Written by Victor Esses

Composed by Enrico Aurigemma

After finding his long-lost aunt Marcelle, Victor Esses, a Jewish-Lebanese Brazilian queer theatre and film-maker, chooses to document his time spent with a woman who he deeply loves but perhaps doesn’t always like.

With a myriad of family stories to tell, a lengthy distance between them, and a sumptuously lush head of hair, Marcelle, Victor’s great-aunt, now resides in Rome and has the perfectly poised image, pruned, and carried to a projection of her construction.

But their name wasn’t always Marcelle. And she wasn’t always a member of the Christian faith. Nor is she from Italy. Twenty years ago, Victor began making a documentary about Marcelle and her shift from her Lebanese roots and a past she keeps a secret. Now, in 2023, we may just finally see the end of that documentary.

There’s a mortality to the entire production, as Esses gradually acquaints himself with the audience, often through small interactions or his quaint and charming personality. Momentum is sparse, but there’s an effective reason for such. Initially, though, it feels a touch stale as much of the show occurs projected across the walls of the Summerhall Demonstration Room. And while pivotal to the story – and any excuse to watch more of the memorable Marcelle is a welcome venture – it becomes an element excessively leaned into, especially as the remainder of the show halts, only picking back up when the film finishes.

And it’s only heightened by the intensity and otherwise sublime way Esses and this excellent team weave the show together utilising a diverse range of communication methods. With live sensory music from multi-instrumentalist Enrico Aurigemma, The Death & Life of All of Us possesses a truly multimedia experience as it shifts manners of intimate storytelling from captive text to the spoken word and audience interaction, to the frequent documentary footage, the lack of synergy between them becomes a drawback rather than strength.

Where movement becomes key, Jennifer Jackson’s movement direction has a powerful impact as Esses pushes themselves beyond expectations – opening calling for the music to ‘keep going’ in a powerful, yet gentle conclusion. As the confrontations of Esses’ true self cause a visible and hurtful response from Marcelle and his family, the narrative arc and eventual conclusion of the show connect with many of continents, generations and cultures. 

Intimate and significantly poetic in spoken recitation and metaphorical explorations of coming together in a world so divided, The Death & Life of All of Us is a pitched representation of the human condition: multifaceted. It’s complex, rich, and intimate, yet also (in areas) extremely soft and subtle. It’s a warm, welcoming space which draws audiences into a new, and familiar world.