MAGIC
Morgan & West: Time Travelling Magicians
De Parado Teatro 2

Review: Tara Lloyd

When a duo describe themselves as "the 19th century's best travelling magicians", you're definitely curious to see what kind of tricks they have up their sleeve.

Such is the case with UK magicians Rhys Morgan and Robert West, who have performed their illusions all over the world to great acclaim before bringing their whimsical, witty act to Perth.

Dressed as a pair of foppish gentlemen complete with top hats, waistcoats and sideburns, the twosome energetically welcomed the audience into the room, setting up a night full of (mostly willing) audience participation.

The tricky thing about audience participation, especially when the show relies so heavily on it, is that there isn't at all a guarantee that things will run smoothly.

Morgan and West deftly handled whatever the audience could throw at them - including one trick that perhaps didn't go as well as planned due to the audience volunteer not being an English speaker.

However, the pair still played it to their advantage and although the trick probably didn't get quite the stunned effect they were hoping for, they still managed to find it as amusing as the audience and didn't let it stop their fun.

So what kind of tricks did Morgan and West manage to bring back from the 19th century? If you're expecting the old "pulling a rabbit out of a hat" kind of magic, then you're probably at the wrong show.

While there were plenty of moments that made the audience gasp in surprise, the tricks were surprisingly complex and near impossible to figure out.

There's some impressive card illusions, strings of needles being pulled from places no needles should ever be kept, a display of the duo's powerful deduction skills, and plenty of laughs along the way.

These two delightful gents put on a wonderfully entertaining show that will leave you quite seriously impressed with their skills. If it's been way too long since you've seen a magic show - and, no, watching it on reality television shows doesn't count - well, now would be a good time to remind yourself how fun magic shows can be.

Morgan & West: Time Travelling Magicians is on Tuesday, February 5 - Friday, February 8; Saturday, February 10 - Sunday, February 11 and is part of Fringe World 2013. Tickets are available from www.fringeworld.com.au.