A theatre that wants you asleep

Anyone nodding off during a play planned for next year in London need not fear an elbow in the ribs from their neighbour – ‘Lullaby’ is designed to send audiences to sleep.

Theatre company Duckie, which won an Olivier award in 2004 for ‘C'est Barbican’, will charge £42 per person for a bed, a soothing performance, a wake-up call, shower and breakfast the following morning.

“I had a lovely sleep through the West End production of 'The Lord of the Rings' not so long ago,” said Duckie producer Simon Casson. “It happens to all of us.”

Audience members will be asked to arrive at the Barbican Pit theatre in central London at 10pm, get into their pyjamas and brush their teeth in time for the performance at 10.30pm.

“Theatre is often challenging and confrontational, but we're not having any of that,” Casson told Reuters. “It's going to be comforting and cosset you, like your mum or dad reading you stories at night when you were a child.”

He added that the price - for an overnight stay in a prime London location after all - was reasonable.

“I don't know how much a Holiday Inn is ... but if you want to come for a night in the very heart of the city, then tell people they should come to us.”

An added bonus is the shower facilities.

“Just think. You could be bathing in the same shower as Ian McKellen once did, or some such.”

Lullaby will run from June 24 to July 24 next year.

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