Paul T Davies reviews Illusionati at The Space at Surgeon's Hall at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Photo: Mark Conway Illusionati
The Space at Surgeon's Hall
Edinburgh Fringe
3 Stars
My quest to experience different things at this Fringe led me to this delightful, family-friendly, magic show. The Great Baldini, aka David Hoare, attempts to solve a mystery in a show billed as Tommy Cooper meets the Da Vinci Code! There were certainly some Tommy Cooper moments as his props occasionally rebelled, but that added to the fun!
This is good old-fashioned magic, with no Darren Brown attempt to reimagine what magic is. The Great Baldini is a wonderful character, engaging with audience members brilliantly, and the tricks are very impressive.
I did wonder if the story itself was a bit too adult for younger members of the audience, but we all take part in a card trick that is genuinely surprising! A pleasing encounter with a convivial, magic host!
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
Stay in the spotlight
Get the latest theatre news, reviews and exclusive offers straight to your inbox.
