COMING SOON: The Tiger’s Bride
An immersive circus theatre retelling of a classic fairy tale takes over the cell theatre in Manhattan this February.
Theatre Uzume, founded by Suzanne Karpinski in 2014, exists as “a platform for emerging artists to work collaboratively on the development of multidisciplinary and immersive performance.” In practice this means each Theatre Uzume has been a unique work, often blending elements of cirque and dance theatre into the threads of the performance.
The latest, The Tiger’s Bride, taking place at Manhattan’s the cell theatre reworks the classic fairy tale of Bluebeard into something new.
We checked in with director and Theatre Uzume founder Suzanne Karpinski about the new show which runs from Valentine’s Day through March 2nd, with tickets starting at $75.
Follow the production on Instagram at @thecelltheatre & @theatreuzume.
This is No Proscenium’s COMING SOON, a look at ongoing immersive experiences & events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.
NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Suzanne Karpinski: The Tiger’s Bride is an interactive exploration of classic fairy-tales retold through a feminist perspective. Based on Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, each story employs a physical approach to storytelling building upon live music and contemporary circus. Guests arrive at “Bluebeard’s Castle”; a wedding banquet where the forlorn bride is watching her new husband depart on a surprise business trip, leaving her alone with the keys to his castle. We are encouraged to help her discover the purpose of each key, which unlocks a new tale. In all of the stories, famous heroines are the main focus while circus and other physical elements give us clues to their origins and journey. The show culminates with the unexpected return of Bluebeard for a thrilling finale with a twist.
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NP What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?
SK: The Tiger’s Bride started out as a circus variety show concept in 2019, coming on the heels of a pair of immersive reenactments of famous concerts that Theatre Uzume produced the previous two years. After productions were halted by the pandemic, I emerged doing work as a performer–for the first time in several years –on the immersive projects of others. This change of perspective inspired my search for new ways to pull the audience closer into the inner life of the characters, which naturally changed the shape of this project. It made sense to examine how we got to the circus acts themselves, providing a new melding of spectacle and intimacy (hopefully!) worthy of the fantasy in the source material.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?
SK: Immersive circus theater is generally focused on creating a container to present acts; such as the dinner theater experience Moonrise, which is currently running in New York. The container, or theme, is the world of the immersive, with its rules for interaction and experience separate from reality, while the acts themselves are still very presentational. We wanted to try to blur the lines by keeping the narrative at the forefront and providing guests the opportunity to also get up close and personal with the characters. Finding skilled circus performers who are also comfortable in the interactive theatrical space has been a unique challenge and ambitious goal for us. I hope we pulled it off!
NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?
SK: The non-verbal, physical language of dance and movement can be a very effective way of revealing subtlety and complex emotions that verbal language doesn’t always get at. For us, the trick is integrating the interactive and conversational elements with the abstract, elevated language of movement into a single coherent experience. Scaling up from 10 guests at our May 2023 workshop to 40 at the cell required rethinking the guests’ role in shaping the action; asking the question: how do we maintain a sense of intimacy and agency while adapting each performer’s role to interact with four times as many guests at any given time?
NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?
SK: We encourage guests to come in their 1920’s party best! Our show features a live soundtrack by singer/songwriter Lily Desmond. Check out all the songs at her website: www.lilydesmond.com. Reading Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber would really get folks “in the mood”. It’s a quick romp: sexy, gothic, and deliciously dark!
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