They Come To Watch Me Die is a solo theatre performance by Humphrey Cornthwaite based on the life of Harry Houdini. During the performance Humphrey as Harry will break the fourth wall and perform routines made famous by the great escapologist Houdini.Humphrey started his career as a street performer in London’s Covent Garden performing the strait jacket escape. From Covent Garden Humph has worked as an escapologist for many years travelling throughout Europe playing many venues and many festivals.
They Come To Watch Me Die is Humphrey’s first scripted solo show.
You can purchase tickets at the Smith’s Alternative website HERE.
Related:
For the first time in history, A Strenuous Career: The Personal Challenge and Advertisement Scrapbook of Harry Houdini places in your hands a breathtaking, full-color facsimile of one of the most significant artifacts from the life of the world’s greatest escape artist. This is the amongst the largest and most important scrapbooks personally complied by Harry Houdini! Every page is reproduced directly from Houdini’s own working scrapbook—exactly as he assembled it—preserving the energy, ambition, and relentless drive that defined the man.Meticulously reproduced from the original scrapbook—courtesy of Dr. Bruce J. Averbook’s extraordinary historic archive in The Averbook Magic Art Museum and Library—this volume features over 160 premium, large-format color pages, presented in a luxurious 9" x 12" hardbound edition with an elegant slipcase. Every detail has been preserved to immerse you fully in Houdini’s world.
This is not simply a book—it is a rare artifact, a conversation piece, a centerpiece for any serious collector of magic or history enthusiast.
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| Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library |
The year 2026 marks the centennial of legendary escapologist and magician Harry Houdini’s death. In recognition of his amazing life and the Library for the Performing Arts’ current exhibition Mystery & Wonder: a Legacy of Golden Age Magicians in New York, we will screen his 1919 silent film The Grim Game with live piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura. Houdini plays an intrepid young journalist framed for murder after falling in love with a winsome ingénue played by Ann Forrest. Chases, dramatic escapes, and a real mid-air plane crash are only part of the fun. Following the screening, Dorothy Dietrich, magician and co-founder of the Houdini Museum, and magician and historian Richard Cohn will discuss the making of the film, its re-discovery and restoration, and Houdini’s legacy today.
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| Harrisburg Telegraph, May 8, 1926. |
Harry Houdini defied everything: chains, prisons, water, and even logic.In this show, Houdini presents himself to the public in what appears to be his final confession. A fascinating journey through his life, his achievements, and the mystery he himself cultivated around his persona.
With more than ten artists on stage, " Houdini, Story of a Death " combines theater, magic, escapism, dance and a disturbing live séance.
Exposing Houdini contains a cache of previously unknown Houdini glass plate images. Now, one hundred years after his death, you can see these unique, iconic, and unpublished images, which are complimented with contemporaneous articles of the events and rarely seen artwork of the Handcuff King. This is a limited offer. Don't miss your chance to see Houdini as you've never seen him before. Order your Exposing Houdini today.Save some shelf space for this oversized, 10" x 10" coffee table book. It is a hard case book with printed end sheets. The interior consists of 164 pages of 100 lb premium paper that reveal the rarest of the rare Houdini images. Many of which have never been in print.
