I’ve spent most of tonight feeling like a grown-up five-year-old and it has been glorious. With a huge grins on our faces my plus one and I clapped and cheered our way through card tricks, rope tricks, illusions and mental mastery at the Magicians of Wellington.
To be honest, being a kid-like-adult was perfect with that particular crowd. James Nokise, the smooth and witty MC, pointed out to us that no matter our age we can all appreciate magic together. From the eldest in the audience (at 81) or the youngest (at 7 ½ months), we really got into the show.
And we needed to get into it, as it was a big night of audience participation. If you love being part of the action make sure you sit in the first few rows. Some of the best moments came from the audience members. There was a volunteer five-year-old who stole our hearts with a grin wider than his face, for being allowed onstage. There was the boy who upstaged the card magician by showing off shuffling skills any croupier would be envious of. There was the man whose 6-month goal to grow a good hedge was predicted by a mentalist. His partner in the audience screamed and nearly fell off her chair from shock at the accuracy of the prediction. The anticipation mixed with lovely moments like these make live magic shows unpredictable and all the more enjoyable.
This is the annual end of year show for the Wellington Magic Club and the stakes are higher than ever before. Previously held at Newtown Community Hall, the club members decided to perform at the larger venue this year to cater for its growing fan base. This means it is the first time for some of the performers in a theatre. With a mix of seasoned and up and coming performers there were varying degrees of confidence on stage. Some were nervous in their stage persona as evident through rushed speech, shaking or pacing. However, their tricks all worked flawlessly.
I understand that there is a rotating line-up to accommodate all 28 members of the club, and that some have multiple tricks to perform. Meaning each show will be unique. If you need to suspend your adult brain for a little, I recommend getting your tickets now.
Performers Kade & Jeremy demonstrate magic at Radio New Zealand’s Standing Room only
– Hilaire Carmody
Hilaire is art crazy, theatre crazy, dance crazy, music crazy, comedy crazy, people crazy and most importantly Wellington crazy. You can follow her @hilairec.
Magicians of Wellington runs November 24-26 at Bats Theatre; 6.30pm with a matinee at 2.00pm on November 26. Tickets $13-$18 from bats.co.nz.
The venue is accessible.
To find out more about the Wellington Magic Club, visit them online.
