Life and Trust (from the Sleep No More producers)

I’m going on July 4th in the hopes that crowds will be smaller because of the holiday. My only negative feelings toward Sleep No More have been due to audience size/behavior and would really like to avoid that as much as possible. Early reports indicate there are arguably too many people admitted per show.

As far as the show itself, I know several people working on it and who have seen it in either at a dress rehearsal or preview, and word of mouth is pretty great. I’m hearing the design in particular is excellent, so it’ll be worth it just to take in the various environments. One friend said it was like Sleep No More, but leveled up and less overtly spooky.

Someone I know mentioned they felt like they fixed some of the problems with Sleep No More, namely having wider hallways/stairs and that the space is huge.  From online chatter it seems like the story may be a lot more loosely involved, and at least one person complained about being in dead zones too much with not being able to figure out where things were happening.  I think they're doing a "preview" period, so this might be something that gets fixed over time too.  And like Sleep No More, different parts of the story do loop.

It’s essentially Faust and Dorian Gray remixed and set on the eve of The Great Crash of ‘29. Faust analog character is the owner of the bank where the whole thing takes place; and Mephistopheles, Dorian Gray, and Evelyn Nesbit are characters that come in and out of each other’s stories. Similar to Sleep No More and most immersive shows, the whole thing loops. However, this one is two longer loops, rather than three.

Oh, and you have to wear a mask. It’s larger than the Sleep No More mask.

That’s all the context I have for the content of the show.

Updated On: 6/21/24 at 02:00 PM

chrishuyen said: "Someone I know mentioned they felt like they fixed some of the problems with Sleep No More, namely having wider hallways/stairs and that the space is huge. From online chatter it seems like the story may be a lot more loosely involved, and at least one person complained about being in dead zones too much with not being able to figure out where things were happening. I think they're doing a "preview" period, so this might be something that gets fixed over time too. And like Sleep No More, different parts of the story do loop."

No, SNM crowds are worse than ever. You feel at a poorly organized massive event and the mystery and tension are gone.

Will report on Life and Trust soon.

chrishuyen said: "blaxx said: "chrishuyen said: "Someone I know mentioned they felt like they fixed some of the problems with Sleep No More, namely having wider hallways/stairs and that the space is huge. From online chatter it seems like the story may be a lot more loosely involved, and at least one person complained about being in dead zones too much with not being able to figure out where things were happening. I think they're doing a "preview" period, so this might be something that gets fixed over time too. And like Sleep No More, different parts of the story do loop."

No, SNM crowds are worse than ever. You feel at a poorly organized massive event and the mystery and tension are gone.

Will report on Life and Trust soon."

Oh to be clear, I meant that was the issue in Sleep No More that they fixed in Life and Trust by having wider staircases etc. At least that's what I was told, anyhow."

I see, thanks for clarifying.

A cheap - though clearly very expensively produced - imitation of Sleep No More in nearly every way: from the dimly lit, pseudo maze of an entry; to the clunky Venetian masks; to the horrendous audience behavior. I didn’t stay until the finale, so I can’t give my take on the show as a whole, but I was bored enough and had been bodychecked enough that I decided it wasn’t worth the further disappointment.

My biggest complaint is that the space is oppressively humid. My heart goes out to those poor performers who have to throw themselves all over the place and climb 8,000,000 stairs in thick fabrics. I definitely would recommend waiting until the cooler months to see this, if you must. But opening in the dead of summer in this space is… a choice. It just makes all the shoving and overcrowding even more annoying.

It felt like there was too much dead space. For at least 20 minutes after entry, there was not a single performer to be found. Granted, I was in the first entry group; but even once I started encountering performers, it felt like whole floors of the building were completely empty for large swaths of time. Sure, the design is detailed, but what is it all for? There’s very little that kept me interested enough to linger in any of the empty rooms. And when they are filled, it’s to do a little dance that comes out of nowhere and then move on. Usually to walk long distances to get to their next scene on a different floor. Unlike Sleep No More, which uses choreography to convey plot or character, Life and Trust’s choreography and direction feel distinctly separate from each other.

Your mileage may vary on how enjoyable an experience it is, but I feel slighted. If Sleep No More is like walking into a dream, Life and Trust is like struggling to wake up from a sleeping pill induced mini coma. Laborious. Overlong. I wish I could get my money back, to be honest.

Updated On: 7/4/24 at 10:12 PM

Blaxx, no offense, but you seem to be having some reading comprehension problems in this thread. I know it’s expensively produced, and acknowledged that in my post. In the first sentence, even.

I meant it’s cheap in that it’s an easy ripoff. They copied Sleep No More’s aesthetic nearly wholesale, from the moment you enter. Sorry for not elaborating on my singular word choice.

I'm with ColorTheHours048, though I did get to the end. It's lavish but lazy. An expensive knock off of Sleep No More that didn't consider for a second what really makes that show tick. This has all the same ingredients but absolutely none of the soul. Maybe it's worth it with a cheap ticket to go exploring in cool spaces, but the show itself is terrible.

Also, the masks have horns that epitomize the show itself. They look cool, but functionally, they're totally thoughtless, making it even harder to see over the crowds, and you still can't comfortably wear glasses with them on.

Does anyone know the Rush and/or Student ticket policy? The website’s FAQ section (just under those topics) is not working.

Thank you in advance