Local performer to play at Fringe

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This article was published 07/07/2023 (730 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Eating glass, breathing fire, and swinging upside down in a straitjacket is all in a days work for Brett Hogan and his one man show, This Calls for Danger, premiering at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival this July.

“This Calls for Danger is essentially all my most dangerous stunts that I can do up to this day. I wanted to put a show together that was non-stop action from start to finish. You would just leave almost in a sense of bewilderment off what you just witnessed. I want people to think how can he do that every day. What would possess someone to do that. I’ve always enjoyed shows that were non-stop action and I wanted to do the same thing,” said Hogan, who goes by the stage name of Brett Oddly.

The Blumenort resident has been performing stunts and magic for more than a decade having first started out as a juggler before moving on to acrobatics and then finally to stunt work. His favourite stunt is working with a straitjacket.

“Hanging straitjacket escape is my favourite. It’s something that everyone knows, but not everyone’s seen it. It’s an iconic escapology stunt from Harry Houdini to now and there’s an element of history and mysticism around it. Before I did the hanging straitjacket escape (I was escaping standing up in a straitjacket) it was the most common question I got is can you do it while you’re hanging. I think that alone is what fascinates people. It’s something they’ve heard about, but never seen.”

The hanging straitjacket is not something that can be perfected, but it’s something that Hogan can expand on for his show. Alongside this stunt, Hogan also breathes and eats fire, cracks a whip, juggles on elevated surfaces with knives, eats a lightbulb, puts a nail through his face, and swallows a sword among other stunts and tricks.

“Since I was 17 or 18 when I found out what adrenaline does and how it makes you feel I kind of got addicted to it. I like first and foremost the adrenaline rush and second I like having people question what’s possible. Growing up, I was always fascinated by people who could do crazy things whether that was through X-Games, magic shows or stuntmen in movies. I was always fascinated. It’s something that the average person looks at it and says, ‘Well I could never do that.’ And I like that fascination and the idea that you can do it,” said Hogan.

And coming up with ideas for his show is something that Hogan enjoys.

“I like it. That’s one of my strengths is coming up with ideas. I’ve probably put together a dozen shows of different capacities, and I have another probably half a dozen that are starting to be written or ideas. I would say that’s actually one of my strengths.”

His last Fringe show involved magic and illusions. He used cardboard and duct tape to create his illusions. He said his ideas are 50/50 of things he comes up with or things that he’s created versus things that he might get inspiration from or from other people. He said the shows are very taxing and sometimes it’s difficult to get the courage to do a new stunt.

“The most recent one would be putting a blowtorch out on my tongue. It’s absolutely terrifying and if I mess it up I can severely burn my face, mouth, and tongue. That one has been a challenge for me and I just recently got it. I’m unsure if that will be in the show or not yet.”

For his next Fringe show, Hogan has a couple of ideas. He is working on a caberet musical and a Fringe show that is written but has yet to be performed called Magic is Stupid.

“Magic is silly but I love it in that the entire point of magic is you’re going to a show with the anticipation of being fooled and then they do fool you. But when you actually figure out what’s happening you realize that magic is really silly,” he said.

This Calls for Danger will run at the Royal Albert Arms from July 19-30. The one hour show costs $12 and tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance. The show is for those over 18 and any minors must be accompanied by an adult.