Part macabre, part comedy (13 photos)

Part theatre, and part sideshow.

Part entertainment, and part history lesson.

Part macabre, and part comedy.

Set all this against Victorian gothic decor embellished with carefully selected furnishings as pulsing, almost mesmerizing, tones fill the theatre, and you've got Carnival Diablo.

Successfully pulling all these elements together comes naturally to show creator Scott McClelland, whose grandfather Nicholas Lewchuk created and maintained Professor N.P. Lewchuck's Travelling Shows from 1920 to 1968.

As Nikolai Diablo, McClelland guided the small but curious Sault audience through the increasingly dark elements of Carnival Diablo at the Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre Friday evening.

We were introduced to Volos, half demon and half human, Ophelia who appears to be impervious to death, and a number of brave audience volunteers throughout the performance.

With just enough dark comedy to counter the show's sinister undertones, Carnival Diablo presented a healthy dose of what the show is famous for - mentalism, mysticism, and gruesome human feats.

Carnival Diablo heads to Sudbury today for a performance at College Boreal at 8 p.m.

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