The Illusionists
Adelaide Festival Centre. Festival Theatre. 5 Jan 2012.
Magic has a reputation nowadays of being a time worn tradition that must fight an ever sceptical audience in order to stay alive. The advent of many ‘revealed’ programs, which were short lived money spinners, effectively destroyed the mystery and excitement of the art of magic for many people. The human mind loves to be completely mystified, we are excited by the enchanting nature of magic (many hoping that perhaps there is some truth to its existence), but our desire to understand the world and everything in it has inadvertently spoiled the wonder. No-body likes the idea of a car accident – but you have to look when one happens. It was almost impossible to look away when magic was revealed - I know I looked - and now magicians must work even harder to devise new tricks and illusions that keep the wonder alive.
The Illusionists is an attempt at recreating the wonder; primarily through the use of big budget, all inclusive, Broadway like performance spectacles. This show is not traditional in any sense of the word. Where magicians would normally be in rivalry with each other, The Illusionists is a showcase of seven performers who work together on the 2 hours of entertainment.
The team of seven are made up of The Anti Conjurer (Dan Sperry), The Grand Illusionist (Brett Daniels), The Inventor (Kevin James), The Escapologist (Andrew Basso), The Trickster (Jeff Hobson), The Gentleman (Mark Kalin) and The Enchantress (Jinger Leigh). Each of the performers brings their own special something to the production, but there are certainly some standouts.
The best on the night were Kevin James, Dan Sperry and Jeff Hobson. These three performers relied predominantly on their skills alone and less often on machinery. All three incorporated elements of sleight of hand which was always well honed and impressive. James delighted one young audience member with his floating rose trick and Sperry demonstrated his skill with trained pigeons, pulling them from coat and sleeve faster than the eye could perceive. Hobson kept his tricks minimal, but was the glue that bound the fabric of the production with his comic wit and outstanding stage presence.
Equally impressive, however only performing two main tricks, was Andrew Basso. His escape (in a Houdini style) from a tank of water, in which his legs were shackled and arms were handcuffed, was breathtaking to watch. Basso’s tricks were undoubtedly risky and highly impressive due to this danger element.
Brett Daniels as Grand Illusionist was rarely on stage, and when he was the tricks were quite stiff and stilted. Next to Hobson, Daniels really needed work on his stage presence, relying all too much on the technical abilities of his contraptions and machines. Mark Kalin and Jinger Leigh, in the traditional magician and assistant role, were equally awkward. Their banter seemed ad-libbed and generally off. The tricks, whilst impressive, were also machinery reliant – and seemed to be based far less on the skill of the magician and more on his apparatus.
The overall flow of the show was also quite staccato. There were high action, choreographed, spectacularly lit elements interspersed amongst long winded sections of talking which could have been cut in length. The second half seemed to drag on too long, and perhaps the arrangement of the tricks into ascending levels of difficulty might have helped to build the excitement for the audience. Whilst I found the show to be entertaining, I don’t believe it was necessarily value for money with ‘A’ reserve tickets selling around $90.00 each.
I left the auditorium with mixed feelings about this show. I wanted to be totally in awe of what I had seen, but couldn’t help feeling a little under-whelmed. I fear I may have ruined my experience of magic by allowing myself to see the secrets ‘revealed’ – however if you can afford to take your family along, I honestly feel this is a show that many teens and adolescents will enjoy.
Paul Rodda
When: 31 Dec to 12 Jan
Where: Adelaide Festival Theatre
Bookings: bass.net.au
