Do you believe in ghosts? You just might, after an evening with Kevin Kopfstein.
Returning to the Adelaide Fringe after a sell-out 2024 season; the Scottish storyteller and paranormal enthusiast presents a new collection of spooky stories in the spine-tingling show ‘Haunted 2.0 – The Witching Hour’.
From the Scottish witch trials of the 1600s to Egyptian curses and the rise of spiritualism and spirit painting, Kevin takes audiences on an unsettling, hour-long journey into the realm of the supernatural. Each story is accompanied by strange and (at times) terrifying artefacts from his personal collection of cursed or haunted antiques (or hauntiques as he prefers to call them); many of which serve as conduits for a series of unexplainable events which haunt long after the show has ended.
The evening begins with a black-clad Kevin taking to the stage, his face lit by the flame of a single candle as he recites a sombre verse about darkness falling and the spirits drawing near. This unsettling monologue and its accompanying soundtrack are designed to put the audience on edge and effectively sets the tone for the experience that is to follow.
An enthralling storyteller, Kevin’s low, sombre voice adds an additional layer of creepiness to the tragic, often macabre stories he tells; yet there is also a subtle hint of raw emotion in his performance, as though he is genuinely trying to honour the spirits by telling their stories. This reviewer could happily listen to him speak for hours (even without the jaw-dropping acts of magic and illusion); and yet, there is something oddly terrifying about the way he calmly accepts the impossible acts unfolding around him, making mention of spirits as though their presence in our lives is as normal as sunlight on a summer’s day.
Throughout the show, Kevin invites the audience into his world through a series of immersive experiences which allow brave (or perhaps foolhardy) volunteers to get up close and personal with his hauntiques and maybe even conjure up a spirit or two. Many participants at the (1 March) show left the stage with obvious looks of shock, confusion and even fear on their faces and as an audience member, I left reeling by the impossible acts I witnessed.
Sadly, the hour passed far too quickly and Kevin drew the show to a close with an equally sombre monologue – this time about the rising sunlight pushing the darkness away – though those words did little to comfort the obviously shaken audience.
Captivating, imaginative and downright spooky, ‘Haunted 2.0 – The Witching Hour’ cements Kevin’s status as a master of the supernatural.