As William Shakespeare himself once penned “all the world’s a stage … especially east London tower blocks”. Ok that last bit might be artistic license on our part, but the top floor of an east London tower block really is becoming a stage to an overnight immersive performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth this June through August.
Presented by RIFT, a theatre company which aims to produce productions “unlimited by platform, space or time”, audience members are invited to enter ‘Macbeth’s Tower’ at 8pm for a 12-hour overnight experience.
Face witches in an underground car park, feast with the Macbeths, then don your jim jams for a restful night’s sleep on the 27th floor completely devoid of sieges, twilight wanderings and conspired murders (read: full of sieges, twilight wanderings and conspired murders).
Shakespeare’s Scottish play has been performed countless times all over the world, but if you can bear to forgo tradition for a night then this performance is a chance to view the tale from the inside out. Its site-specific nature (the exact location is still under wraps) means that you can fully immerse yourself in the story — no intervals, audience-sniffers or last train worries to break the spell.
It sounds intense, but that can be the joy of (good) immersive theatre. Three different ticket packages are available: the £20 Hard Package (where you’ll need to bring your own bedding), £30 Soft Package (camp-bed, sleeping bag and drink upon arrival) and the £40 Deluxe Package (all food, drink and bedding included). But what you’ll find upon waking, well, you'll have to wait until morning...
Macbeth is taking place at a secret Zone 2 location in east London, between 20 June and 16 August 2014. Tickets are priced between £20-£40 and are available to book now here.
