Istvan Dugalin ➤

Eric Woolfe in “Phantasmagoria 3D!”, Photo by Matthew McLaren

Eldritch Theatre continues to exacerbate my cognitive dissonance with the playful camp and solid showmanship of their cosmic horror shenanigans. Pulling those fancifully absurd names and grotesque creatures out of his self-serious, over-wrought prose and playing up the inherent goofiness, I can fully appreciate the Lovecraft of it all, while still hating on the actual H.P., y’know? 

So, Phantasmagoria 3D!: what is it and what does it want?

An affectionate homage to 18th century European “Fantasmagorie” and the puppety, parlour trick spook show entertainments of yore, creators Kira Hall, Michelle Urbano and Eric Woolfe pull out all the stops for this whimsical danse macabre. And it wants to thrill, chill and fulfill you. 

After some interactive magic performed as a gibberish-spewing weirdo that reminded me of the little guy in La Linea (an odd, very funny Italian cartoon series from my youth), Woolfe plays a family man driven to madness by ancient, subterranean creatures. A background screen features live, shadow-puppet animations that illustrate the environments and creatures of his ghastly tale. The featured throwback gimmick is a crude yet surprisingly effective 3D element where the audience dons those flimsy red and blue glasses to make the shadow forms jump out at us.

Woolfe—who penned this comically harrowing little story, filling it with freakish details about monstrous fart-extraction devices and coerced sex play with tentacled beasties—is, as expected, committed to balancing gruesome, bombastically repugnant imagery with an endearing, tongue-in-cheek solemnity that makes me giddy. 

Designer Melanie McNeill establishes a palpably eerie ambience with her trademark aesthetic—a deceptively rough-around-the-edges, fugly style that feels simultaneously hand-made and primordial. We chuckle knowingly, fully aware of the theatrical mechanics on display before us, yet we’re sucked into the illusion anyway. The abundant skill and honed artistry of all involved makes this precarious spectacle work. The awkwardly charming interaction between Woolfe and the 3D figures manifesting behind him—orchestrated by Hall and Urbano—is exceptionally well-executed. 

Phantasmagoria 3D! is a quaint, beguiling oddity from a company that excels at their niche speciality.

Phantasmagoria 3D!
running October 30 to November 10, 2024
Red Sandcastle Theatre (922 Queen Street East)
running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)

Eric Woolfe in “Phantasmagoria 3D!”, Photo by Matthew McLaren