The Mothman Cometh
In the darkness, without visual clues to distract or fixate upon, only voices, there is no pretence, there is no hiding, there is only the shared experience of words offered and the feelings they inspire, the responses they prompt, the subterranean realm of mystery and shadow the home of the Mothman, of glowing red eye, clacking claws and wings which flap, caught between the Void and the followers he will protect if they follow his lead.
His minions chosen to be his cult, there is no shortage of volunteers willing to brave the steps to the stage in the near-blackout conditions, the Mothman a strange and perhaps not altogether stable host, flitting about and distressed, holding back the Void which threatens to consume all, lifting them into the darkness and draining their lives.
Richie Schiraldi a Chicago-based physical theatre performer, The Mothman Cometh is his late-night cryptid themed show, ostensibly solo but he would be nothing without the enthusiasm of his capacity audience, undeniably mesmerised by the light of his eyes as they dance about the stage, a strange and uplifting communal experience where the leading man is never seen other than a dark shifting shape or silhouette.
Confessions invited without judgement, fears shared but given no room to take root in the space of collective positive intent, introductions made in darkness guiding the audience to unity, although regarded as a Harbinger of Doom as well as a Master of Darkness, hypnotising his friends to follow him into ceremonies of flame in fact it is the unknowable metamorphosing Mothman himself who is the guiding light.
