The power of the mind
A story of three sisters who duped the world into thinking they could talk to the dead is the basis of A Curious Evening Of Trance And Rap With The Ogden Sisters.
Written by Kyla Goodey, along with Smack The Pony writer Nick Whitby, the show is a comedy about the origins of the spiritualist world.
Kyla says: "This the first show I've written and it was inspired by a story Derren Brown told about three sisters in the 1830s who started the spiritualist movement.
"As children they would crack their two knuckles and pretend to talk to the dead just to freak each other out.
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"They convinced their mother they could do it and she brought in the villagers to listen and it grew from there.
"Eventually they became famous and were doing it for the rich and famous and it was the way they survived in that Victorian time.
"It had quite a sad ending because one of the sisters left to get married, one had a problem with alcohol, and the middle sister told the world they were fraudsters – although no one believed them."
From this starting point, Kyla and Nick created the Ogden sisters – a slightly unhinged Victorian trio who tour the country with their spiritualised show.
The sisters, including one who meditates and raps, call on the audience to help them move an egg with their minds, to go on an astral journey and take part in an evening of entertainment that blurs reality and theatre as they explore mediums and the origins of the spiritualist movement.
Kyla, who also plays one of the sisters, says: "It is a bit bonkers really. There is lots of trickery and magic and an ongoing fart gag that always goes down well: it is a comedy journey.
"As a company we like to get the audience laughing thick and fast and then we pull the carpet out from under them and have some very poignant moments.
"It's very pro-women. As an actress, for me, there seemed to be a lack of great roles. I've always been fascinated by this world as it's a world of fear but also quite comical. It's a mad and ridiculous show but it has gone down really well so far."
Liz Webster
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