David Rockwell 打造纽约七宗罪主题 pop-up 剧院

Location: Meatpacking District, New York, NY 10014, USA

Design: Rockwell Group

Theater Play: Tectonic Theater Project

Client: Madison Wells Live

In Manhattan's Meatpacking District, a series of sets by Rockwell Group for short plays based on the seven deadly sins make a virtue of two pandemic-induced challenges: store closures and a disrupted entertainment industry.

Key features

An anthology of outdoor stage sets has been designed by Rockwell Group for a theatrical summer event called Seven Deadly Sins. Located in six empty storefronts and a shipping container, the pop-up theatre series hosts seven 10-minute-long plays, directed by Moisés Kaufman, each addressing a sin – pride, sloth, greed, lust, wrath, envy and gluttony. Each scene offers a different performance while exploring the underlying message.

2.1-m-tall signs spell out the name of the play represented at each site, with bright glittering backdrops and feature lighting used to attract the attentions of passers-by.

Vibrant colours connect the seven spaces. Different approaches for each scene include glittering rain curtains (lust), vinyl-padded surfaces (wrath), a suburban house scene (sloth) and rainbow paraphernalia (pride).

Frame's take

Although each of the seven stage sets has its own character, the series comes together successfully as a combined theatrical experience designed to 'entertain and provoke' its audience. The project addresses two corresponding issues of the present day: people's starvation of entertainment and the neglect of high-street retail. Rockwell Group turns New York City into a theatre stage, enlivening the area with activity and drama after an eerily quiet year for the industry. Seven Deadly Sins resurrects the high street, not only by physically encouraging people to congregate, but also in terms of what the typology means and what it might become moving forward.