The Paranormal Show - A Victorian venture into the unknown.
Events / 2/19/2008 12:12:53 AM
Miguel Gallego is at it again, our prolific correspondent going forth to brave the latest disturbing event to test its mettle for us all! This time he brings us a taste of the paranormal in his home town of Toronto.
Scott McClelland, the visionary fiend behind the Carnival Diablo sideshow, is back with a spellbinding new old show. Firmly set in Victorian era style, The Paranormal Show is a collection of dramatic demonstrations of psycho kinesis, retro cognition, clairvoyance, telepathy, intuition, and not-so-plain-old mind over matter. Well, that's your cue Mr. Ripley. Believe it, or not. On entering the theatre you can visit the Emporium of the Unusual, a free exhibit of several macabre curios from Scott’s personal collection. All I can say is, "Cool stuff. More please."
The show has finally found an ideal venue in the upstairs cabaret of Toronto's Diesel Theatre. If you saw the show during last fall's tour of larger regional theatres you owe it to yourself to see it anew in this intimate 110 seat room. The difference is M. Night and Doris Day. This cozier setting better resembles a Victorian parlour, where the prophets of the paranormal held court. Now unencumbered by a microphone, McClelland's alter ego and show host Vladimir Eisengrim commands the audience with his powerful voice, dramatic presence, and wry humour.
While the Victorian-style presentation remains strong, the show's content has improved since the road trip show that I last saw. There is still plenty of audience interaction, with much awe coming from the disbelieving participants themselves. One memorable moment during the preview show occurred when a spirit failed to materialize as expected, yet the untouched volunteer on stage felt an eerie chill and a tug on her hair. Hmmm? Casper? Is that you?
The lovely, silent medium Theodora joins Vladimir on stage for several demonstrations, including the spirit cabinet finale that takes good advantage of the theatre's space. Now, whether you believe in paranormal phenomena or not, even the skeptics in the crowd found The Paranormal Show to be different fare and most entertaining. Spooky, eh?
The Paranormal Show runs from February 12 to May 3 (2008) at the Diesel Playhouse in Toronto. And, while we're at this theatre...If you read Jill's review of Evil Dead The Musical but missed the show, it's back at the Diesel Playhouse for an extended run in the main room. With so much evil weirdness on its stage, they should rename it the Devil's Playhouse. I can just see the flaming marquee...
Since-eerily, Miguel
Scott and Miguel at The Paranormal Show
Jill's p.s. As always, feel free to contact Miguel at our killer-works email (Miguel reads all his fan mail!)
p.p.s. Coming soon to Killer-works: Flash Film Contest and Flash Fiction! Check back soon on Killer-Extras on the website.
