Theatre / Theatre Royal Bath
Review: Magic Goes Wrong, Theatre Royal Bath
Ah – the delights of live theatre. Well done, Mischief and Penn & Teller – Magic Goes Wrong is exactly the kind of fun release we all need right now.
If you haven’t heard of the ‘X Goes Wrong’ shows by now, suffice to say they’re a series of mock-muck-up shows by smart people all pretending they’re utter incompetents on-stage; the kind of people who love entertaining but are appalling at showmanship.
In Magic Goes Wrong, the team send up every variety of magical act you can think of. But as the health and safety risks in magic shows might be a little greater than in farce or panto, the opportunity for mayhem is even higher.
The scene is a fundraiser-cum-telethon for the victims of magic acts (volunteers, technicians, magicians – and more). There’s a wrap-around story of our can’t-help-but-like-him loser-host Sophisticato (Sam Hill) and the various politics and plights of his troupe, and each of them gives us a couple of disastrous acts. And of course, there’s a happy ending.
Sam Hill as Sophisticato – photo: Pamela Raith
The whole team are entertaining, but alongside Sam Hill’s Sophisticato, special mentions have to go to Rory Fairbairn who plays Mind Mangler, Kiefer Moriarty as The Blade and Jocelyn Prah and Chloe Tannenbaum as as Spitzmaus and Bar. Their high energy lampoonery and slapstick make the core troop a joy to watch. Fairbairn in particular is a delight and had my 10-year old still giggling and repeating lines at breakfast. You should also watch out for a really fun celebrity cameo involving – no – I won’t spoil it.
But the show manages to be even more than the sum of its parts. There’s wry fun with the relationship between the performers and technicians (who are always getting their own back at Mind Mangler), as well as with (as in all ‘…Goes Wrong’ shows) the desperate measures performers will go to, in order to perform.
Chloe Tannenbaum as Bär – photo: Pamela Raith
Writers Penn Jillette, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields and Teller have made an immensely enjoyable show. Director Adam Meggido, movement director Ali James, magic consultant Ben Hart and associate director Hannah Sharkey have made it sing. And I can only imagine the fun that the rest of the creative team have had in spoofing magic shows – in set (Will Bowen), costume (Roberto Surace), lights (David Howe), sound (Paul Groothius), video (Duncan McLean), music (Steve Brown).
This is one of the best adverts for showbiz (and its perils) I can think of. Catch it in while you can, but possibly while wearing your high viz jacket and haz-mat gloves.
Magic Goes Wrong is at Bath Theatre Royal from November 9-21, and then touring. Tickets are available at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.
Main photo: Pamela Raith
Read more: Review: Josephine, The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath
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