“The Illusionists” show has finally arrived in London after playing in more than 70 cities around the world.You want to see “The Escapologist,” Andrew Basso, cheat death by seconds, as he clambers out of a glass tank full of water - just before drowning upside down? Or you’d like to witness “The Weapons Master,” Ben Blaque, calmly shooting an apple off his own head with a lethal crossbow while blindfolded?Or gasp as “The Inventor,” Kevin James, casually slices his assistant in two with a chainsaw and then puts him back together again?Maybe you fancy yourself as a Sherlock Homes and fancy a few forensic tips from “The Deductionist” Colin Cloud. And learn a few of the coolest card tricks ever from “The Trickster,” David Williamson?If you say “yes” to any of these questions, and you’re in the Shaftsbury Theatre in London, you’ve come to the right place.If you say “no,” and are allergic to hype, well, you know what to do. You need to be in the mood for this showbizzy, busy revue, all fattened up for the Christmas season and stuffed with a non-stop onslaught of feelgood-factor derring-do. It makes for a relentlessly friendly, nay family-friendly evening. Though matinees might make more sense for the younger audience.Traditional magicians are getting to be old hat: you simply don’t see so many on TV any more. But “The Illusionists” comes with more Vegas glitz just than rabbits out of top hats. It’s not simply any random magic revue, but the one billed as “Broadway’s biggest-selling magic spectacular.” Hyperbole is everywhere in this high-revs, high-tech version, complete with video screens for close-ups, digital countdowns and dramatic disco-style music.There’s a lot of audience involvement. That’s ideal for children especially. It’s probably great assuming you have a buy-in to all this and are willing to suspend disbelief. Or if you are a kid.You’ll thrill at the daredevil stunts – rather than shrug. You’ll be amazed at the “impossible” magic onstage –rather than get cynical.Many of the tricks could be very simply explained if it were the case that most members of the audience who are called upon to help out are in fact carefully-planted stooges.One lady who is invited to come on stage takes part in a quiz. Midway through, the evening’s compere and resident psychologist Cloud asks her as an aside: “Are you from Bexley?” “I am,” she says, with surprise. There’s applause but since that suburb doesn’t really have any different accent or dress sense to elsewhere, this looks like incredibly good guessing or just a bit silly.According to the souvenir program, “Colin Cloud is potentially the most dangerous man in the world.” Should we believe the hype? “Luckily, he’s on our side.” It is said that Cloud can also work out what you’ve had for lunch, what car you drive and your PIN code. And he’s never lost at poker. Now, if true, it seems he has a better career in front as a professional gambler, investigative reporter or codebreaker.The biggest entertainment for many Muggle onlookers will come from trying to work out what sleight of hand was needed to pull off the Harry Potter conjuring.“The Manipulator,” Den Den, is shown in camera close-up. He randomly shuffles his deck of cards. They turn blank or spell words – its’s impossible to see how he does this, even with the camera inches from his hands.Each of the big stunts has a convoluted build-up. We are sternly told that absolute silence is needed before Blaque’s William-Tell precision shots. The slightest whisper could have fatal consequences.Basso tells us that when he was a boy in Italy, it was his dream to perform the Houdini Chinese water-torture cell trick – his dream and nightmare because of the huge risk involved. A woman is ushered onstage to handcuff him. (“Don’t worry,” she is told in an aside aimed at the adults in the audience. “This is not ‘50 Shades of Grey.’” She looks disappointed.)The most magnificent of the seven main performers is a newcomer: conjurer Jamie Raven, who was the runner-up on the ninth series of TV’s “Britain’s Got Talent.” He makes a boy levitate off a table (a very neat trick) and later tears up a newspaper, telling us “magic is like newspapers - never believe everything you see.” With a flick of his wrist, the paper magically comes back together again. So we witnessed the impossible. Apparently. As audiences have in Sydney, Singapore, Budapest and Blackpool.It’s a good one for the school holidays ahead… if the mission-impossible task is to keep the kids entertained for a few hours.“The Illusionists: Witness The Impossible” runs through January 3, 2016 at Shaftsbury Theatre, London. Information: http://www.theillusionistslive.com/london
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