☆☆☆☆
Harry Houdini is by no means the first magician. He would not even have his name if it were not for one of his precursors. He is, however, probably the best known to the modern day layman. And, if bogged down by the trials of life, you are inspired to call out to any magician in the afterlife for help with escaping, he’s the only real option. Instructions For A Seance is one woman’s story of just that – a harried modern day woman, wife, mother trying to just exist in a world that beats us down every day and going, “hey, you know what? What if I did just… do a seance for a 100 year dead Hungarian escapologist?”
Instructions For A Seance is a solo show by playwright and actor Katie Bender, who breathes immediate and brilliant life into the room as soon as she enters the stage. Solo shows can be challenging even without the additional task of communing with the dead, the success of which we will not spoil here, but her ability to commune and connect with the audience from the very first lines is exemplary. The staging of the show is brilliantly constructed to visually demonstrate that open and honest dialogue Bender has with the audience. Tables, chairs, and even cushions are strewn about the stage for people to sit, filling any real space barrier between Bender and the off stage seating as well. The lights stay bright almost throughout so all aspects of the room are easily inspectable, and nearly every possible surface and floor area is strewn with papers, rugs, furniture, and Houdini decor. Even the ceiling drips with dozens of lights, fully making the theatre feel like a Edwardian era reminiscent parlor.
Counterbalanced with the mystical nature of the task at hand is Bender’s proclaimed impetus for it- the desperation to escape responsibilities and agonies that feel all too modern (although, perhaps, are not so much so as they seem). For our target audience of those who love a good magic show, the billets laying under seats will look very familiar. Bender uses these to get a read on the audience- what trials are making the average attendee feel trapped that way in their own lives? Some very relatable concerns are shared, and cathartically purged through appropriately magical means.
The real highlight of the night – the result of the seance – cannot be fully shared without detracting from the magic. However, we can at least state that it may not be what you expect, but is so much more appropriate than you could have dared to ask for. Seances have been conducted to commune with Houdini for almost 100 years, since after his passing on Halloween of 1926. And as we approach Halloween of 2026, we learn that our predecessors in this challenge may have had more success if they had just been slightly less specific about the call.
Instructions For a Seance is a bright, engaging show seemingly about a historical magician, but more so about how we engage with the things in our lives that we feel compelled to escape from. Maybe we need to, maybe we just need a reframe, but either way, Bender’s show presents a beautiful and vivid demonstration of facing this shared experience.
