London
THE NAKED MAGICIANS
Created by Christopher Wayne, Mike Tyler & Sam Klingner
Based on an original concept by Simon Painter.
3 Stars***

Trafalgar Studios to 24 September
Whitehall, London SW1A 2DX.
Mon – Thurs 8pm. Fri 6pm & 9pm Sat 5pm & 8pm.
Runs 1hr 30 mins One interval.

TICKETS: 0844 871 7632
www.atgtickets.com
Review: William Russell 1 September.

Conjuring up a storm in the henhouse
Hot from the Edinburgh fringe these Antipodean magicians really do eventually get naked, a state of affairs which enthused a large part of the first night audience much moved by the sight of small parts. The pair, Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne, start off fully clothed and remain so for most of the act which consists of some pretty well known conjuring tricks and a couple that astound.

The ones you know include cutting up a rope into pieces that keep staying the same length, getting out of straight jackets and smashing up someone’s mobile phone (a variant on the old wrist watch routine) only to produce it safe and sound somewhere unexpected. There is a nice one in which the audience get to tear up a set of four cards each featuring one of the guys into pieces, shuffling and discarding, and still ending up with two halves which combine to be a picture of one of them. It is all done with loads of double entendres – this is what is called an adult show. There is much audience participation, mostly from young women excited at the close proximity of such blatant testosterone.

An hilarious comedian is the warm up act, presumably a different one as the run progresses, but the promise of hilarity on opening night was fulfilled to perfection by Maureen Younger, a large-than-life lady with an act strictly for the birds – liked the one about making too much noise during sex. Her solution to that was – “must do something about my snoring.” Nobody slept through what followed from her or the magic musclemen.

Mike Tyler
Christopher Wayne
Maureen Young

Lighting Designer: Harry Tabner.

2016-09-02 14:24:47