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.
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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.
Harry Houdini is the greatest illusionist the world has ever known. Arthur Conan Doyle is the creator of literature’s most brilliant detective, Sherlock Holmes. Their mutual admiration blossoms into a profound friendship, but their views on spiritualism are poles apart. Which of these sparring partners will be proved right? Based on extraordinary historical events, David Haig’s new play Magic asks what we’re prepared to believe, and why.
You’re invited. For one week in January Katie Bender—playwright, performer, mom—will host a series of séances at OKC Rep to contact Harry Houdini to teach her how to escape her life. And maybe you have things you want to escape from?Instructions for a Séance is a playful yet poignant exploration of motherhood, artistic ambition, and the urge to escape. Inspired by the Houdini archives at the Ransom Center, Séance is a 70-minute theatrical gem: compact, gleaming, and utterly unforgettable.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit the official website.
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Join Edward Saint and Bess Houdini to conduct the tenth and final séance to conjure the spirit of Harry Houdini. They have gathered their peers, friends, enemies, and you at the Knickerbocker Hotel on Halloween night, 1936. An immersive piece centered around the historical event, The Last Séance of Harry Houdini explores themes of love, fame, and grief and the ways each of these can change us. The night unfolds with drinks, mingling, ghosts, and the consequences of disturbing a man’s final rest. Staged within the iconic Flower Hill Center on West 6th, The Last Séance of Harry Houdini will offer a truly immersive experience for those seeking the perfect spectral adventure for an October night. Warning: this production features strobing lights that could affect photosensitive viewers.
FOR MY LAST TRICK
Casting for the NYC premier reading of For My Last TrickWritten by Jordan Baker, this new play is a period drama about the final years in the life of Harry Houdini, aiming to perform by October 2026. This public reading will be used to gauge an audience interest, producer interest, and make future edits to the script.
“Harry Houdini will be dead by Halloween.” It’s the 1920’s and humanity has made its biggest breakthrough. The ability to communicate with the dead. Mediums and fortune tellers have used seances to finally bridge the gap to the afterlife and prove ghosts are real! But one man is not impressed. Magician and Escape Artist, Harry Houdini. When Houdini is invited to a seance by his best friend, Sherlock Holmes writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he is not amazed. Instead, he’s angry. What everyone else sees as a healing experience that's connecting them to their lost loved ones, he sees a sophisticated hoax which is extorting grieving people for money.
Harry sets out on his own “witch hunt” to expose these mediums with his brother, Theo. But everything changes when Harry has a “curse" put on him by the mediums, who all say he’s gonna die by Halloween… and on Halloween of 1926, Houdini dies of mysterious causes. Theo and Harry’s widow, Bess, are left to pick up the pieces and figure out, how did this happen? Who was responsible? And will Harry Houdini escape death and return from the grave?
"For My Last Trick" is a thrilling and thought provoking piece that tackles grief, belief, faith, and fame. Using authentic Harry Houdini magic tricks, spooky seances, and amazing dialogue. Do you believe in Magic?”
You can find details on how to submit for casting at Playbill or Backstage. Good luck!
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“Harry Houdini has died. Nevertheless, his wife would like a word…”Join us for the world premiere of Louise Casemore’s immersive new play, Lucky Charm. A Defiance Theatre production produced as part of Edmonton’s Found Festival, in partnership with Theatre YES.
From 1894 to 1926, Bess was married to the most famous magician in the world. That is, until he died under mysterious circumstances. Now, you’re invited to step on up! Satisfy your curiosity, don’t be disappointed!
“For the price of a personal token, you’ll be permitted to venture inside the home where Mrs. Houdini sleeps, eats, and does her damndest every single week to make contact with her dearly departed. Watch from the gallery, or have a seat at the séance table. Treat yourself to a spectacular display of grace, grief, and with any luck: a little terror and delight of the paranormal. Behold as we explore one of the greatest mysteries from the four corners of the earth: the palpitating possibility of LIFE AFTER DEATH.”
Inspired by the seances held by Bess Houdini following her husband’s death, Lucky Charm is an immersive exploration of grief and the magical possibilities in the unknown.
In the winter and spring of 1926, Harry Houdini was summoned to a hearing before the House of Representatives to testify on behalf of a new bill that would make acts of fortune telling illegal.The newest project by playwright Jen Silverman takes as its starting point the exact transcript for these Congressional hearings, while weaving in thrilling theatrical séance sequences, and the growing complexity of Houdini's relationship with Rose Mackenberg, Houdini's chief investigator.
Are we to be a country of cold hard facts, scientific data, and honesty? Are we to be a country of comforting possibilities, where the boundary between the living and the dead is crossable if the right guides are permitted to take you? What does it mean to argue over the character of a nation in 1926 And, of course, what does it mean to do that right now?
The Last Illusion is a touching portrait of well-known illusionist, Harry Houdini, as told through the memories and voices of those who knew and loved him for the magic he brought to their lives. Derived from the actual facts of Houdini’s life, this play will captivate the audience with the fascinating story of the man known as the world’s greatest magician.Act I features a family-friendly vaudeville style show followed by a brief intermission with The Last Illusion featured in Act II.
