Tim Jones reprized his role as Malcolm during the 06 November 2024 performance of Sleep No More NYC, and I nabbed his 1-on-1 encounter that night. It was one I’d been after for years.
This performance in particular was on a Wednesday, and weekdays were generally less crowded and had more relaxed audiences.
Malcolm was usually a character that had a great many followers; I always gave up chasing after him, as I was afraid of falling on the McKittrick Hotel steps otherwise. But that night, back in November 2024, no one was interested in him, and since Tim Jones was my favorite Malcolm performer in all my years of seeing Sleep No More NYC, I wasn’t going to flake out and miss my chance.
It worked out in my favor.
Seductive And Romantic
I found Malcolm fairly early after entering the show space.
He was working in his lab behind the detective agency. Malcolm took notice of a commotion out front, and started quietly sliding across the floor to inspect. He reached out his hand to me.
I got it, I got it, I thought to myself.
But it wasn’t the 1-on-1 encounter. He was gently telling me to get the hell out of his way. This led to his discovery of Agnes Naismith, who was rummaging through the agency trying to find information on her missing sister.
Malcolm and Agnes then engaged in a seductive and romantic dance performance; there was just enough struggle and suspicion in it that both characters were trying to figure one another out.
The struggle landed them outside the agency and into the dark streets of Gallow Green. They came close to kissing before Agnes ran off. The few audience members watching the scene followed her.
None remained with Malcolm, save me.
A Tightening Grip
Malcolm returned to his dark-room lab where he fussed with dead birds and loose feathers.
If you read about his character and the trajectory of his loop, you’ll learn that Malcolm has a supernatural side. He practices augury, believing he can understand the happenings in the McKittrick Hotel through the occult study of birds and their flight patterns.
Malcolm’s odd activities culminated in him creating a talisman: a feather in a vial, which he started swinging like a divining pendulum.
Then Malcolm stood up and started walking out of the dark room.
But he abruptly froze.
He slowly turned to me.
Malcolm studied me for a moment, trying to discern if I was even there at all. That was before he extended his hand to me. And when Malcolm did I accepted it without hesitation.
Malcolm’s grip tightened. I was pulled so quickly from the side entrance of the detective agency—and at such speed—that I couldn’t figure out where we were going.
“I Heard A Voice Cry Out…”
Our flight stopped in a shadowy room.
Inside was a nest of bird eggs. From the nest, Tim Jones as Malcolm took a small egg and crushed it in the palm of my hand. Dust and dirt was released. With the substance, Malcolm traced symbols in my palm and down my forearm.
This gentle attentiveness didn’t prepare me for the sudden push against the wall. Malcolm held me there and studied me with a large magnifying glass.
“What is your name?” he asked me.
“Steven,” I told him.
“Do you see the signs, Steven?”
I shook my head.
“On Tuesday last, a falcon was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed. Duncan’s horses turned wild against nature as they would make war with mankind. Is it night’s predominance or the day’s shame that darkness does the face of earth entomb when living light should kiss it?”
Malcolm paused, continued to study me, and then leaned in closer.
“It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood.”
The darkened room dimmed more; Malcolm practically lay his head on my shoulder. He spoke softly in my ear.
“I thought I heard a voice cry out…”
Malcolm doubled over and coughed violently, only to right himself with a small feather held high for me to see.
A bell rang out as he finished putting my mask back on. He studied the sound for only a moment before racing from the room.
Duncan was dead.
Malcolm abandoned me—alone and disoriented.
I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
