Life and Trust (from the Sleep No More producers)

[Sauja]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 12:40pm

Emursive's new Financial District show began performances last night. Has anyone been? Is anyone going?

 

I'm so curious, but I find it hard to stomach spending $160 with no reports yet on how the shoe is (or even WHAT the show is)!

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 1:02pm

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.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 1:08pm

I've been hearing positive things- and that it's an adaptation of Faust set in a bank in 1929 on the eve of the crash and it's a huge 6-floor production that rivals Sleep No More. They also require phones to be locked into pouches once you check in.

I have been to the space during the day, though, where it operates as Conwell Coffee. It's a beautiful art deco room with a massive mural that looks truly straight from the era (and apparently contains allusions and hints to the production, naturally).

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 1:37pm

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.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 1:39pm

This is also the world premiere of this particular show, so I can only imagine the next few weeks will see a lot of adjustments.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 2:00pm

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

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 5:34pm

All we really want to know is: is there as much nudity as SLEEP NO MORE? If so, sign us up.

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 7:51pm

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]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 7:56pm

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. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/21/24 at 10:19pm

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.

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/1/24 at 3:37pm

Yes,it's incredibly derivative, if not a carbon copy of Punchdrunk works. And it's impressive!

Beside the unintentionally laughable and over-the-top prologue, the level of detail throughout the six floors is mind blowing.

The finale is worth the price of admission alone.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/4/24 at 10:12pm

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]

Posted: 7/5/24 at 10:29pm

ColorTheHours048 said: "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 clunkyVenetian 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."

You may not have liked it, but it's anything but cheap. Certainly much more elaborate than SNM.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/6/24 at 7:56am

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.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/3/24 at 2:43pm

Very surprised how few of our tried and true BWW crowd have posted about this show. Has anyone been lately? Loved it or hated it? My introduction to the whole BWW site over a decade ago was completely due to the 29 pages of comments on SLEEP NO MORE by some really astute and entertaining posters. 

I know reddit has been running an extensive chat on L&T. My friends and I are planning a visit in mid-November. Would be great to get a recent report from you smart foks.

[Bobster159]

Posted: 10/3/24 at 3:34pm

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.

[BMcGregor]

Posted: 10/3/24 at 4:08pm

I went last weekend. As a big Sleep No More fan, I had pretty high expectations going in. The space is absolutely spectacular. I could have spent many hours exploring. As for the show, the increased number of characters and storylines make it even more difficult to find narrative threads to hold onto than Sleep No More. This show would take many trips in order to make sense of most of it, in my opinion. With SNM, I find that even a first time attendee can still grab onto quite a bit of the Macbeth story. 

A commenter above mentioned that the space felt very empty at the start. This is purposeful. With SNM, the actors enter the space very soon after the initial audience members are let in. With L&T, the actors join the space later, as it takes longer to get the audience into the space due to a scene each group participates in before being let into the space. L&T has two loops as opposed to SNM's three.

In general I enjoyed L&T and will definitely be back at least once more. I think I still prefer SNM's more graspable narratives, but L&T is a pretty impressive piece of work.