'It’s 1926. Michigan. Harry Houdini’s final performance, only you don’t know that at the time. You’re here to be amazed, to be awakened with wonder. But the man before you appears frail, and vulnerable. He falls, he fails, and you can’t tear your eyes away.
'Houdini didn’t die in front of a gasping crowd. He died days later, in a quiet hospital room. There, he ate chop suey and confessed all of his doubts to a surgeon. The audience didn’t get to see that man – they only ever met the marvel.
'With some theatrical sleight of hand, the mystics from Counterpilot uncover a mystery stranger than the man himself. Seeking humanness in wonder, we turn our spotlights to the audience: the voyeurs of mortality on the evening of the end…
'Spectate is a show about an audience, and we're inviting you to be that audience.'
Source: Production blurb.
Produced by Counterpilot and Metro Arts at Sue Benner Theatre, Brisbane, 7-18 November 2017.
Director: Nathan Sibthorpe.
Stage Performers: Toby Martin, Cam Clark, Elise Greig, and Brad Haseman.
Recorded Performers: Hugh Parker, Anna McGahan, Lucas Stibbard, Veronica Neave, and Lauren Jackson.
Dramaturgy: Benjamin Knapton.
Production Design: Sarah Winter.
