 

If The Drowned Man was technicolour to Sleep No More’s black and white, I guess this is like a remastered version, that may lose some of the purity of its original form, but is more easily accessible, and in some ways more brilliant. I’m certain there’ll be people who lament some of the changes, but I loved it, and couldn’t be more excited to let it settle in for a few more months before trying to pay another visit.

The only thing left for me to say for now - is just how grateful I am to everyone that made this trip everything it was: 

The staff at the McKinnon are fabulous, from greeting us with our envelopes of tickets on our first day, through to memorising our bar order (Negroni, Old Fashioned, 2 waters) and greeting us enthusiastically at coat check - I absolutely couldn’t have asked for more.

As mentioned; the cast are killing it, working incredibly hard, and always generous with their performances and time. I hope they all know just how much it’s appreciated. 

@errrrtythebabber​ and @dunwannawakeup​: Our trip would not have been the same without you! From food, to local knowledge that helped us understand the show better, to gifts... I can’t wait to see you both again!