Review Rundown: The One With Secrets & Mysteries
Experiences in NYC, The British Countryside, and Remote. (FOUR REVIEWS)
The first Review Rundown of 2023 runs a gamut from overnight adventures in the British Countryside to a pair of special events at NYC’s McKittrick Hotel.
Looking for more? The last Rundown of 2022 is right here.
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Afterlife Job Fair — Phoenix Tears Productions
$15-$25; Remote (Zoom); Run Concluded
Due to scientific breakthroughs, tech companies have created digital environments which allow people to have their conscience uploaded, living forever in a “digital afterlife.” But thanks to capitalism, these companies aggressively compete for business and use underhanded tactics to recruit employees.
From Phoenix Tears Productions, Afterlife Job Fair is the fourth entry in their Posthumous Universe. Like each predecessor, it’s a Zoom based experience with audiences engaging in role playing and moving between Breakout rooms. In Afterlife, the audience are candidates looking for work, circumnavigating interviews and corporate espionage, the latter raising questions about these companies’ motivations.
Ever present are the elements I love deeply about Phoenix Tears’ work. The performers are fantastic, breathing life into these nutty characters with intense ferocity, their infectious energy keeping me engaged. I laugh constantly when they respond to crazy questions with even crazier improvised responses. Additionally, Zoom’s features are excellently used for maximum immersive effect.
But while new audience members need to know nothing about previous entries, the lore and history present is nevertheless dense, almost impenetrable. In a pre-show email, there’s details going back decades. During Afterlife, if characters provide any information, it’s conveyed in shorthand or nonchalantly. With the digital afterlife concept being quite heady along with outlandish job requirements, the important details are overshadowed by everything else.
Additionally, Afterlife’s tone shifts dramatically between extremes. There are incredibly clever jokes abound and an enjoyably goofy job application process for some companies. Yet there’s an equal amount of overly dramatic and tedious discussions regarding salary and benefits. The ever-changing tone compounds the difficulty to engage with Afterlife.
While there’s variety in audience agency and engagement, it isn’t fully formed. I was in large groups the entire time, allowing invested audience members to take the lead. There were other NoPro correspondents present who engaged in secret tracks and interactions. One joined a clandestine group, solving one Wordle-like puzzle…and then improvised light roleplaying for the remaining time. Another was recruited to be a double agent, tasked with gathering intel. Yet, in deciding to be a triple agent and not report back, the correspondent felt Afterlife resolved as if they had done so. The objectives and goals seem well defined in Afterlife, but their execution is abstract and adrift.
While thoroughly enjoying the performances and their mastery for online work, I wonder what new stories Phoenix Tears could explored by moving beyond the Posthumous universe.
– Patrick B. McLean, Chicago Curator
At the Illusionist’s Table — Scott Silven & The McKittrick Hotel
From $295; New York, NY; Through April 2nd
A magician sits at the head of an extravagantly laden impossibly long dining table, fifteen of us sat on either side. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he holds up his whiskey to the flickering candlelight and bids us welcome with his light Scottish accent. I look around the table at the excited faces around me, before finding myself enraptured in an evening of wonders.
At the Illusionist’s Table is a renewal of the 2018 collaboration between The McKittrick Hotel and renowned illusionist Scott Silven. A fine dining experience expertly paired with some of the finest mentalism and glorious storytelling, taking palace in the wonderfully cozy Hideout at Gallow Green, this is a feast for the senses served with much aplomb. Silven is a master of his craft, quickly reading the room and commanding our attention with his quiet but direct approach. Each illusion builds on the one before it, running alongside a story involving Silven’s grandfather, the two elements intertwining expertly to build the drama and tension of the evening.
The food, prepared by Executive Chef Pascal Le Seac’h is truly exquisite. A delightful seafood risotto of lobster, mussels, and shrimp leads perfectly to the main course of beautifully braised beef, cooked such that I find the knife in my hand merely a prop as the meat perfectly falls away at the gentlest press of my fork. A final chocolate mousse feels purely indulgent, and I leave entirely full, completely satisfied, and wishing that every meal could be as special as this. Whiskey plays a part in the story of the evening, and samples have been specially curated and are provided to enhance the entire experience as well.
The real magic of the evening though is how the food acts as a culinary catalyst for discussion around the table. Silven wows us between courses, and in those moments of shock and disbelief, I share thoughts and theories with those around me. Over the “courses” of the evening (forgive me), I get to know the newly married couple to my left, and the mother and daughter visiting from the west coast sat across. While at the start of the evening, it might have appeared that we had very little in common, by the end of it our shared curiosity and astonishment had united the entire table together in one accord. A final illusion continues this imagery, and the “prestige” of the evening is a true delight to behold, leaving each one of us in disbelief as we leave the beautiful Hideout at Gallow Green.
