'Sleep No More' and attend this immersive play at one of Seoul's oldest theaters
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- LEE JIAN
- [email protected]
![A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/48e89c2d-3993-4c5d-a5aa-1ee81d603de9.jpg)
A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]
One of Seoul’s oldest theaters, Daehan Cinema, is set to officially reopen Thursday as the new home of what is arguably going to be the most hypnotizing play in town: "Sleep No More."
The show, produced by British theater company Punchdrunk, reimagines Shakespeare’s tragedy "Macbeth" in the style of suspense-film director Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980). But more important than the narrative for this play is the audience experience.
Staged as an immersive production, audience members not only directly engage with the actors but also become their own storytellers by wandering around the theater and selectively watching different scenes unfold simultaneously across the space.
![A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/7fbbdbee-4fdb-4fbc-ad44-4833104a35bb.jpg)
A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]
The show premiered in London in 2003 and made a breakthrough in New York City in 2011, where it ran for 14 years until January. It has also been staged in Shanghai. Now it is in Seoul indefinitely.
“['Sleep No More'] isn’t just a show; it is a world and we plunge the audience to the epicenter of that world,” Punchdrunk founder and director Felix Barrett said at the press conference held on Wednesday at The McKithan Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul. “It is a living environment. Audiences can wander freely. They can follow Macbeth, a peripheral character or explore the world. There is no right or wrong way [to enjoy the play].”
The McKithan Hotel is the new name of Daehan Cinema, a multiplex founded in 1958 that closed last September due to financial issues. The eight-story building housing 11 theaters is now under a 10-year lease with Ms. Jackson, the Korean production partner for "Sleep No More."
![Park Ju-young, CEO of Ms. Jackson, speaks to local reporters during the press conference for "Sleep No More" at The McKithan Hotel, previously Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/376e1871-38fa-4025-8f49-02341b9cb21f.jpg)
Park Ju-young, CEO of Ms. Jackson, speaks to local reporters during the press conference for "Sleep No More" at The McKithan Hotel, previously Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [MS. JACKSON]
Ms. Jackson's CEO, Park Ju-young, became a fan of the show when she saw it in New York City in 2013, and has ever since been determined to bring the show to Seoul. One of her most critical missions for that was to find the venue for it. Space, Park said, is essential for "Sleep No More," which is dedicated to submerging the audience in the show's fictional universe.
A decade later, she found Daehan Cinema to be the perfect location.
The theater has undergone some broad, structural renovations to house the world of "Sleep No More," as well as small additions such as furniture and props.
"Even the placement of dust is curated to reflect the director’s vision," Park said.
The new immersive theater also didn't completely erase the heritage of Daehan Cinema. "Some spaces still carry traces of the building’s past as a cinema, allowing audiences to sense both the traditional aesthetics of the venue with the narrative of 'Sleep No More,'" Park added.
![A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/0d9e3375-e4f8-45c0-80bc-0f9c06adfa2c.jpg)
A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]
The original British creatives unanimously agreed that the bygone multiplex was what differentiated the Seoul production from its other shows.
“This historic building was a great opportunity for new scale and spectacle,” said set designer Livi Vaughan. “This kind of height that is possible because it is a cinema is something we haven’t been able to play with before.”
“Even if they have seen the show before, there are new secrets, and we encourage people to go to more fringes of the space to experience things that haven’t been present in the show before,” added Colin Nightingale, project adviser.
![The original British creative team behind the immersive play "Sleep No More." Counterclockwise, from front row left are: director and founder of the show's production company Punchdrunk Felix Barrett, co-director and choreographer Maxine Doyle, set designer Livi Vaughan, project advisor Colin Nightingale, lighting designer Simon Wilkinson and costume designer David Israel Reynoso. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/dbce258c-8e66-422e-8292-a9413a3db67d.jpg)
The original British creative team behind the immersive play "Sleep No More." Counterclockwise, from front row left are: director and founder of the show's production company Punchdrunk Felix Barrett, co-director and choreographer Maxine Doyle, set designer Livi Vaughan, project advisor Colin Nightingale, lighting designer Simon Wilkinson and costume designer David Israel Reynoso. [MS. JACKSON]
Co-director and choreographer Maxine Doyle also emphasized the diversity of the Seoul production’s performers.
“We have a mix of Korean dancers, actors, performers and international performers from Europe, Australia and the United States,” she said. “I think it is the alchemy of the performing cast and the building that makes this show special.”
Barrett put it more simply: “It feels like a perfect home.”
He added, “The original intention was to turn Shakespeare into a movie. So I hope the audiences feel like they are in a living, breathing film.”
![A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/dfe1459e-93a3-46a8-aa8d-5d8f9a5c80d3.jpg)
A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]
Some 25 billion won ($17,872) was invested into Seoul’s "Sleep No More" by Ms. Jackson, according to Park. The show will be staged as an “open run” production, meaning it will run without a predetermined closing date.
For financial sustainability, the producers are counting on Korea’s strong theatergoing culture, where audiences often return to see the same show multiple times.
“It is a performance where the story changes depending on which scenes and characters the audience encounters that day,” Park said. “By freely and actively exploring the space, they can come across unexpected, awe-inspiring moments. The physical space contains so much as well, so if you observe carefully and explore the entire environment while searching for clues, each visit becomes a new play.”
![A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/21/8429cfae-3bc5-4f89-94f1-94f7be72abc8.jpg)
A scene from immersive play ″Sleep No More," which will premiere at The McKithan Hotel, formerly called Daehan Cinema, in Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [MS. JACKSON]
Although Seoul has seen immersive productions before, none quite match the intimacy, experimentation and boldness of "Sleep No More."
Park expressed hopes that the opening of "Sleep No More" in Seoul could bring fresh energy to the city's theater scene and raise the bar for local productions.
“In both theater and film, I have felt the limitation that audiences are always positioned passively, receiving content rather than being fully immersed in it,” she said. “Even though cinema offers wonderful content, the screen itself imposes a limit. With this production, audiences don’t just watch a performance — they experience being inside a film. It allows for an expansion of the senses through experience. I hope this will also spark new creative attempts across artistic fields.”
BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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