February 8, 2011
This show was presented by two fresh-faced local magicians, Richard Young and Sam Strange, together with a 'special guest' Paul Megram ("25 years in the business") in the homely surroundings of Thame's Players' Theatre.
My show was sold out and the kids behind me tried so hard to reduce the back of my seat to matchwood that I thought of going backstage at half time to beseech the three conjurors to turn the whole gang of them into white rabbits. But no matter! Our wizards were just...er...WIZARD, whizzing through a routine of vanishing-bodies-in-crates, disappearing tinned food, flying card tricks (like the ending of Alice Through the Looking Glass), jumbo jet impersonations and levitating audience members. The humour was cheeky and unpatronising, and even though our Gandalfs managed to sneak in a couple of drug references just to show they were at home on the street, we didn't believe a word of it seeing as the audience stooges had names like Camilla and Orlando.
Why Messrs Strange and Young turned up in sweatshirts, jeans and trainers when they could have had wands, pointy hats, shoes made of tinsel and Ken Dodd wigs for 99p the lot on Ebay I can't imagine, and the white rabbit earnestly desired by my 3 year old neighbour never materialised, but all was well at the final trick as our heroes popped up on a vanishing Harley-Davidson ready to zoom off to Dumbledore's broom cupboard.
My show was sold out and the kids behind me tried so hard to reduce the back of my seat to matchwood that I thought of going backstage at half time to beseech the three conjurors to turn the whole gang of them into white rabbits. But no matter! Our wizards were just...er...WIZARD, whizzing through a routine of vanishing-bodies-in-crates, disappearing tinned food, flying card tricks (like the ending of Alice Through the Looking Glass), jumbo jet impersonations and levitating audience members. The humour was cheeky and unpatronising, and even though our Gandalfs managed to sneak in a couple of drug references just to show they were at home on the street, we didn't believe a word of it seeing as the audience stooges had names like Camilla and Orlando.
Why Messrs Strange and Young turned up in sweatshirts, jeans and trainers when they could have had wands, pointy hats, shoes made of tinsel and Ken Dodd wigs for 99p the lot on Ebay I can't imagine, and the white rabbit earnestly desired by my 3 year old neighbour never materialised, but all was well at the final trick as our heroes popped up on a vanishing Harley-Davidson ready to zoom off to Dumbledore's broom cupboard.