Something wicked this way comes once more with the Circus of Disaster, the latest reinvention of the spooky annual Stanley Park Ghost Train.
As it has every year since 1999, the creative team of the Mortal Coil Performance Society has transformed the park's miniature train off Pipeline Road into a family-friendly (albeit fairly frightening) fundraiser for the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»park board that attracts thousands of passengers each October.
"From a knife-act-gone-bad to a freaky fun house and a zombie trapeze act, behold the unnatural happenings at the Circus of Disaster from the shelter and safety of the Ghost Train," said Mortal Coil's coartistic director, Sharon Bayly.
The non-profit theatre troupe, which also runs the annual Bright Nights train along the same tracks each December and this summer turned the Britannia Heritage Shipyard in Steveston into a site-specific theatre, has come up with a show that Bayly said is, contrary to common misconception, appropriate for small children.
"We suggest age six or up but honestly it really is open to all ages," she told the Courier a few hours before opening night. "It isn't really scary or really gory and is much more theatrical. It's not like Fright Nights [at the PNE] where there is a high scare factor. I mean, some kids are just scared of the dark, so it doesn't take much to scare them at all, while other kids just love it. It's really fun for the parents as well and we hire a host of professional performers."
While predicting what a small child will find terrifying is difficult, the sight of "Bird Boy" pecking away at the entrails of an eviscerated clown might be the two-kilometre ride's most disturbing sight. Or possibly the mysterious beasts who sprung loose from their cages, the whip-wielding giant clown, dead mutant babies or the swampdwelling Frenchman preparing to snack on what appears to be the world's largest pair of frog legs. There is much to choose from during the roughly 20-minute ride through the forest, which features more skeletons than you could probably fit into even the largest walk-in closet.
"I wasn't scared at all," boasted fiveyear-old Kieran McAllister, who was accompanied by his father Trent, shortly after disembarking from the train last Friday night. "My dad said I would be scared, but I wasn't scared even a little bit. That was really, really cool and I think we should do it again."
Parents themselves are unlikely to be scared away by ticket prices, which are $11 for adults and $8 for children at the door, or a few bucks more buying in advance through Ticketmaster. The Ghost Train runs roughly every 30 minutes from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 6 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays until October 31. Kids can also take part in pumpkin carving, craft making, a haunted maze and a guided nature walk where they can learn about the actual creatures who roam the dark woods of Stanley Park at night looking to fill their bellies.
Twitter: @flematic
