I have been to New York and seen the show Sleep No More twice, and this is basically the same idea, if not a complete knock off. Except with Sleep No More, the inspiration is Macbeth. I wonder if that company has sold the rights to do shows like this but with the freedom to choose what inspiration to use?
Like Sleep No More, Deep Into Darkness splits up your group with cards (tarot cards vs playing cards), and you start off in a public area where everyone can talk and drink and enjoy some musical performances. It was really hard for me to not compare the show to Sleep No More as most of the elements were the exact same.
Once you are allowed into the rest of the show, you wander around silently wearing a white mask along with the other audience members. Actors flit to and fro from room to room, and you can follow them to watch the action, or you can rummage through the sets and read more of the story via notes and books left out for people to peruse.
I witnessed someone being pulled into a house in the forest and I can only assume the actors who pulled the audience member in told her a story or did a private scene in the house. This exact experience happened to me at Sleep No More where I was pulled into a cottage in the woods and the woman inside told me a story about the loneliest boy in the world. It was an amazing experience.
Everything culminates in the Cultch's main theatre as we watch a dining scene featuring Poe and his pals, which mirrored the Macbeth dinner death scene at Sleep No More.
Overall, the Cultch did a top notch job at bringing this type of experience and theatre to Vancouver. For those who don't have the luxury to go to New York and see Sleep No More, then this was a perfect substitute.
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