REVIEW: Lord Nil attempts to escape ‘7 Deadly Sins’
Photo: Lord Nil stars in 7 Deadly Sins at Stage 42. Photo courtesy of Benji Messmer / Provided by BBB with permission.
NEW YORK — The escape artist Lord Nil, an alum of America’s Got Talent, has an exquisite and almost understated manner of performing. He is a clear master of his chosen art form, but he also doesn’t speak too much during his performance. He thanks the crowd with a bow or two, puts his hands out in that characteristic ta-da posture, and then moves on to the next act. He’s humble, and one feels that this life of danger he’s built for himself is serious, serious business. So he mostly stays focused on the job at hand.
Lord Nil’s skills are on display in his new show, 7 Deadly Sins, playing through Aug. 31 at Stage 42 in New York City. The problem with this theatrical venture is not Lord Nil himself — he shows up and shows up big time — but rather that the spectacle surrounding the artist doesn’t match the excellence of his craft.
The 75-minute show, which is apparently headed for a Las Vegas residency later this year, finds the Italian performer attempting to survive a series of escapes that are truly death-defying. This is definitely don’t-try-this-at-home territory.
One sequence has Lord Nil balancing over a hot stove, with the scorching cooking surface only inches from his exposed skin. To ensure the audience understands that this stove is real, the other performers in 7 Deadly Sins cook bacon and toast for all to see.
This is one of the best and strangest scenes in the show. Best because Lord Nil must utilize every muscle in his body to remain focused and somehow unlock the chains that bind him to strategically placed balancing beams. Strange because … well, do theatergoers really need to have the cast members descend into the audience to show them the bacon is, in fact, cooked? The aroma of roasted pig stays with the show for the remainder of the evening.
Another signature escape for Lord Nil involves a rotating maze, which offers a unique vantage point to see this particular escape. Like the other acts, the performer is chained up, forced to tackle the obstacle with limited movement of his arms and legs. Tather than simply navigating through the maze’s passageways as it rotates on an axis, Lord Nil also needs to make his way as the tight corridors fill with smoke. Now, this is impressive.
If 7 Deadly Sins simply featured Lord Nil and some assistants, the focus would be on him and his art, and this would go down as a welcome entry on New York City’s magic scene, right up there with the recently opened Amaze from Jamie Allan and Speakeasy Magick from The McKittrick Hotel. He’s a genuine master at this death-defying fare, and he deserves a show that matches those talents.
But the spectacle at Stage 42 feels contrived and a bit untethered. It’s difficult to understand the setting or genre of the entire evening, as if the design elements and overall motif are too cryptic. The host for the evening is a character named Vice (Steph Payne), who introduces each act and ties the show’s narrative to the seven deadly sins (sloth, pride, etc.). She mentions ancient stories that supposedly inspired these escapes, and there’s a projected screen in the background that looks very 300-ish with cracked earth and soaring vistas. What the audience sees is supposed to be mystical and otherworldly, but something isn’t clicking.
Perhaps the disconnect is that they are building Lord Nil up to these impossible heights and basing his skills in ancient traditions, and then when the performer first appears, it’s like, oh, he’s just a human. The over-the-top window dressing takes away from a rather quiet, determined performer who seems less driven by spectacle and more centered on obstacle. There’s a certain naughtiness to the show, with the hard-working dancers and assistants suggesting something provocative, but again this feels like an unrealized idea.
The draw here is Lord Nil and these unbelievable escapes. Most of the elements around him feel extraneous. Still, the 75 minutes fly by, and the escapes are truly something to behold. They are dangerous and gargantuan in scope, and there’s a real sense in the air that he might not make it this time. All credit to Lord Nil for that suspense.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Lord Nil: 7 Deadly Sins, featuring Lord Nil, continues through Aug. 31 at Stage 42 in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
