A man in a three-piece suit sitting on a stool holding a lit candle, with the shadow silhouette of a woman wearing a Victorian-style gown sitting in an empty wooden chair positioned next to him on the wall.

28 Oct

A Séance at State Library Victoria with Lawrence Leung

Name: A Séance at State Library Victoria with Lawrence Leung
Start: 2026-10-28
End: 2026-10-28
Location: State Library Victoria

As darkness falls, join acclaimed writer, performer and State Library Victoria fellow Lawrence Leung in the majestic Ian Potter Queen’s Hall for a candlelit séance inspired by Melbourne’s uncanny past.

In the late 1800s, otherwise respectable Victorians gathered in darkened rooms to 'communicate with spirits'. Scientists investigated ghosts. A future prime minister attended Spiritualist meetings. Celebrity mediums filled theatres with the promise of answers and wonder.

Drawing on his fellowship research into 19th-century mediumship in the Library’s collections, Lawrence reincarnates a forgotten time of superstition and supernatural spectacle. Through historical storytelling, interactive rituals and psychological experiments, this immersive performance lecture explores a question that fascinated Victorians, and still resonates today: why do we believe?

This event is supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants and State Library Victoria.