Haunted

On the opening night of Haunted, the spirits were not being kind to Scottish magician and storyteller Kevin Kopfstein. Starting 15 minutes late (a mortal sin during FringeWorld - at least to reviewers trying to perform the James St sprint between shows), the room was hot and oppressive, Kevin’s microphone failed to work, and he was forced to perform, despite having a sore throat, un-miked in what must be FringeWorld’s most noise polluted room. 

Despite every handicap the malevolent spirits could dream up, Haunted, a ‘spirited’ journey into the supernatural, was a captivating and highly entertaining show.

This is a Magic Show that disguises itself as a lecture, which at least in part it is, as Kevin shares his collection of haunted and cursed antiques, or as he terms them “hauntiques”. The objects include relics from the Titanic, a nineteenth century Vampire Hunting Kit, a Voodoo Doll from New Orleans and more. The magic performed around these objects gives us a sense of the otherworld, and Kevin’s understated, matter-of-fact delivery and academic manner makes us wonder what is magic and what might be something else.