Men Go Down

I sat on this one for a few days. Last Thursday, I went to 3LD on Greenwich and Edgar St. (did anyone know there even WAS an Edgar St.?!) to see Men Go Down, another part of PS 122’s COIL Festival. I had reserved my ticket that day and trucked on down to the middle of nowhere to catch some experimental theater. As I went to enter the building (which looks suspiciously like a spaceship--see below), I was informed that it was dress rehearsal and members of the public weren’t allowed in. Oopsies! After an absurdly awkward back and forth with the delightful woman at the door, I headed home. But is there anything more motivating than being turned away from something? I hopped on the train thinking, “If I can’t see it now, then I MUST see it soon!”



Two nights later, I did.

And…well, let’s be honest, I’m not totally sure what it was about. Hyper-stylized and beautifully designed, it’s about a king who has been asleep for over a millennia, a woman who has been carrying his child for that entire time, and some fae and goddesses whose lives he’s intersected with in some ways. See, he was a bad ruler—selfish and incapable of making decisions. He ran away from his fiancée, abandoned his kingdom, and hey look, the pictures on the wall are moving!

I didn’t hate this. I found it convoluted, overwrought, and unnecessarily oblique. But the visuals! From the king’s entrance through a low, low cabinet on the floor; to the projection design with flowers, fireworks, and living portraits; to the deeply haunting sound design, there were little pieces that were so stunning that you never want to look away. Plus, there were a bunch of really pretty naked people, so that’s fun!

I was hoping that some more people would review it so that I could get a better handle on it. Alas, that didn’t happen. It’s a show I’d never recommend to anyone because I feel like they’d just get mad at me for how contrived it was, but at the same time, I’m very glad I saw it. So…there’s that!