★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Melba Spiegeltent -Gluttony. 26 Feb 2022
Tim Motley, aka Dirk Darrow, has been performing for many years, and he knows what he’s doing – perhaps too well. His show Dirk Darrow: Magic of Future Past attracted its fair share of kids -perhaps because of the afternoon timeslot for the performance, and this was perhaps his Achilles heel.
Motley’s magic and mentalist routine is clever, and breath takingly spooky at its conclusion, but the film-noir and futuristic time-travel infused sci-fi patter that sustains the routine (at least in this matinée performance) is too sophisticated for the younger members of the audience and not risqué enough for the adults. There are moments when the burgeoning tide of sexual innuendo is about to inundate us, but it pulls up short and quickly and leaves you a smirk on your face and a desire to send the kids out to buy ice-cream!
However, that’s a relatively minor grizzle, and the substance of Motley’s show is truly impressive. Just how do magicians do it? Sometimes we think we can sus out the trick behind the trick, but that confidence is soon dashed by something even cleverer.
Audience participation is a major feature of Motley’s show, but it’s all quite polite, benign and safe. No embarrassment at all, even if we do witness him fishing inside his pants for a … prop!
Throughout the show, Motley makes a number of observations that he quantifies: a particular date; the number of times something happens; a person’s age; somebody else’s weight etc. And then, right at the end of the show, there is one almighty and hugely impressive display of numerology where it is all tied together! It’s truly impressive and the audience holds its collective breath for a 60 second review of the entire show! I’m still wondering how he did “it”!
Kym Clayton
When: 26 Feb to 6 Mar
Where: Melba Spiegeltent -Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
