Have you ever been so keen for a show you’ve rocked up a whole week early? That’s how ready I was to see Simon Taylor Does A Whole Bunch of Cool Stuff (and even then, I still managed to arrive a night early, on opening night).
Simon was one of my top picks from this year’s MICF, and when I heard he was returning temporarily from his fancy new life in LA to premiere a show in Melbourne, it was a can’t-miss situation.
In his MICF show, Simon gave just a hint of his magic prowess, but was largely Simon the Comedian – it turns out he used to be quite involved in the Melbourne Magician scene (also, it turns out Melbourne has a pretty decent magician scene!). At the Butterfly club, Simon becomes a many hatted man – magician, comedian, singer and pianist. Some magic was more ‘genuine’ than others, some tricks didn’t quite go to plan, but although I’m still not sure what was meant to happen, Simon’s small staged tantrum made everyone in the audience laugh so much we didn’t care about any failings. Simon’s classic dove trick was my favourite part of the show, and I promise it’s like none you’ve ever seen a magician do before.
Simon has a natural gift for comedic delivery – a well-placed wiggle of the eyebrows in the midst of an otherwise serious ballad had giggles erupting. Singalongs were attempted, some successfully, some not so much, but we were having too much fun slurring along the lyrics to care. Simon has ridiculous levels of charm for one human being, as evidenced by the hot pink lipstick print on his cheek for the entire show post-receiving a smooch from an audience participant.
The combination of singing, magic, and comedy made for a slight talent-show feel to the evening, but it was lovely to get a glimpse of his many talents through an avenue other than snapchat. Simon Taylor did a whole bunch of cool stuff, and I was there to see it.
-Jasmin Ashton
Jasmin Ashton is a PR whiz and freelance writer/designer from Melbourne who has a lot of feelings about pretty much everything. Find them at @Jasmanna.