Life And Trust NYC, the new immersive theater show from the theatrical production company Emursive, debuts its first performance on Monday, 17 June 2024.
In the meantime, let the speculation and theories begin.
As these immersive theater shows go—especially the big ones that Punchdrunk has set the standard for—there’s always one central story acting as the narrative spine of the show. And from that, several offshoot tales branch out and intermingle with it.
In Sleep No More, it’s Macbeth. But then we also have elements from Rebecca, the Paisley Witch Trials, and plenty of original material created specifically for the show.
In The Drowned Man, it was Woyzeck. But there were also pieces from Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Day Of The Locust, and oodles more.
In The Burnt City, it was the story of Troy’s fall at the hands of the Greek army. But I’m largely unfamiliar with this show currently, so I don’t know what else was woven into it. I’m confidant there was plenty, though. The look of The Burnt City alone begs you to think of Bladerunner and Ghost In The Machine.
With all that said, what will Emursive tell in Life And Trust?
(Note: I will use Life And Trust and Life And Trust NYC interchangeably for SEO purposes.)
The Devil In The Details
Faust is the assumed main narrative of Life And Trust NYC.
If you examine the Life And Trust logo, the “F” In Life, the “A” in And, and the “UST” in Trust are all a tad bit bolder than the other letters. Wink, wink.
There’s also the devil in the Conwell Coffee Hall logo, and all of the talk of entrusting our souls with the fictional Life And Trust Bank. That, after all, is the space we will explore in the Life And Trust show as masked visitors, just as we explore the fictional McKittrick Hotel in New York City’s Sleep No More.
(It should be noted that Life And Trust is, in fact, a masked show, like Sleep No More. It’s stated on the email receipt received after purchasing a ticket.)
Reading lists are already popping up on the Life And Trust and Sleep No More subreddits. And, as an aside, there will probably be overlap on the two subreddits for the time being, since both immersive theater shows are operated by Emursive and call Manhattan home. And, fair or not, there will be a lot of comparison between Life And Trust and Sleep No More, and Reddit will be one spot where this takes place.
Anyway, Faust by Goethe and Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe are often cited on these Life And Trust reading list, since there’s heavy speculation about the Faust influences directing the show’s narrative core.
Because some (if not all) of Life And Trust NYC takes place in basement-level sets of 20 Exchange Place, some speculate on Reddit that Dante’s Inferno might make its mark, too.
Besides that, there’s rumors that the show’s J.G. Conwell character is inspired in part by Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. If that proves true, we might be in store for an incredible blend of Faustian bargains, dealings with the Devil, and occult influences shaping the innovation of the Progressive Era in the United States.
That’s my hope, anyway.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is also speculated to be one of the offshoot narratives. Included, too, is the 1955 film, The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing. This one is subtly promising, because if true, is shows promise for a dark tale full of sex, seduction, and classism.
A Mood-Setting Viewing List
I have my own personal media list for the upcoming debut of Emursive’s Life And Trust.
But my lists have nothing to do with story elements speculated to appear in the show.
Rather, my lists are for mood-setting. They’re dark and occult experiences full of ritual, murder, sex, and/or devilry. I’m looking for feeling, emotion, and atmosphere to get me ready for this new immersive theater experience Emursive is bringing us.
I’m thinking movies like:
These are all some of my favorite movies besides, so there’s no twisting my arm to watch them over again.
What these movies all have in common are mysterious and otherworldly cityscapes (mostly New York, but some other spots, too).There’s a healthy infusion of the supernatural and a focus on the occult. That’s what I am holding out hope for in Life And Trust.
One of the first things I noticed early on about Life And Trust NYC and its Financial District front, Conwell Coffee Hall, is the gilded art-deco style that reminds me of the pomp and ceremony of occult organizations like the Free Masons, the Theosophical Society, the AA, the Hellfire Club, the OTO, and the Order of the Golden Dawn.
I place particular importance on the last one.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn didn’t have a long run; it formed in 1887 and disbanding in 1903. But the stylings and visual drama of the organization does look like something that would very much be at home in the fictional Life And Trust Bank of Conwell Tower.
I recently looked through some of the cards in the Hermetic Tarot deck that was originally designed by the Golden Dawn, and the style of the cards screams Life And Trust NYC in my opinion. Every time I see new announcements on the Life And Trust Instagram account, I think about some of the Major Arcana images like the Magician, the Hanged Man, the Tower, and (not surprisingly) the Devil.
I haven’t even touched upon books, yet.
I’ll save that for another post, but as a hint, I’m going back through some of the occult biographies written by Gary Lachman. He’s chronicles the lives of some impressive esoteric figures from the late 1800s and early 1900s; these real-life figures are imaginal fodder in prepping for the release of Life And Trust.
All of that said, I personally don’t care at all about readying for Life And Trust NYC by reading the potential source material.
Instead, I am all about setting my mood for the projected tone and atmosphere of the experience.
