Flight (Vox Motus) NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Intricately designed yet with no live performers, it is arguably not even theater. But it is pulse-pounding, immersive storytelling, strange and exquisite and intensely affecting...The richly colored, minutely detailed visuals are the wonder of 'Flight'...There are many shows that you leave feeling lucky you’ve seen them. 'Flight' is a show you leave feeling lucky to be in this city, in this country, safe — if you are safe — instead of on the run."
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"An unusual and daring way of telling a story, and, in truth, it is more effective in conveying the sweep of the brothers' tale than in elucidating individual moments...Some of this may be due to the storytelling method, which militates against a certain level of gritty detail. Still, 'Flight' is often affecting, and it concludes on a haunting note...If you have a theatre-loving young person in your household, I endorse 'Flight' without reservation."
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"The complexity of the issue doesn't always mesh nicely with a form of storytelling that relies on distilling moments to still images. The story proceeds as a series of beats to hit, rather than fully formed episodes, and the characters feel undeveloped below the surface level. Where the story feels simplified, the presentation hardly is...Purists may shy away, but for those who enjoy something different, the experience at least offers an interesting provocation if not an outright revelation. "
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“The narrative…has frequent ellipses that fail to explain transitional gaps…, and we have to fill these in ourselves…However well-done 'Flight' is, it's easier to become absorbed in its artfulness than to become as deeply invested in it emotionally as would be the case were it…a movie…'Flight,' directed with theatrical imagination and delicate sensitivity,…is, on its own terms, an impressively original articulation of the plight of innocent refugees fleeing the world's disaster areas.”
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"The breathtakingly detailed models, presented from a variety of perspectives with a layered soundscape, give 'Flight' a cinematic feel...I found myself more impressed with 'Flight's' artistry than emotionally intoxicated...But I’ll never forget it. In fact, many of the images are seared into my brain...Whether it strikes you as an art installation or a 3-D graphic novel or a twist on the old zoetrope, it’s a captivating, one-of-a-kind experience."
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"A very different, much more settled kind of presentation that melds art, theater, and literature into something wholly new...I highly recommend it for fans of experimental, unusual methods of storytelling...A timely look at what so many refugees must do to escape their violent country and find a new home...It’s a harrowing journey that is intelligently depicted by Vox Motus, avoiding treacly sentimentality and instead focusing on a simple narrative and the genuine peril the boys."
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"But, for all the brilliance of a team of model-makers...I had some reservations. Adaptor Oliver Emanuel adopts a studiously non-political tone and never sets the story in the wider context of the global refugee crisis...Since theatre is a public event, there is also something odd about sitting in a private booth for 50 minutes watching the saga unfold...I was impressed by this production’s exquisite detail...and its experimental daring, while still yearning for the presence of living actors."
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"It is a marvel of effort and engineering, and stunningly pretty – almost distractingly so...As a piece of theatre it perhaps works better at conveying the scale of the boys’ journey than its rigours...I suppose ultimately the extraordinariness of the form and the extraordinariness of the journey feel like they are in competition, and inevitably it's the form that emerges as the most memorable bit...But that’s not take away from the sweeping sense of journey, or the force of its tearjerker final scene."
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"For those in search of new experiences, 'Flight' should be a must-see experience...Perfectly constructed, tiny models illuminate the story...The strength of the presentation lies in its ability to depict the ups and more often downs that the pair experience...The story-telling seems aimed at the teen market but is nevertheless powerful, while the models...and their use are outstanding and should eventually find their way into a permanent exhibition somewhere."
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"As a piece of theatre, well, it isn't live and it isn't communal – but it is effective. Think of it more like reading a comic book, but with an aural, acted soundtrack rather than speech bubbles...It's a story that needs to be heard, a journey that we need to go on with Aryan and Kabir...In matching an almost twee craft with an account of the horrendous, inhumane treatment of two very young men, 'Flight' makes the story feel newly fresh. It's miniature, yet also epic."
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"The story is in some ways a simple one, told with an edge of gentle tragedy in Oliver Emanuel’s text, and voiced, in the recorded soundtrack, by a fine team of nine actors...Yet the poignant beauty of the tiny puppets, and the sheer imaginative vividness of the world they inhabit, engraves this exquisite show on the memory...Theatre, installation art, or something else entirely, 'Flight' tells its tale with a passion reflected in every detail of its tiny artworks."
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"The show is definitely original...Any great graphic novel will make use of space, perspective, lighting, and shadow. 'Flight' does all these things and the style is majestic and fanciful...The storytelling is masterful with the words, music and sounds being delivered directly into your ears. This creates an intimate and engrossing atmosphere that heightens the drama and at moments can leave you feeling breathless and thoroughly engaged...A unique and original experience."
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"The show takes the unlikely form of a theatrical graphic novel...A kind of slow-motion 3D magic lantern show. It’s a full-on audiovisual sensory experience – visually and sonically, extremely rich in detail. 'Flight' verges on being sentimental at times – and it sometimes feels like not enough context is given to make Aryan and Kabir feel fully relatable. But it’s a harrowing and vital story – visceral, hard to watch, but told with lyrical beauty and charm."
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"Capturing the scale, complexity and humanity is daunting, but Vox Motus takes a unique approach...'Flight' draws us into its miniature material world...But sometimes nuance and believability are sacrificed to the simplified style of the piece...It’s like listening to a gripping, desperately sad radio play, but with intricate models to focus and stimulate the mind. I only realized how involved I’d been when an assistant tapped me on the shoulder and led me blinking into the light."
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"Seated in individual darkened booths, with headphones carrying the soundtrack and actors’ voices in Emmanuel’s gently tragic text, you watch a slowly revolving sequence of exquisitely crafted miniature tableaux, almost like a graphic novel in three dimensions...The result is a brilliantly bewitching, quietly heartbreaking experience...It’s a gradually evolving piece, cumulative in its power...But for such an intimate experience, 'Flight' packs a massive emotional punch."
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"The technically brilliant and utterly enveloping and immersive installation takes the form of a diorama in a carousel. To a brilliantly chimed soundscape, a series of static figures appear in unbelievably detailed miniature tableaux, channelling the ‘aesthetic of a graphic novel’ and brought to life by the voices of a fine cast of actors. It is simple yet elaborate, involving immaculate timing and co-ordination behind the scenes...Don’t miss this unique theatrical experience!"
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