Getting dunked in a tank of water while manacled and having to hold his breath for over two minutes is all in a night’s work for Italian magician Andrew Basso. It’s one of the highlights of Now You See Me Live, QPAC’s summer family blockbuster. And what a ripper this show is.
Inspired by Lionsgate’s global hit Now You See Me film franchise and brought to life by Tim Lawson and Simon Painter, producers of the record-breaking phenomenon The Illusionists, this innovative production is in residence at QPAC’s Concert Hall until January 18.
Don’t miss it because it is genuine family fun. They always say that, don’t they? But this time it just happens to be true and on opening night there were plenty of kids all hoping to get picked to go up on stage. One will get there, that is a promise.
Adults get involved, too, because these shows are all about interacting with the audience. Which is why I do not sit too close to the front!
Painter and Lawson are experts in putting together stage productions that are slick, fun and bamboozling. They always feature top-of-the-range artistry.
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Chatting to Painter before the show he explained the secret after I told him I had seen a rather lame magic and illusion show a little while back, one that was a pale imitation of what these guys do.
“The difference with us is that we get the best people in the world for our shows,” he says. Fair enough.
These guys have been bringing magic to QPAC for years, interrupted only by the pandemic. But now, hopefully, they are back as regulars in the summer slot.
I have not seen the Now You See Me films but I have a feeling a lot of people in the audience had. Inspired by the film’s characters, the Four Horseman, the quartet for this show is Adam Trent from the US, who harnesses the power of technology and deceptive sleight of hands to wow us and to charm us too, as the host. He is joined by Pablo Canovas from Spain, aka the Golden Magician, alongside Andrew Basso, who is known for his death-defying acts, and Canadian Gabrielle Lester, the youngest in the show at just age 22.
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Back to Basso, hanging upside down in the tank of water handcuffed and with his feet restrained in stocks. This act is a nod to the great Harry Houdini and with some audio visuals we connect to that pioneer.
These magicians are all performing in a grand tradition and they are all passionate about what they do. They started incredibly young. An endearing aspect of the show is when we see film footage of them all as youngsters discovering the joy of magic.
What is the joy of magic, though? It is the thrill of doing something inexplicable and seeing the audience dumbfounded as we all were at Now You See Me Live. I asked my wife several times, “How the hell did they do that?” Which means the show was definitely working!
There are card tricks (you will be offered four playing cards to bring into the theatre with you, so make sure you grab them) and illusions involving objects that turn up in the most unexpected places. I will not spoil that for you, though.
People disappear from inside boxes and reappear where they should not – and so it goes. Lester does a Houdini tribute, too, mastering his upside-down straight-jacket escape from the age of 14 and replicating it here, high above the stage.
It’s old-fashioned entertainment with a modern twist with close-ups supplied by an on-stage cameraman. We do not know how they do what they do, although they do explain one of their tricks to us, which is interesting. But mostly we remain baffled.
The four performers all engage directly with us, and it feels very intimate. No smut, no bad language, just a lot of fun and some dazzling and befuddling magic and illusion. Enjoy!
Now You See Me Live continues at the Concert Hall, QPAC, until January 18.
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