“The spirit of Harry Houdini”: play review by Raquel Sarabia (2º BD)

English play review written by Raquel Sarabia (2º de Bachillerato D)

Harry Houdini´s widow (Bess) wants to contact his late husband. That is why she calls Arthur Ford, a spiritualist medium, on the 31st of October ten years after his husband had died, as she had been doing the previous years on that date. During the seance Arthur Ford who is supposed to be blind tries to connect with Harry Houdini and he tells Bess that he has been transferred a code from the world of the dead. That code was invented by Harry and his wife, so that when one of them would die, they could know if there was “another world” or it was all an invention. At the end of the play, Bess discovers that Arthur Ford was just an impostor because he wasn´t blind. It was all prepared to catch him, so when he left Bess´s house the press was waiting outside.

I really enjoyed the play because the actors’ pronunciation was very clear, and it was easy to understand them. Also, they were very good, and they seemed to be comfortable on the stage. It is also very interesting that it is based on real facts because you realize that there are people who think that there is a connection between this world and the world of the dead.