Last year my father somehow ended up at a stage show called Uncanny that Danny Robbins was touring the U.K with, without having any idea who the man was or what the stage show was about. He said when Robbins first walked out on stage to rapturous applause he assumed he was a magician, but was instead delighted to discover he was instead involved with the paranormal. My father raved about that show afterwards, so seeing it was returning to Northampton (my home town), he was excited to return, taking me, my sister, and her boyfriend along.
Robbins is the host of a paranormal TV show called Uncanny (funnily enough) that investigates different supernatural events that are said to have occurred around the U.K. I have only seen a single episode of that show, but that was enough for me to know what to expect as the show followed a similar format. The general format has Robbins and two other paranormal investigators looking into cases and trying to work out if they were indeed supernatural or if there was a more grounded explanation. Robbins sits on the fence, though he states he wants to believe, meanwhile his assistants always have differing viewpoints, one always is a sceptic and one is always a true believer.
The first half of the show took the form of Robbins discussing one of his weirdest cases. This involved a couple living above a shop in a Victorian house who begin to hear strange noises and discovering objects have moved around on their own in their absence. The key event was a giant heart made up of post-it notes that was discovered to have not only came off the door it was stuck on, but that the post-it notes were all torn and spread about the bedroom. I had thought that despite the subject the show might come across as a bit dull. I needn't have worried as the story is wonderfully brought to life by some impressive special effects that replicate key moments from the alleged haunting live on stage. Going back to the post-it note heart, that is impressively replicated on stage, with the lights plunging everything into darkness for a second before the lights return to show the hearts now in disarray across the stage. The case is discussed by Robbins, with him frequently asking his two assistants (sat at the side of the stage) to give their opinions. Behind Robbins was a video wall, this was used to good effect, including the Uncanny TV show intro credits, as well as including clips of the victims of the apparent haunting being interviewed. Audience participation made up a good part of this first half with Robbins getting people in the audience to ask questions about the case shown.
During the interval my father revealed that this was the exact same show that he saw last year, he was disappointed about this, saying the only difference was this one felt more polished. The second half looked at an altogether more creepy case that took place in the 1970's, about a little girl seeing her next door neighbour in her bedroom late one night angrily demanding to know where her daughters were, unaware that the neighbour had recently died in a tragic car accident. Again, this was special effects filled, this included jump scares of an actress made up as a ghost suddenly appearing on the video wall and replicating that moment. After this there were more audience participation moments with Robbins asking people to describe hauntings they had experienced, while the two experts spoke about hauntings they had researched that took place in Northampton.
I really enjoyed the show, I loved the set-up and that it wasn't just people talking, but instead had a theatrical feel to it. Often the endearing Robbins would act out moments from the cases. I thought he was a great host, and as a result of the show I have now subscribed to his podcast. It is a shame it was the same show as last year as my father couldn't have been the only person there expecting something new. Uncanny: I Know What I Saw was slickly done, entertaining and occasionally a little spooky, making for an entertaining two hours.
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