I went to a magic show aged just ten, by myself, at the old Opera House before it became the Everyman, to see a spectacular magic show by an Indian magician called Sorcar. It was a breathtaking evening and one that turned me on to magic and led me to demanding a conjuring set for my eleventh birthday. So it was great to return to the theatre in Regent Street last night for another spectacular evening of magic.
Modern magic is all around us – PlayStation games, CGI/green-screen in films and TV, phone apps and all the rest, but good, old-fashioned, traditional, rabbit-out-of-the-hat magic, along with many of the other old-style variety acts, has become a bit of a rarity. Step up Steve Knibbs, better known as the intrepid Gloucestershire reporter for BBC Points West, and his band of mystic mates who for the past six years have presented An Evening of Deception in the intimate atmosphere of the Everyman Studio.
The evening was compered in exuberant and enthusiastic fashion by Mr Knibbs who is himself a dab hand at the old legerdemain. He got the ball rolling with a complicated, baffling card trick involving four members of the audience.
Andi Gladwin opened the first half with some mind-boggling tricks, the best of which involved calculating series of numbers that would have had even the most avid Sudoku experts scratching their heads. But the real mind-boggling of the first half was left to Kieron Kirkland whose mind reading/control act involved thought transferring head-gear, lots of wires, flashing LEDs and a lie detecting monkey. All good stuff from a likeable and skilled performer.
The second half started with Steve Knibbs delivering an affectionate tribute to the Maskelyne family. Surprisingly little known, even in his home town of Cheltenham, John Nevil Maskelyne was a watchmaker by trade and a magician by inclination. In Cheltenham in 1865 he debunked the world famous Davenport brothers’ fraudulent spiritual show and as a consequence became a full time conjuror and the father of modern magic as we know it. The tradition continued in the family right up until the death of his grandson Jasper in 1973.
The bulk of the second half was taken up by Peter Clifford whose warm, engaging and self-effacing performance created such a relaxed and happy atmosphere that audience members who would normally dread being called up on stage were almost clammering to be selected. Many of Peter’s tricks were familiar – the interlocking steel rings, the restoring the cut-up rope – in fact all the things I had in my boyhood conjuring set. But Peter brought to each illusion a new and exciting twist. After he had done the famous, though predictable, steel rings trick he proceeded to borrow wedding rings from the audience and link them together under their very noses of their owners. He also, with the help of a pretty blond girl from the audience, did things with a fork that Uri Geller could only have dreamed of. I also loved the trick with a bent coat-hanger. Everybody could see how it was done except for the unsuspecting volunteer who had to keep her eyes closed. Can magic be heart-warming? If so, Peter’s act certainly was.
Congratulations to Steve Knibbs and all involved for a great evening’s entertainment. If you can still get a ticket, do not hesitate in doing so. ★★★★☆ Michael Hasted 19/03/15
