Wynn Al Marjan Island has announced a partnership with Punchdrunk in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, to create an original stage production that will debut with the resort’s opening in 2027, marking the immersive theater company’s first production in the MENA region.
The production will be created exclusively for Wynn and conceived and directed by Punchdrunk Artistic Director and Founder Felix Barrett MBE, in collaboration with Wynn Resorts CEO Craig S. Billings. The project adds a new live entertainment element to Wynn Al Marjan Island as the resort prepares to open in the Middle East.
Inspired by the spirit of a traditional Las Vegas revue-style show, the production will feature song and dance while allowing audiences to choose how they experience the story. Upon booking, guests may select either a traditional seated performance upstairs or a roaming immersive journey downstairs and backstage, where the hidden world behind the curtain is revealed.
According to the announcement, each format will offer a distinct but complete perspective on the same unfolding narrative.
The theater at Wynn Al Marjan Island has been conceived as a modern interpretation of a classic theater. Its design draws on Art Deco influences, with rich fabrics, sculpted drapery and grand spaces intended to create a venue that is both nostalgic and newly imagined.
Wynn said the theater has been designed to immerse guests from the moment they arrive, with the lobby, aisles, restrooms and elevators also forming part of the experience.
Punchdrunk, founded in 2000 by Barrett, is best known for Sleep No More, its immersive adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The production helped define the company’s free-roaming theatrical format, in which audiences move independently through detailed environments rather than watching from fixed seats.
Sleep No More ran for 14 years in New York, with more than 5,000 performances. The production continues in Seoul, while its Shanghai run is due to conclude this August after a decade-long engagement. A new production is scheduled to launch in Shenzhen next year.
The Wynn Al Marjan Island project also builds on Wynn’s history of resort-based entertainment. Wynn has previously developed purpose-built theaters within its luxury resorts and commissioned original productions designed for long-running resort audiences. Its Las Vegas entertainment legacy includes Le Rêve, the aquatic production that became one of the city’s most recognized resident shows, as well as Awakening, a current Wynn-exclusive production at Wynn Las Vegas.
Barrett said Punchdrunk was “thrilled” to partner with Wynn Resorts on a new show for Wynn Al Marjan Island’s theater.
“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,” he said.
Billings said entertainment has long been an essential part of Wynn’s resort offering.
“With Punchdrunk, we are creating something entirely original for Wynn Al Marjan Island. A theatrical world that could only exist here, and one that reflects the craft and dedication to artistry at the heart of Wynn,” he said.
