'Life and Trust' review: Choose your own Faustian adventure
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, November 7, 2024


'Life and Trust' review: Choose your own Faustian adventure
A scene from “Life and Trust,” at Conwell Tower, in the Financial District of Manhattan, June 28, 2024. A new theatrical experience in the Financial District is composed of 25 individual stories, but it’s hard to make sense of any of them. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times)

by Maya Phillips



NEW YORK, NY.- In one room of Conwell Tower, a stately skyscraper in Manhattan’s Financial District, a police officer strips off his shirt and flogs himself — passionately, even sensually — before coolly donning his uniform again. At the end of a long hall, a woman performs a Houdini-esque escape from a straitjacket. Elsewhere, in a dark underground boxing ring, two men trade punches in a cinematic fight scene where lights flash and dim with each maneuver, the bodies sometimes moving in slow motion like scenes from a “Rocky” film.

What are these characters’ motivations, and what is their connection to one another? Your guess is as good as mine.

In “Life and Trust” — the new theatrical experience from Emursive, producers of the popular “Sleep No More” with Punchdrunk — the story never rises to meet the spectacle, creating a visually appealing yet narratively incoherent piece of exploration theater.

The show, directed by Teddy Bergman, begins on Oct. 23, 1929, the evening before the stock market crash. The audience has been invited to a “prospective investors fete” by the head of Life and Trust Bank, J.G. Conwell, who has made his fortune mass-producing a mysterious bright green syrup that’s something between a panacea and an addictive opiate.

There is, of course, something shady about this invitation: Early in the show a suited man purrs to the audience, “If you choose to invest with us, you’re one of ours … forever.” (It turns out “forever” means roughly three hours in this site-specific show … which can sometimes feel like an eternity.) Faced with the imminent fall of his financial empire, Conwell takes a devilish offer to travel back in time to the Gilded Age.

In this earlier time of glamour and pleasures, we meet a younger Conwell and dozens of other characters based on real historical figures, from eugenicists to magicians. The show is mostly dialogue-free; acrobatic choreography by Tony nominees Jeff and Rick Kuperman is meant to fill some of the role speech would. Sometimes it works, as when one character shows otherworldly control over another through mirrored movements — a wave of one’s hand seems to command another’s body to tumble forward. Other instances, particularly during scenes of confrontation or seduction, when the characters’ bodies repeatedly swoon into one another, feel less novel and instead highlight how unclear the relationships and stories are.

The ominous force behind Conwell’s success is demonic trickster Mephisto, who preys on the characters by exploiting their vices. Mephisto, played by a mesmerizing Mike Tyus in the performance I attended (the roles rotate), exudes sinister charisma, with seductive beckoning and puppet-master choreography full of serpentine twists and agile flips, and links much of the action throughout the space.

This is also a Faustian story — or, rather, stories, because, as the writer, Jon Ronson, says in a conceptual note for the production, “‘Life and Trust’ is both one show and 25 shows.” Unfortunately, not one of those 25 shows has a discernible narrative. Each figure’s backstory — like, say, the immigrant vaudeville dancer with OCD or a prizefighter brother with addiction issues and PTSD from the American Indian Wars — is too specific to be teased out by sexy dance moves and tableaus alone. The show’s attempt to critique class, capitalism and greed gets muddled or totally lost.

Another problem with the storytelling is simply logistical: You only get as much of the story as you can physically keep up with. Like “Sleep No More,” “Life and Trust” is choose-your-own-adventure theater, where each audience member can select which of the dozens of wandering, dancing, sneaking performers to follow through the various spaces.

For those looking for a new workout regimen, “Life and Trust” offers what can feel like three straight hours of cardio as you follow characters up and down the several flights of stairs in the Conwell building, often at a brisk pace. And even then the most athletic audience members may face some viewing challenges. Large plastic masks are required to be worn, which don’t serve the bespectacled folks among us, and hermetically seal in an evening’s worth of sweat. The amount of walking is a major hindrance — or totally undoable — for those with mobility issues. And the sheer mass of attendees, craning their heads and shoving their way closer to the performers, often obscures the view of anyone shorter in stature.

Away from the crowds and the fragmented bits of story, however, “Life and Trust” does work as simple eye candy. The scenic design, by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, who also did the experience direction, creates a universe rich with colors and textures that’s delightful to explore: Venture from the old teller stations of a bank to the dark pews of a chapel, glance at the green glass vials that smirk from the cases behind a pharmacy counter, find prizes or a fortune at the fairgrounds, admire Conwell’s personal collection of curios or marvel at a luminescent garden.

“Life and Trust,” like Conwell’s special syrup, is enticing, but this formula isn’t quite magic.



‘Life and Trust’

At Conwell Tower, Manhattan; lifeandtrustnyc.com. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

August 16, 2024

Black art week in San Francisco Bay Area is in the works for the fall

Major exhibition of French modern art coming this fall to the Columbia Museum of Art

Apollo Art Auctions' popular e-sale series returns Aug. 24-25 with precious coins, ancient art & antiquities

From a flour mill to a magnet for music and art in Upstate New York

Marian Goodman Gallery Paris announces Andrea Fraser's first solo exhibition in France

Photo Elysée announces "Daido Moriyama. A Retrospective"

Christie's negotiates the sale of a masterpiece by Alma-Tadema to the National Gallery

Nelson-Atkins presents major Hokusai exhibition

Bergen Kunsthall presents a new large-scale commission by artist and choreographer Florentina Holzinger

MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology presents an exhibition by Ernesto Neto

CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo opens a solo exhibition of works by Tal Engelstein

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa to open a solo exhibition of works by Tuấn Andrew Nguy&

Ingrid Castelein to open exhibition at valerie_traan

Urgent appeal from Brighton & Hove Museums to save damaged Royal Pavilion dome on roof

Little Simz to curate Tate Modern Late in August

University Museums honors 50th anniversary with companion exhibitions at Brunnier Art Museum

Gena Rowlands, actress who brought raw drama to her roles, dies at 94

Betty A. Prashker, book publishing pioneer, is dead at 99

PICA announces three major artistic commissions valued at $210,000

Robert Wilson's chance encounters

'Life and Trust' review: Choose your own Faustian adventure

Cailee Spaeny is still learning how to be a star

How Yoga Teacher Training Can Help You Find Your True Calling

Infusing Personality and Charm into Your Houston Home Through Creative Art Pieces

Unveiling Authenticity: How to Leverage ZeroGPT for Detecting AI-Generated Content

5 Myths About Artificial Grass Busted

Navigating Legal Waters: Disability Lawyers Enhancing Hamilton's Business Landscape

Avery Dennison Medical: Innovative Healthcare Solutions with a Twist

Choosing the Right 3D Printing Service: What to Look For and Why It Matters

The Fusion of Art and Storytelling in Online Games: How Artistic Expression Shapes Narrative




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful