Aiden Sinclair Communes with the Other Side at the Queen Mary

Below is a review and a video interview with Aiden Sinclair, master magician and apparitionist, regarding his new show ‘Illusions of the Passed; Legends of the Queen Mary, a Theatrical Seance’. Thank you to Kevin Hsu for the photography and filming in this article and Jon Kobryn for his editing!

Aiden Sinclair speaks with purpose. Peering out from behind circular lenses, every word that passes through his lips, rehearsed or off-the-cuff, comes methodically and deliberately. That weight is, of course, by design, as “Illusions of the Passed,” brand new to Long Beach’s Queen Mary, blends spectacular illusions with stirring rhetoric.

Before the show gets under way, a brand-new bar sets the tone for the night, half-lounge, half-museum. Glass cases dot the corners of the dimly lit room, showcasing supposedly haunted artifacts. The distinct aroma of maple and smoke fills the air courtesy of “Smoke and Mirrors,” one of a number of custom-made cocktails, concocted by a man behaving more like a chemist than your average bartender.

Fun as it is to pass the time sipping “The Lady in White” or “The Gent,” it’s all merely a preamble to Sinclair’s stage show, which spent four years at Colorado’s infamous Stanley Hotel. For its residency at the Queen Mary, the show takes place in the ship’s newly opened Revenant Room, nestled within a series of winding corridors, buttressed against the side facing out to the Pacific Ocean.

The former Wyoming grifter is of slight stature, lifted by the tall soles of shiny red dress shoes, a small gray mohawk sitting atop his otherwise bald head. Sinclair’s presence, however, is unmistakable. He’s not afraid to make unflinching eye contact, emphatically thanking every person for their attendance prior to the show.

“Illusions of the Passed” isn’t an act filled with linking rings or endless scarves. There are card tricks, sure, but framed by Sinclair, things like that transcend mere sleight of hand and cross over into, well, crossing over. Inspired not only by icons like Houdini, but also by lesser-known performers like Howard Thurston, Sinclair calls his show a “theatrical seance” for a reason. Audience members are occasionally tasked with imagining those who have departed, and without giving too much away, connections are made.

When Aiden Sinclair predicts a memory, these moments are admittedly heavy, prone to instantaneous emotion, but that’s not to say that the show is all doom and gloom. The weight and the gravitas in Sinclair’s voice mean that every quip, every joke slipped into the presentation of an illusion packs that much more of a punch. Wry and stoic, his delivery is as if he’s trying to slip the jokes past the audience more so than the tricks.

By the time the sand in the room’s gargantuan hourglass has slipped through, the show is nearly over. Shortly thereafter, Sinclair brings the night to a close, but not with one final grand illusion. He doesn’t leave guests with one final thought of, “How’d he do that?” He muses on the fleeting nature of mortality and the memories we have of those we’ve loved and lost.

He fills the room not with mystery, but with hope.

“Illusions of the Passed: Legends of the Queen Mary, A Theatrical Seance!” is presented on select nights beginning Friday, September 14th. Information and tickets can be found at www.queenmary.com.