Meet the ghosts themselves with the Vertigo Theatre’s The Brothers Paranormal

By Abbas Hussain, October 29 2025—

Vertigo Theatre is a well-known fixture in Calgary when it comes to anything and everything to do with theatre productions. They have been in operation for nearly 50 years and have won over 200 awards in design, directing, acting, production, choreography, fight direction and musical direction. Their current season includes productions such as Peril in the Alps by Agatha Christie, A Killing Snow by Paul Ciufo, and The Brothers Paranormal which is written by Prince Gomolvilas. In an interview with the Gauntlet, Kodie Rollan, the assistant director of The Brothers Paranormal, spoke about his experience in crafting this production.

The Brothers Paranormal is about these two brothers that start a paranormal investigation business. After a couple of years of running the business, they came across an interesting case that involves a family who had just moved from New Orleans. Once they start digging deep into the case, they realise they got more than what they bargained for.

“At the core of the story, which is what I think makes it so beautiful, [is] it’s a story about connection, grief and loss. It’s a story about two different families from two different communities coming together […] to deal with the monsters, the ghosts that they’re trying to avoid. […] It’s more than just a typical horror story, [it’s] a horror story with heart.” Rollan says

Rollan talks about what this role entails.

“A lot of this role for me is about learning […] almost like a mentee role under a really great, esteemed director, Esther Jun., Specifically a lot of my duties include recording Esther and her vision for the show, so coordinating the actors and the designers in whatever they need essentially [whether] it’s getting a second look at things or being a sounding board for a lot of the team.” said Rollan.

Rollan talks about what he’s looking forward to. For one, he’s excited for audiences to come see this play coming in with this idea about what they know what’s going to happen, but being surprised. There any many aspects that make this play stand out, from the actual horror aspect, to the depth of the characters and the relationships between them

“The horror genre is really special, really difficult when it comes to theatre, there’s a lot of different challenges when it comes to hiding tricks or stairs that film is able to do better, but that is what makes this special and more fun.” Rollan says.

Another thing Rollan is excited about is the representation on and off the stage, particularly from the Asian diaspora. This play is about a Black and Thai family, so having that representation on is so important on stage and particularly this genre.

More about Vertigo Theatre can be found on their website, specific information about the Brothers Paranormal play can be found here.