In the theology of the Roman Catholic Church, the Seven Deadly Sins, first codified by St. Gregory the Great in the 6th century and later elaborated by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, are the human vices of Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth. They became a popular theme in European art, morality plays, and literature of the Middle Ages, including The Divine Comedy by Dante and The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, both written in the 14th century. Italian-born escape artist Lord Nil, widely known as a contestant on the TV competition show America’s Got Talent, in which he reached the quarter-finals, has inappropriately appropriated the name of the age-old mortal theme for his current performance Lord Nil: Se7en Deadly Sins, conceived and written by Marta Licata, directed by Alberto Oliva, and now playing a limited Off-Broadway engagement at Stage 42.
While there are seven segments of Nil escaping from various situations of confinement (including a water tank, cage, upright and revolving glass-covered maze, hourglass, and a swinging axe pendulum), only a few tangentially relate to the sins (e.g., his hands and feet are chained to a spit suspended over a hot grill, on which bacon and bread are being fried, but no one is eating them, so no real Gluttony seen here). Pride, however, was in evidence throughout the show in his over-the-top bows after each escape and the apparent belief that this is a performance suited for the New York stage.
In fact, it’s more of a Las Vegas-style spectacle, with scantily clad show girls in tacky S&M costumes (by Giuseppe Magistro) and less exposed men (in black shirts and pants, and later dressed as gladiators, with Lord Nil’s costumes styled by Vanessa Leuck), who ramp up the outdated sexism, machismo, and concept of Lust. Together they bind and blindfold him, dance awkwardly out of sync (choreography by Stefano Alessandrino), and generally extend the running time of the ill-devised show, which clocks in at a little over an hour (though it feels like an eternity in hell, with no chance of escape).
The dancers (Reba Bartram, Michele Castelli, Cristian Hariga, Alina Radu, Derrion Swan, Khy-Felipe Pasamonte Vitug, Kortney Warren, and Erika Zilli) are there to do the bidding of Nil’s chief tormentor and dominatrix, embodied by Steph Payne (a Vegas-based performer) as the personification of Vice, who lures and taunts him (and the audience) with a devilish voice, snarky laugh, and evil attitude, as she sets up each trap and the sin it ostensibly references, and expresses her desire for his failure to escape. When he does free himself, she entices him into the next challenge (which, as noted in the press release, he faces with “resilience” and the intent of “overcoming adversity” and “fear,” in a most excessively swaggering and boastful way – there’s that Pride again). She also moves through the house to choose a volunteer for a gambling-inspired segment on Greed (again more indicative of Vegas than NYC), deriding everyone she comes across before making her selection.
Other members of the company occasionally walk through the audience (in one case carrying dishes filled with the cooked bacon and tainting the air with its smell). And (spoiler alert) Nil himself magically appears at the top of the aisle after his confinement in an oversized hourglass and unseen escape from it. Though producer Rainer Hackl was quoted as saying, “Everything the audience sees is real. These are not illusions; there are no . . . hidden tricks,” I’m not quite sure how that sudden surprise verifies his statement. Also randomly interspersed between Nil’s escape acts are deafening performances by guitarist and composer Erik Ventrice, the villainous Vice’s “henchman, Lord of Evil,” who created the loud and creepy original score.
Wild red lighting and spots (by Tudor Micu for the Light Guy SRL and Jamie Roderick) further accentuate the scenes and performers, and active videos on the back and side screens (by Dan Mitrea for Digital Maverick SRL) present an introduction by Nil to his background, his stage name, and his intent, offer a list and symbols of the titular sins, project live-feed close-ups of his escapes, and show dystopian views of the world, presumably left in shambles by our vices – an unnecessary distraction from his feats.
Judging by the half-empty house at the performance I attended, word is already out that this is a must-miss. Even if you were entertained by Lord Nil’s five-minute escapes on AGT, the current show lacks their focus, brevity, and resultant suspense, with a forced theme that doesn’t hold together and contributes little to highlighting the talent for which he’s become known.
Running Time: Approximately 65 minutes, without intermission.
Lord Nil: Se7en Deadly Sins plays through Sunday, August 31, 2025, at Stage 42, 422 W 42nd Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $48-154, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.
