Arnie the Carnie is back at the Fringe - and this time, he's digging deeper into the dark side of life.
Arnie - also known as Brian Anderson, a veteran performer from Burnaby - returns to the Vancouver Fringe Festival in this year's Arnie the Carnie's House of Mystery.
The show is Anderson's followup to 2011's Arnie the Carnie's House of Fun, which earned acclaim from reviewers for its entertaining and well-crafted ride through the world of the carnival midway.
This time out, Arnie is looking at the dark mysteries of carnival performers who entertain with mind reading, fortunetelling and contact with the spirit world - exploring some classic stunts of the mentalists and paranormal entertainers of the past, including the Indian Needle trick, the "spirit cabinet" and, of course, a little blindfolded mind-reading.
For his mind-reading efforts, Arnie will attempt to discern a word merely thought of from a random romance novel brought by a member of the audience.
"Is Arnie dabbling with forces beyond his control? Only time will tell," a press release warns ominously.
For this outing, Anderson has once again joined forces with Matt Grinke - keyboardist and mathematical genius - and joined by newcomers Nathan Clark (who previously appeared in Anderson's Gutenberg! The Musical!) and Elizabeth Bowen (from Will Shakespeare's ImproMusical).
The show is directed by Allen Morrison, who wrote and performed the award-winning play Felony at the 2012 Vancouver Fringe Festival.
The faint of heart should take note of the show's warning: "May be startling to the easily startled."
Arnie the Carnie's House of Mystery plays at the Vancouver Fringe Festival at Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St. on Granville Island.
It's on Sept. 5 at 6:45 p.m., Sept. 7 at 1 p.m., Sept. 9 at 9:10 p.m., Sept. 11 at 5:10 p.m., Sept. 14 at 5:45 p.m. and Sept. 15 at 4:20 p.m.
Tickets are $10 to $12. The Saturday, Sept. 7 performance is a special two-for-one show.
See www.vancouverfringe.com for more information or tickets.
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