An original stage production in partnership with award-winning British theatre company Punchdrunk will be offered to coincide with the opening of the Wynn Al Marjan Island casino resort slated for 2027.
That is according to a Monday statement from Wynn Resorts Ltd. It featured Felix Barrett (pictured left), artistic director and founder of Punchdrunk, and Craig Billings (pictured right), chief executive of the property’s promoter Wynn Resorts Ltd.
The US$5.1-billion Wynn Al Marjan Island project is currently under development in Ras Al Khaimah, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The planned stage production is said to be inspired by a “traditional Las Vegas revue-style show”, combining song and dance. It will be offered to resort guests in two formats: either a “traditional seated” performance; or in a “roaming” format presented “downstairs and backstage”, according to the Monday announcement.
It also mentioned that complex’s theatre which will house the new show, will draw on Art Deco design elements (pictured above in an artist’s rendering).
Mr Barrett was cited as saying: “We hope the production will deliver a spectacular theatrical experience, both for audiences seeking world-class entertainment and for those in search of something truly unexpected.”
Punchdrunk specialises in immersive settings for its work. Its production ‘Sleep No More’, ran for 14 years in New York with more than 5,000 performances, per the update.
That show is still running in Seoul, South Korea, and is due to conclude in August a local-record decade-long run in Shanghai on the Chinese mainland. Next year, Sleep No More will launch a production in Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, next door to Hong Kong.
Mr Billings was quoted as observing: “Among the dozens of unique and transportive guest experiences we offer in our resorts, entertainment has always been an essential element. With Punchdrunk, we are creating something entirely original for Wynn Al Marjan Island.”
The UAE project – in which Wynn Resorts has a 40-pecent equity stake – has “continued to progress” despite the regional conflict in the Middle East, Mr Billings mentioned in his company’s first-quarter earnings call in May.
The casino operator’s chief executive also noted on the same call that his company had expected a “modest delay” in the Wynn Al Marjan project’s opening timeline, and would quantify that later.
United States-based Wynn Resorts is parent to Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, Wynn Resorts has previously collaborated with Cirque du Soleil. Additionally, the company’s ‘Le Rêve’ aquatic show at Wynn Las Vegas was created and directed by former Cirque du Soleil creator Franco Dragone – the person behind Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd’s long-running Macau show ‘House of Dancing Water’.
Le Rêve ran at Wynn Las Vegas from 2005 to 2020.
