Nestled deep in the Garden Of Unearthly Delights lies The Factory, a seemingly small wooden structure which houses the larger than life personality of Colin Cloud. Deductionist? Mind Reader? Murderer?
Inspired by Sherlock Holmes and born from a fascination with locked room murder mysteries ‘Colin Cloud: Kills’ marks the Adelaide debut for Colin whose repertoire includes sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival and a season touring as ‘The Deductionist’ with The Illusionists.
The show began with a brief opening monologue from Colin who sat blindfolded in the centre of the room. Behind him a small canvas backdrop depicting a traditional study complete with book-lined shelves and fireplace served as the perfectly ‘Holmes-like’ setting for mischief and murder. After a rather ominous warning to sceptics and believers alike Colin launched into a seemingly innocent, yet surprisingly informative game of rock, paper, scissors before calling the first of many audience volunteers to the stage. Within minutes he had correctly deduced their occupations, named a celebrity crush and even (much to the surprise of the young woman on stage) identified a phone number.
From there the surprises kept coming as Colin used his powers of deductions to uncover secrets and memories from shocked audience members and even predict their behaviour. With each unnervingly accurate revelation he explained how he draws on the principles of forensic profiling: studying body language and using seemingly random questions and simple word cues to formulate his theories. After a series of impressive acts Colin – not content with merely demonstrating his mental prowess – proceeded to boast that he could, in fact, use his gifts to commit the perfect murder in a room full of witnesses using two unsuspecting volunteers. What happened next was both terrifying and thrilling.
Charismatic and self-assured Colin has the unnerving ability to make you feel both safe and vulnerable and this, combined with the nervous energy in the room, really heightened the excitement of the show. A strong audience participation element kept audience members on their toes while also providing ample opportunities for the quick-witted Colin to prove his authenticity.
As the show drew to a close Colin performed one final, seemingly impossible act which left the audience visibly stunned and there was no denying that this frighteningly gifted man had surprised us all.
‘Colin Cloud: Kills’ performs The Garden of Unearthly Delights until 28 February as part of Adelaide Fringe Festival.
