My time in the cult of the Mothman was brief, surreal, surprisingly musical, with the cryptid himself breaking into song and demanding we join in, and, in the end, not at all unpleasant.
It’s a strange admission, given the show opens with our host demanding we, the audience, become sacrifices. He wants us to “rip open our guts and feed him our Darkness.” Things, you might say, go left from there.
Vibe
Deep in the dark backrooms of the Subway Nightclub, the first thing you become aware of are two glowing red eyes peering at you from beyond the curtain. This is our Mothman, played by Chicago-based devised theatre maker Richie Schiraldi, who emerges as a striking, tattered-winged creature in a humanoid moth-bat leotard. The effect of the LED goggles is brilliant; when his head is turned, the lights are invisible, but when his baleful gaze flicks towards you, those two red circles fixate, and you feel truly seen. I’d fancy a pair for walking home through Leith at night.
The premise quickly evolves.
The show itself
This troubled goth deity can’t sleep, is trapped in the void, and has a host of issues to work through. We, the audience, are roped into a bizarre group therapy session to help him. Be warned: The Mothman Cometh involves a lot of audience participation. You’ll be holding hands with strangers, singing strange choruses along with a surprisingly melodic moth-god, and may even find yourself up on stage, sharing your fears and hopes as you collectively become a beacon of brightness to help him escape the abyss.
It’s a Friday night at the Fringe, after all.
Our Mothman sings with gusto, prances, crawls, and leaps around the stage, summoning volunteers with guttural shouts. Did I enjoy it? To begin with, I’ll admit, I had regrets. But the charismatic cryptid won me over.
Overall
I was lucky; the audience for this performance was amazing. Full of enthusiastic Canadians and Americans, people were practically leaping onto the stage to engage. The show’s success rests heavily on the crowd’s willingness to play along, and tonight, they delivered. What starts as a threat of spiritual evisceration ends in a strangely uplifting, collective ritual.
The Mothman Cometh
Summary
“The Mothman Cometh” is a surprisingly uplifting and interactive theatre experience where the audience participates in a bizarre group therapy session to help a troubled, song-loving Mothman escape the abyss.
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