“Super-natural… A spooky One-man-Show”

- The Irish Times

séance. an interactive illusion

séance. is a theatre evening and a lecture-performance inspired by Victorian séances, deceptive ‘mediums’ and the Spiritualist Movement.

séance. is an oracle during which Oberlohr answers secret questions that the audience only thinks of.

séance. not only challenges the convictions of fanatics, but also those of skeptics and agnostics.

séance. toured Europe up until 2018 and was played in theatres, cemeteries, a Masonic temple and in some unusual living rooms.

séance. was a residence show in the 40 Winks Hotel London from 2016–2018.

Background:

In the late 19th century, the three Fox sisters Leah, Margaret, and Kate toured North America as well as Europe with their seances, establishing the foundation for modern spiritualism. There was a remarkable interest in these shows. Many people wanted answers from the dead: Where can one find the best stocks, where true love? Questions about the meaning of life, on the other hand, were less important.

The hype around the Fox sisters subsided after a few years, also because the competition was thriving and delivered new, more exciting seances. Margaret Fox, the middle sister, wanted to revive her career and planned a tour to expose the Fox sisters' tricks.

"Spiritualism is deception of the worst kind," she said. The tour, however, was a flop, Margaret took her confession back and started conjuring spirits as a medium once again.

Based on the story of the Fox Sisters, I wanted to create an experience where everyone knows beforehand that it is not real. At the same time, though, I wanted to make the audience forget this fact during the performance - only to remember it afterwards again: What we have just experienced was not real, even if it felt real.

To twist Margaret Fox’s words:

This séance is deception of the best kind.