Immersive show 'Viola's Room' to premiere off Broadway this summer

Created by the team behind Sleep No More and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter via headphones, the show makes its North American premiere after a hit London run.

The Shed will host the North American premiere of Viola's Room, an immersive theatrical production, off Broadway for 18 weeks only this summer. Performances run from June 17 to October 19 at The Shed’s Level 4 Gallery.

At Viola's Room, attendees walk barefoot through a maze-like installation in groups of up to six people. An unseen narrator, voiced by Oscar and Emmy nominee Helena Bonham Carter, guides the audience via headphones through a story adapted from Barry Pain’s 1901 gothic short story "The Moon-Slave," about innocence lost and obsession unleashed.

The surreal, 50-minute sensory experience is a production from Punchdrunk, the celebrated immersive theatre company best known for its long-running NYC production Sleep No More. Viola's Room is directed and conceived by Punchdrunk founder and artistic director Felix Barrett and written by Booker Prize–shortlisted author Daisy Johnson.

“Ever since we opened Sleep No More back in 2011, New York has been our second home, so I’m elated that Viola’s Room will have its international premiere at The Shed this year,” said Barrett in a statement. “It’s the most intimate and distilled form of a Punchdrunk experience we’ve created: an invitation to step inside a teenage daydream and surrender to the unknown.

"In a non-stop world of screens and tech this is an invitation to succumb to a live, tactile and fully sensory journey. I’m so excited that New York audiences will soon be able to immerse themselves within the labyrinth of Viola’s Room.”

Punchdrunk originally produced Viola’s Room in London in 2024.

Check back for information on Viola’s Room tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Viola's Room. (Photo by Julian Abrams)