Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre - ★★★★ - Until August 30, 2020


When the question changes from "How did they do that?" to "Do they know what they're doing?" you know you are in for fun. Mischief Theatre has been entertaining audiences for just over ten years and Magic Goes Wrong is the third production they currently have running in the West End, along with The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery. Audiences now know what to expect from this wonderfully zany gang. Their latest show lives up to, and frequently surpasses, the high standard for hilarity they have set. Working in collaboration with world famous magicians, Penn & Teller, Mischief Theatre has answered the questions we all have at every magic show about how it is done. They also give us what we all secretly crave at those slick performances when things start to go horribly wrong. Henry Shields does a fine turn as Sophisticato, the magician with father issues, who has assembled a group of 'artists' for the "Disasters in Magic Charity Fundraiser." Shields gets it just right as the glib, ever up-beat impresario. His counterpart is Henry Lewis' the irascible Mind Mangler who is aided by Jonathan Sayer playing the perfect stooge of many names. Whenever Lewis is on stage he holds the audience completely in his spell or, perhaps, it's vice versa. Bryony Corrigan and Nancy Zamit as Spitzmaus and Bär are delightfully dim and decorative. Dave Hearn as The Blade is quite brilliantly inept and proves schadenfreude is a universal emotion. To see these would-be mystifiers mystified and to enjoy a thoroughly satisfying evening of laughter, you can't do better than Magic Goes Wrong. You'll see some acts that you won't forget – no matter how hard you may try!

 Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Robert Day.
 Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆ 

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until August 30, 2020
Tue - Sat: 7:30 pm, Sat: 2:30 pm, Sun: 2 pm & 7 pm
Vaudeville Theatre
Nearest tube: Charing Cross
https://www.nimaxtheatres.com/shows/magic-goes-wrong/
Map & Location: 404 Strand, Charing Cross, London WC2R 0NH, UK

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