I have to admit I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to the Now You See Me series. The wildly successful crime caper franchise is three films deep, and following the precedent that Magic Mike seems to have set, that’s the signal for the corporate higher-ups to pull the trigger on a glossy ‘live experience’ in London’s increasingly anaemic West End. So, e-ticket in hand, I plodded along to the London Coliseum to see what my +1 for the night excitedly described as “a cross between Ocean’s Eleven and Paul Daniels”.
Thankfully, it’s nothing quite as high concept. Just as the aforementioned Magic Mike show takes the core premise of “male stripper with a heart of gold puts on elaborately choreographed stripteases while navigating the post-financial crisis economic malaise” and eliminates everything after ‘elaborately choreographed stripteases’, Now You See Me, the Live Experience takes the franchise’s premise of “four magicians attempt a series of increasingly unbelievable bank heists” and removes everything after “four magicians.” You’re here to watch internationally acclaimed magicians perform the tricks that made them famous. You are not here to watch them pretend to pull off a bank heist on stage.
I’ve not seen too many magic shows, so I’ll admit I feel a bit out of my depth reviewing this, but here goes nothing. Despite the magicians referring to themselves as the Four Horsemen, the night showcased the talents of 7 magicians whose specialities spanned the traditional genres of magic – illusion, escapology, sleight-of-hand, and the much-derided mentalism. Space is everything so I’ll focus on the real showstoppers; first and foremost, Italian escapologist Andrew Basso got the biggest gasps of the night, from his introduction where he manoeuvred his way out of a straitjacket while suspended from the rafters of the stage, to his take on Harry Houdini’s classic Water Torture escape (an aside, this is worth the admission price alone, sure to leave the most cynical of theatregoers hovering on the edge of their seat.) Also of note were illusionist Enzo Weyne, the only magician I’ve ever seen who pulled off “talking like a magician” in a way that genuinely came across as charming, and Eden Choi, a sleight-of-hand magician who had me and my +1 punching each other on the arm genuinely asking one another how the hell he did ‘that’.
The staging was flashy, as one would expect – it’s based on an extremely glossy series of films. Once it finishes its West End run it’s heading to Vegas, and when it was at its best, the gloss complimented the larger-than-life showstopper acts; even the occasional not-quite-earned sentimental moment couldn’t detract from the pace and quality of performances; perhaps the biggest trick of the night was how they made 2 hours feel like it whizzed by in 10 minutes, and judging by the excited faces of families leaving the theatre, it wasn’t just me who that worked on.
Now You See Me Live – www.london.nowyouseemelive.com
Athasha Lyonnais
Photo credit: Johan Persson