Prepare to Freak at Darke Side of Show Biz

William Darke wants to freak you out.

Hur-ry, hur-ry, hur-ry (get away, kid, you bother me), because the ringleader of the William Darke Freak Show Spectacular is bringing his company of fire-eaters, human blockheads, knife-throwers, jugglers, contortionists and the like to the stage of the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana tonight!

Ever since P.T. Barnum started his shows and museums in the last century, America has been fascinated by those who would seem to defy all regard for personal safety, not to mention natural law. But in the politically correct climate of the late 20th century, freak shows had all but disappeared.

A few years ago, though, the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow began reviving the tradition by eliminating physically deformed performers, adding a rock ‘n’ roll geek-outrage sensibility--in all its maggot-eating, vomit-spewing mayhem--and playing music venues. Rose’s success was phenomenal, particularly after the exposure he and his crew garnered from touring as part of Lollapalooza.

Still, during a recent phone conversation, Darke took great pains to distinguish his Spectacular from Rose’s more raunchy performances. Darke admits to never having seen a Rose Sideshow but “I’ve heard bits and pieces about his show and no--we’re not disgusting. We’re very highly skilled. Nothing in this show is grifted, nothing is fake.”

Is Darke accusing Rose of puttin’ on the grift?! “I’m not gonna say that,” Darke answered, sidestepping nearly. But there seems to be no small rivalry between the men. “Many people are using the Jim Rose Show as a reference point for what this is,” Darke said. “But again, this is a very different kind of show. What I’d really love is to do a double bill, a battle of the freak shows. That would be great!”

Darke’s Spectacular features Mark Faje, a former Rose Show headliner whose most amazing feat is balancing a power lawn mower on his nose and inviting people in the audience to toss produce into the mower’s whirling blades. Others in the company, including Darke himself, walk up ladders of swords, lie on beds of nails and broken glass, etc.

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Darke, 26, was born and raised in Hillsdale, Mich., and was fascinated by freak shows from the time he was a child.

“My father was a really conservative kind of guy,” he recalls. “He had a very good sense of humor about him, but the problem was that he was a hard-line Republican. He took me to my first circus, and I think it was his disgust that got me to liking it so much. I found it fascinating--I saw my first tattooed man, my first fire-eater, it was your typical ten-in-one show. I saw Eddie Taylor, who was like 2 feet tall. I saw this guy Fat Albert, who was like 872 pounds. It gave me chills.”

Interest piqued, Darke studied the history of freak shows and practiced hard to become a top-notch fire-eater, bed-of-nails layer, whip stunt master et al. He toured a few states as a featured performer with the Psychedelic Circus and Freak Show before deciding to curate an event of his own--which had been his real dream ever since that first circus he’d seen as a boy.

“I have a lot of admiration for anyone who holds high in his head the idea of a freak, be it the freak by nature or the freak by choice,” he said. “A woman said to me, ‘I’m just thrilled to know there are people like you carrying on a tradition like that.’ To me, that was incredible.”

This is the maiden tour for Darke’s show. He plans to expand it and to release a video of the proceedings before the year is over.

“Some people are gonna scream,” he enthused, “some people are gonna pass out. Prepare to freak!”

* The William Darke Freak Show Spectacular will be presented tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. Also on the bill: 13 mg. and Tenfold. 8 p.m. $10-$12. (714) 957-0600.