I am surprised it took me so long to get around to writing my review of Carnivale Lune Bleue, but it's not because of a lack of enthusiasm for the event. The strongest feeling I have about it, after the fact, is that I wish I could have stayed longer. I should probably have written about the trip first, but I want to get my carnival review out there well before it finishes on September 6 in case it can be of interest to anyone who hasn't yet been.
Back when I planned the trip, I wrote a post about it. I originally got the idea to go and see this event when I heard Nikolai Diablo talking about Carnival Diablo on Richard Syrett's conspiracy theory and paranormal AM radio show back in July. It sounded interesting, and Nikolai made it sound as if CD was a travelling sideshow, which it apparently is. But when I searched for it, the only concrete way I could find to see the show was at this strange event called Carnivale Lune Bleue. In Ottawa. I pretty much ruled it out at that point, seeing as it was so far away and would need a multi-day trip, but I read a bit further anyway, and I'm glad I did.
Upon reading further into CLB, I found something that I was immediately interested in and would likely not otherwise have known about if not for the segment on Syrett's show. I have been enthusiastic about the HBO series Carnivale since I first saw it, as I wrote about earlier this year. I also have an intersecting interest in the Great Depression era (the late 1920s and 1930s), and the coinciding dust bowl that occurred in the plains states. Carnivale combines both of these -- it portrays a Depression-era carnival and does a fair amount of travelling through the dust bowl: the first episode lands right in the middle of it, in fact. Seeing as CLB was a faithful attempt to replicate a 1930s carnival, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to have a look.
The carnival opened at 6pm and ran until midnight. It was held in a relatively isolated rural fairground, which I thought was a great idea -- it was DARK when you stepped away from the lights. I didn't realize how impressive the entrance was when I got there because it was still quite light outside, but I got the chance to be impressed on the way out. Although I think it would have been best if they'd waited until dusk to open the carnival for maximum effect, I'm glad that they didn't, in light of the campsite closing time.
By this time, it was around 6:25. I took a photo of the beautifully-painted sideshow posters outside the Carnival Diablo tent. I didn't see a queue outside of Carnival Diablo, but a couple of ladies in costume were standing with the strongman by the entrance. Wondering if there were people sitting inside already, I asked if we can go in yet. Apparently not, because it doesn't start until 6:30. I wandered around again for a bit and when I came back there was a line forming. One of the ladies came around to tell us that photography was allowed, but that we couldn't use a flash in case it distracted the performers. Seeing as there was going to be flame eating and sword swallowing going on, this made sense. Although, I wondered why they allow photography at all in CD when they didn't allow photography of any kind in Cirque Maroc.
The Carnival Diablo set was an impressive faded-tone set with all kinds of weird set pieces, including an electric chair and a big electrical panel, and a number of tables and cabinets. Not all of the set pieces were used in an act, so it was a nice touch to be wondering which pieces would and wouldn't be used in the show. CD was supposed to be a ten-in-one sideshow. I'm not denying that there were ten acts, but I can't remember what they all were. Nikolai hammered a nail up his nose, drank boiling water and lifted a basket of rocks from a shark hook he pierced through his tongue on stage. His strongman companion became the human dartboard, bent a metal bar with his hands and teeth, and took some punishment in the electric chair -- the latter was quite an elaborate act. The other performer -- I think it was the same one that did both -- swallowed some progressively larger swords and took a bow without removing a rather large one and did some impressive flame theatrics, swallowing fire and regurgitating it back. Not all of the posters outside of the tent were represented as acts in the show, but I didn't really expect there to be a half-boy in there. The Carnival Diablo show was very good, I thought, and Nikolai Diablo has done a great job at creating an atmosphere around the show -- he had a great stage presence and was suitably creepy, and the other two performers did a good job, too. .
It would have been nice to be able to stay for longer because the carnival is at its best after dark. Even Carnival Diablo would possibly have been better after dark, because there was significant ambient light coming in from outside of the tent through the canvas walls when I caught the 6:30 show. The snake show was definitely enhanced from having seen it after dark -- just the fact of having quiet darkness outside makes a big difference in the experience.
If the carnival returns next year, I will probably go again and plan to be able to stay for longer.
Overall, it was a great experience and I'm grateful to the creators for going through with their vision, and it would be great to see something like this become an annual event. I don't think that you can ever truly replicate the 1930s carnival because it was a product of its time: during a time of hardship, it was an inexpensive way for unworldly people to see the wonders of the world. It was a place for freaks of nature to earn a living and find belonging. Today, we have little hardship, many of us are relatively worldly, and we expect a lot from a show, and the creators of this carnival obliged the latter. In doing so, they made the show less authentic, but still genuine enough to provide a unique and memorable experience.
