The
comedy sketch play is written by Henry Lewis, Johnathan Sayer, Henry Sheilds
(of Mischief Theatre Company, who also wrote the other previously mentioned
productions and tv series), and magicians Penn & Teller.
If you’ve ever seen a live magic show, you will know it’s full of suspense and “wow” moments, but if you’ve been lucky enough to see any of their previous productions - you’ll have an idea of what to expect - plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments of tension - or at least that’s what I’d been expecting based on previous productions by MTC. If only I’d known what I was in for…
This is nothing like your typical magic show - stunts and slapstick go askew but the running gag makes it difficult to conjure any suspense and it often feels slow in places (for example the extra long “technical fault” in Act Two - there’d already been people walk out with coats and handbags and not return before this part, but a few more walked out during this part).
As with previous productions, the show is set up as a show-within-a-show - this one being a fundraiser entitled “Disasters In Magic Charity Fundraiser” - with cast members roaming the audience doing random things before the lights go out for the start of the show. Host Sophisticato (Sam Hill) opens by introducing the “charity fundraiser”, to raise funds for others who, like his own father who was crushed to death in a tragic freak accident when his attic that was stuffed to the rafters with old magic props (that growing up he’d never allowed his son to touch), have suffered terrible tragedies following their work in magic.
The whole idea is that all acts are lame and nothing goes to plan. With certain tricks this is actually harder to do than actually getting them right as so much more trial and error has to go into them to pull them off so to speak.
Throughout the “fundraiser” we meet different acts - from German duo Bär & Spitzmaus (Chloe Tannenbaum and Jocelyn Prah) sporting comical accents and cringey dances to rival any Eurovision entry; the Mind Mangler (Rory Fairbairn) who claims to have special senses that allow him to taste people's names - the “power of the mind” as he claims to have - who uses the same audience plant several times (the 'actor's' outfit alone was a huge giveaway but he added different bad props from outrageous beards and moustaches each time he is “selected” to go on stage), to The Blade (Kiefer Moriaty), a daredevil blade thrower and dangerous stunts act who’s constantly causing horrific injuries to himself (whilst looking like a dodgy 1980's music tribute act).
This
is slapstick comedy at it’s finest. From full frontal nudity to rude lines
being fed to the host Sophisticato as “cameramen” film the fundraiser for
television broadcast and the donations failing to come in - even going into
negative figures following the legal implications of all the disasters which
take place during the evening, to hilarious spiritual readings with a famous
face (who’s not yet dead) contacting us from the spirit world, to wild animals
on the lose and gory scenes of blood and near death experiences. Whilst I had to keep reminding myself it’s
MEANT to be rough-and-ready and tongue-in-cheek, sadly it didn’t hit the mark like “The
Play That Goes Wrong” did. Don’t get me
wrong, ther's definitely some laugh-out-loud light hearted humour in there to cheer up a
chilly Autumn evening, but it’s not one I’d rush to tell all my friends to go
see.
Reviewer - Charlotte Davis-Browne
on - 12.10.21
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