Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Most of the Neo-Futurists mainstage shows I've seen over, say, the last five years start strong, with bravura physicality and a welcoming charm. So does this one. Most of them devolve into rapt confessional navel gazing. So does this one. It's a problem built into the Neo-Futurists' anti-illusionist philosophy, whereby performers reject the notion of portraying anyone but themselves, and it hasn't really been solved for evening-length shows like this one, built around Dadaist icon Arthur Cravan."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...These are just a few of the thousand or so ideas that have been put into a blender and splattered against the walls by Neo-Futurist Trevor Dawkins and the artists involved in his new show, A Story Told in Seven Fights. What begins as a look back at the Dada and Surrealist art movements soon rips itself apart like the atoms at the center of a nuclear bomb. What looks like a goofy show mixing art history with stage combat explodes into something far grander, far messier, and far and away more urgent."
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...A STORY TOLD IN SEVEN FIGHTS primarily works best as an insider’s glimpse into drama’s artistic expression. I’m not sure newbies to Neo-Futurists will get it, the art or the drama."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...The cast is young and diverse and beautiful, and even if they’re saddled with cliched moments here and there, they give it their all. The show actually does include the seven fights of its title, and the ensemble’s commitment to these scenes sees them breaking an actual sweat. Among the violence and grief, there are some genuinely funny moments, as the show is self-aware enough to not take itself too seriously. By the end, they may not have succeeded in finding answers to the confusion of their new reality, but they’ve certainly vented enough of the pent-up angst to start what feels like a new—and worthy—chapter."
The Hawk Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Some may write this opinion off as having not "gotten it," but as a massive fan of the company, this simply felt like an overly-pretentious sketch comedy/monologue play hybrid of leftover Infinite Wrench material. As I exited the theatre, a patron behind me lamented, "I was expecting a show with lots of fighting," and that is indeed what the Neo-Futurists have advertised. The intentions are good, and the ensemble is solid. Unfortunately, A Story Told in Seven Fights is not."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Most plays, including those on the more meta end of the spectrum, do not come close to confronting their own creation and purpose this way. Most plays also do not have Stephanie Shum, bristling with rage, get up in an audience member’s face, call them out, and threaten them with physical violence, desisting only when bodily pulled back. With A Story Told in Seven Fights, however, creator Trevor Dawkins and the Neo-Futurists are not only showing what iconoclasts said and did a hundred years ago. They are showing what they say and do right now."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...On opening night of The Neofuturists’ “A Story Told in Seven Fights,” I sat in a theater full of memories, surrounded by artists I respect and admire, and openly wept. Like most shows put on by this prolific institution, “Story” is complex, layered, and sometimes hard to watch, but it delivers the kind of catharsis you can’t get at any other Chicago theater."
