Anthony Street- Illusionist brought his theatrical magic to Auckland last night, playing to a near capacity audience at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. And here is a tale of two shows – vastly different from each other.
For the families with children, it was an interactive magical performance. Street engaged the audience, bringing kids on stage to assist him, as well as adults. A beach ball, frisbees, even a (rubber) hammer were tossed into the stalls randomly selecting participants. Cards tricks, a clever twist on magically appearing coins, swords, fire and two beautiful dancing assistants who dazzled with lasers flying from the their fingertips. Smoke, mirrors, flashes of fire, magical appearances and disappearances – it was an almost non-stop spectacular that had the crowd roaring with laughter and thunderous applause.
At least, the crowd on the floor close enough to see well and participate. Especially children and their parents. If you were seven years old and had never been to a magic show, Anthony Street would have knocked your socks off!
But for those of us who’ve attended numerous magic shows over the course of a lifetime, and especially those of us seated in the balcony, it was a different story. Street opened the show by asking the audience who came to be dazzled and who were skeptics. I came to be dazzled, but left as a skeptic. A disappointed skeptic.
From my perch high over the stage, I could see how the ‘appearances/disappearances’ were happening. Seated so far away from the stage, the interactive feature of the show was lost on me and I had an odd sense of being a lone voyeur watching other people having fun. To be honest, while there were a couple of bits that were genuinely surprising, I’d seen variations of most of them before and could predict what was about to happen just by Street’s intro.
That would not have mattered if I’d brought a child or two with me and was seated closer to the stage. Even if I hadn’t been enthralled with the actual tricks and feats performed, Street is absolutely engaging and the theatricality of show was superb. And the excitement, energy and awe of the kids was palpable.
After the show, Street and his lovely assistants showed up in the theatre lobby to take photos with the kids – and honestly, the queue was so long, Santa would be envious. I don’t want to be Scrooge – Illusionist Anthony Street knows who his audience is and leaves them dazzled and more than satisfied. It’s not a show for seasoned old farts looking for cutting-edge feats of illusion expecting to be amazed. And that’s okay.
Street delivered a theatrical spectacle that dazzled families, children and anyone coming with fresh eyes and an open heart. (And not seated half a km from the action.)
Anthony Street – Illusionist is touring New Zealand, heading to the South Island next. I strongly encourage everyone to get the best seats possible and audience participation is a key feature of the show. Tickets available HERE.
Veronica McLaughlin
