Tension builds through the audience as they watch their hero struggle. He’s upside-down in a glass cage full of water, and bound in chains—surely he’s not going to make it.
But he’s Harry Houdini, the world’s greatest escape artist. There are no locks he can’t pick, no bonds he can’t escape, and there’s no prison that can hold him. He’ll just wait until the anticipation of his escape reaches its peak before his big reveal. After all, he’s also a showman.
Approaching the life of one of the most well known magicians in history is no doubt a daunting task, and Vancouver’s Monster Theater definitely have their work cut out for them. What began as a boast in a Fringe beer garden where magician and illusionist Christoper Bange told Monster Theater writer Ryan Gladstone that he wanted to do a show about Houdini has evolved to become Houdini’s Last Escape, one of Fringe 2011’s biggest shows.
“He has such an incredible biography,” says Tara Travis, the artistic director of Monster Theatre who plays his wife and assistant, Bess Houdini. “In some way, we cover virtually all of his life in 70 minutes. It’s pretty crazy.”
Covering the entire life of Harry Houdini in just over an hour is both artistically ambitious and technically complicated. Houdini’s Last Escape takes place during a performance during the titular character’s latter years, but on this particular night something is different. Tonight something changes for Houdini, and he decides that he needs to tell his life story with his wife assisting by playing every supporting role.
“All of a sudden she’s being roped into playing these characters helping him reenact his life,” says Travis, “so it’s a show within a show.”
And holding the show within a show together is magic. Bange is an accomplished magician and illusionist in his own right, and he brings an authenticity to Houdini’s Last Escape with real magic tricks.
That’s right, in addition to a vaudevillian comedy-drama, the audience also gets to witness real magic tricks. Travis says that one of the most important aspects of creating Houdini’s Last Escape was to create illusions that would be as dynamite and sharp as possible.
“We do ask a lot of the audience,” says Travis. “We ask the audience to go to a lot of places with us and often the switches are really quick and it’s quite an intense journey.”
Houdini’s Last Escape
Langham Court Theatre (805 Langham Court)
Monday, August 29, 5:45 pm
Tuesday, August 30, 7:45 pm
Wednesday, August 31, 7 pm
Thursday, September 1, 8:45 pm
Saturday, September 3, 9:15 pm
Sunday, September 4, 2:45 pm
Tickets $11-$13