Synopsis
The Hidden Room and the Harry Ransom Center are proud to present this original work, as meticulously researched from the Ransom Center’s Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle archives.
The year is 1926, and the Great Houdini is taking his crusade against Spiritualism and fake mediums straight to the public in a series of performance lectures filled with magic and seance-debunking. At the same time, his good friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is lecturing on behalf of Spiritualism, believing it to be “a great Philosophy” that will usher in a new age for mankind. Watch these two legends battle out the true nature of magic this Halloween season.
Over a year of research went into Houdini Speaks to the Living, bringing material straight from correspondence, essays, photographs, diaries, and books from the Harry Ransom Center’s Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle collections. About 75% of the play is verbatim theatre, so in a sense the Hidden Room is indeed conjuring the very essences of Houdini and Doyle. Enjoy magic, ghost stories, and a great meeting of minds that is the perfect spectacle for your Halloween celebrations.
Recommended for 8+
Running time 50 minutes
Houdini Speaks to the Living is currently accepting touring dates through 2018.
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
This project is supported in part by the generosity of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin.