The Illusionists razzle dazzle Edmonton
The art of illusion is probably as old as civilization itself. Once the province of wizards and enchanters, it became a popular entertainment in the hands of Thurston and Houdini in the early years of the 20th Century – known now as “The Golden Age of Magic.”
As our culture and society advances, seeing something that you can’t explain is more impressive than ever. Despite the evident magic in all the technical wizardry we see around us on television and the movies, we remain fascinated by a man in a tux who can pull a rabbit out of his hat. Or in David Copperfield’s case, make the Statue of Liberty disappear before our eyes.
Watching The Illusionists, a flashy Vegas-style magic extravaganza from Broadway Across Canada (playing until Jan. 6 at the Jubilee Auditorium), one is struck by the fact that the art of illusion has changed very little since the time of Houdini. The basic mind-bending tricks are pretty much the same and, sadly, there is little magic left. There are no powers of the supernatural invoked on the stage – no “Abracadabra!” moment or demands for the old ”suspension of disbelief.” In The Illusionists, the void is filled with glitz and razzle dazzle. These 21st Century conjurers have assumed the mantle of the old time wizards – and take full credit for the belief-defying stunts they perform. No magic here, but “How do they do that…?” is still very much present.
The show, one of many iterations that has been touring the world, stops off each year for Christmas on Broadway – where it has continuously broken box office records.
The troupe that plays here showcases five artists who have reached some kind of pinnacle in their professions. You have probably seen many of them on television variety programs. The starry cast includes Winnipeg’s Darcy Oake (billed as The Grand Illusionist), An Ha Lim (The Manipulator), who was a recent winner on America’s Got Talent, mind reader Colin Cloud (The Mentalist) and Johnathan Goodwin (The Daredevil). To make sure we don’t see anything hidden up the sleeve of any of the performers, the whole show is picked up by huge screens and broadcast to the room.
All the acts are impressive. You know it’s probably all done with cogs and wheels whirring somewhere but the result is mind-blowing. Goodwin is one of the world’s premier “escapologists” – apparently there is such a word. He maintains he is not a magician or illusionist – everything he does is real. He lies down on a bed of 1,000 pointed steel nails. Heck, the dude lies on one steel nail and then has a block of concrete broken on his stomach. Later he performs the old “get out of the straight jacket” trick – 20 feet in the air with a buzz saw set to fall on him and four bear traps below.
Oake does some seemingly impossibly things with doves which keep appearing and disappearing. Lim, a humorous self-depreciating marvel, brings a lyrical, almost balletic approach to some close-hand card manipulations – the large screens making it seemingly impossible to hide anything. Literally hundreds of cards appear out of nowhere in his hands, changing colour and cascading to the floor. At least they appear to cascade to the floor. Cloud, who say he models himself after Sherlock Holmes, picks out random members of the audience and reads their minds. His rapid-fire patter is very funny and he relentlessly works the audience, pulling astounding feats of revealing personal details only they could know. An iPhone goes through a number of hands to disappear and turn up in the centre of a melon carved before our eyes. A diamond ring disappears only to re-appear much later in the act on a key chain the lady has had from the beginning.
The show is held together by the multi-talented Adam Trent – who uses technology and old trickery to keep us entertained. At one point he pulls an empty squashed coke can rescued from a box filled with random stuff supplied by the audience and we watch as it straightens out, becomes pressurized with a new top, is opened and poured. It’s the real thing – according to the audience member who tasted it.
You’ve seen a lot of this on television, but here’s your chance to see it live. You won’t be disappointed.
