Sylvia Sceptre, Victorian Gothic Magician, a character created by Careena Fenton has completed her first Edinburgh Fringe debut. The show ran daily at Cabaret Voltaire, a Free Festival Venue, promoted by Laughing Horse in the heart of the City. The venue was filled to capacity daily, despite my inability to face the daylight and flyer. Word of mouth did the job and after a few quiet shows early on in the run, the room packed out with appreciative audiences and reviewers.
I was delighted with the audience reviews garnered for Phantasmagorical. This was incredibly encouraging as it was a creative project that I had dreamed of for at least two years. I had spent the whole year writing, experimenting and creating Phantasmagorical and so it was immeasurably gratifying to have all that hard work rewarded with applause and positivity. After the audience reviews came the professional critic reviews. FringeGuru and ThreeWeeks both came to review my show within days of each other. ThreeWeeks Edinburgh gave Phantasmagorical Four Stars, citing it as “an intriguing experience to remember.” You can read the full review here.
Richard Stamp of FringeGuru also awarded Phantasmagorical a Four Star Review citing it as “entertaining, polished and recommended.” Read the full review here.
Naturally I was over the moon with the reviews. It was an amazing experience from beginning to end. Although the creative process was often slow, and it some days it felt as if it would never come together, it finally did and all the hard work paid off. Of course, no man is an island and that statement also applies to female bizarre magicians. It would never have come to fruition without the help and support of magical friends and to them I owe huge thanks and even bigger magical hugs. These include: Mark Elsdon, Jeff McBride, Ashton Carter, Kim Robinson, Nichola Robinson, Paul Craven, Paul Voodini, Dave Jones, The ECC Club Wolverhampton, Russell Hall at Magick Sheffield, and last but the very most to Gary Cullen.
So where next for Phantasmagorical? The next blog will all be about Bizarre Hauntings in the USA and Horror Festivals! You can read more about Sylvia Sceptre on my website www.sylviasceptre.com