A century-old Austin sports bar known for its burgers, game-day crowds, and ghost stories is about to become the setting for a silent cosmic-horror experience inspired by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. Austin theater groups La Fenice and Golden: Silent Improvised Stories are bringing Speak No More: Lovecraft to the second floor of The Tavern from July 31 through August 23, transforming the second floor of the longtime neighborhood bar into an immersive, roaming theater production.

The show will be reminiscent of audience-driven works like Sleep No More, the long-running New York theater experience that allowed audiences to wander freely through the performance.

Lovecraft, a 1920s writer whose work helped define modern cosmic horror, was known for stories centered on ancient unknowable forces, decaying New England towns, and characters driven toward madness after encountering things beyond human understanding. His influence stretches across modern horror films, television, and games, although his legacy has also been complicated by his racist writings and views.

Organizers describe the production at The Tavern as a “site-specific, silent, improvised event” in which audiences move through the Tavern alongside residents of a New England town confronting a mysterious cosmic event known as the “Great Convergence.” The experience also features an entirely BIPOC soundtrack, a deliberate response to Lovecraft’s racist views.

Actors perform during a previous La Fenice production at Butterfly Bar. The Austin-based troupe specializes in immersive physical theater and movement-driven performances.La Fenice/Instagram

Austin-based La Fenice, founded as the Austin Commedia Society and led by Kate Meehan, specializes in physical theater and immersive productions built around movement and improvisation rather than dialogue. Golden: Silent Improvised Stories, an Austin troupe rooted in pantomime and silent-film-inspired improv, has been staging dialogue-free performances for more than a decade.

Audience members can follow different characters, linger at the bar, or move throughout the venue as actors improvise scenes that repeat across three 30-minute loops, allowing viewers to piece together different parts of the story throughout the evening.

The Tavern has increasingly leaned into its paranormal reputation in recent years, branding itself as “Austin’s most famously haunted bar” and sharing stories tied to its resident ghost, “Emily,” and the building’s Prohibition-era history.

Speak No More: Lovecraft runs Fridays through Sundays at 8 pm from July 31 through August 23. The approximately 90-minute experience is recommended for audiences 14 and older, and tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can basis.