Set in an underground cabaret bar, the candle lit tables, the draping of fairy lights and peculiar torture like equipment placed on stage set an eerie atmosphere. I was intrigued and excited to experience the hypnotic powers of Madame Mesmer in this intimate and spine-chilling backdrop. However, my excitement rapidly turned to extreme discomfort which unfortunately lasted throughout the whole show.
Alongside a scantily dressed and aimless looking assistant named Sophia von Stroodle, Madame Mesmer entered the stage looking bedazzled but very anxious. Her stuttered dialogue, uncomfortable jokes and clumsy demo of Victorian torture methods on her assistant was extremely painful to watch. von Stroodle’s gormless face and minimal contribution created a very unnerving atmosphere.
Mesmer then proceeded to claim that she was fortunate enough to have encountered a visit from the fictional character Spock, and how he taught her to mind read. By this point, I am already feeling embarrassed for Mesmer and slightly on edge as to where this was going. After awkwardly bringing a volunteer from the audience to the stage, Mesmer told the woman she would read her mind. This involved using vegetables of a phallic resemblance that was just a bit odd. Mesmer succeeded in guessing which vegetable she picked, but this didn’t gain the spectacular reaction from the audience that Mesmer may have hoped.
The vegetable telepathy was a recurring theme which soon became very tedious. The rest of the show included unconvincing hypnosis and the endurance of dreadful music by Boyzone – utterly bizarre.
Madame Mesmer displayed successful mind reading skills at times, but it was poorly executed. She didn’t appear confident in her abilities and gave the impression she did not know what she was doing. Overall, a scatty show and very unsettling to watch; nothing Mesmer-ising about it.