At one point Silven discusses the significance of our memories, and how during special moments in our lives we find ourselves able to remember so much more. He shares a story of a lottery winner being able to remember what they had for breakfast over 20 years ago on that fateful day. His storytelling and illusions are certainly one way of helping to elevate the already incredible food into an eternal memory. Nights like this are few and far between, and I savor every moment of this true delectable delight for the curious mind.
— Edward Mylechreest, New York City Correspondent
The Locksmith’s Dream–Tricuspid
Tickets from 300 GBP per person. Accepting bookings through April 2023.
I was not entirely sure what to expect from The Locksmith’s Dream, an overnight experience at the remote, and stunningly beautiful, Treowen House in the Welsh countryside. The brainchild of The Weather Factory and writer Alexis Kennedy, who is the mind behind popular video games including Fallen London, Sunless Sea, and Cultist Simulator, which The Locksmith’s Dream takes significant inspiration from, the event proudly bills itself as difficult to define–and should I attempt to say too much, I would veer dangerously into spoiler territory.
Suffice it to say: The Locksmith’s Dream is something like a choose-your-own-mystery country weekend. It’s relentlessly immersive–guests are assigned personas with their rooms, and remain in-story for roughly 24 hours. Which story you’re in, exactly, is at least somewhat up to you–there is too much lore, and too many options, for anyone to do or see it all, even before the cast draws you one way or another. Whatever you choose, expect a certain amount of collaboration with other guests, a lot of puzzles to solve, thematic meals, and genuinely exhausting physical exertions (there are quite a lot of stairs in Treowen House).
The attention to detail is remarkable–at some point, the team engaged the services of a bookbinder, an enamel artist, and put out a call for (and found!) a talented chef/caterer who is also skilled at improvisational theater. As such, this does not come cheap–even before you pay for optional drinks tokens. Tickets for two, depending on your room, can cost well into four figures. Whether it’s worth it will depend largely on your budget and how much you like puzzles, escape rooms, and mystery stories. But I will say: in a theatrical world where anything can happen, I have truly never seen anything like this.
–Ellery Weil, London Correspondent (See her feature length review)
The Midnight Ball (New Years Eve) — The McKittrick Hotel
From $334.50; New York, NY; Annual tradition
It is always a special occasion when the McKittrick hotel decides to open its doors to the public for a night of note in the calendar year. The home of Sleep No More and many other delightful experiences gives the curious a chance to wander the halls of the hotel, and to soak in the celebration.
Seeing key locations from the show in a truly different light is a special joy for fans of the hotel. There is a distinct german flavor that hits the hotel this year, with performers on every level of the building having a 1920’s era celebration. White pajama-clad dancers bounce from a mattress as an artistic new-wave german film is being made in a cemetery, while a row of shops has been overtaken by a completely different set of leather-clad clientele. Classical musicians provide an eery backdrop from a bathtub, while multiple live bands bring unique flavors to their dance floors (99 luft balloons being a clear audience favorite in a rave room). I move from room to room, eager to sample a taste of what each space has to offer. While not a reflection of the immersive show that usually runs here, the performers are clearly keeping an eye out for those in the know, and a light handhold can be found from time to time if you know what to look for.
While the evening comes with a strong price tag, the generous and multiple open bars on every floor of the hotel make the McKittrick’s new years offerings very appealing and comparative to many of the other “unique” parties that can be found on December 31st in NYC. Combining this with the wonderful performers, musicians, and DJs being utilized in every conceivable space, make this one of the most entertaining ways to see in the new year for sure.
Some logistical issues do arise when cramming so many revelers into one space at once, with several issues of blocked staircases and alleyways not being dealt with or “stage-managed” as efficiently as I have seen at other McKittrick parties. The roof deck of the hotel was unfortunately one of the worst contenders for this, with a near-stationary line for the amenities, and winter coverings making much of the skyline view inaccessible. However, it was here that the real beauty of the evening came to light for me.
In the early hours of 2023, I found myself surrounded by a host of once strangers and now friends, discussing the unique nature of our favorite city, the immersive scene that has arisen here, and (I believe, successfully) convincing a couple that they really should seriously consider moving here in the new year. A collection of jaded New Yorkers, allowing a moment of transparency and a letting down of a guard, to allow joy and pride to shine through. This wasn’t a fleeting moment, but a solid and meaningful discussion between different parties who had all been drawn to this precise moment of this extravagant party. We sat and shared stories of the immersive shows we had seen this past year, along with our hopes for theatre and what we will see coming soon.
Yes, the hotel is still an amazing thing to explore, the performances and acts that can be found are second to none, and of course, the revelry that can be found on each floor is fantastic. It is a gigantic party of the highest quality. Yet it is the community of people that can be found, both on and off the dance floor in the McKittrick, that makes this a unique and incredible way to see in the new year.
— Edward Mylechreest, New York City Correspondent
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