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Russ Brown's Carnival of Magic
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
October 2015
Reviewed by Mark James
As
the lights go down on what looks to be an incredibly well attended opening
night, the Carnival of Magic rolls into town. The town in question is Blackpool
and the venue is the Horseshoe Theatre at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It’s a
fitting choice as we soon find ourselves onboard an unpredictable rollercoaster
of comedy, magic and illusion with the brakes removed and all levers pushed
forward.
Our ride operator goes by the name of Russell Brown and over the next two hours
we learn that he is not only a man with big ideas but a big personality to
match. No opportunity is wasted and rather than just walking out to greet us,
this modern yet nostalgic showman appears magically centre stage with the help
of 3 bellboy-esque dancers and a fire eater named Coco who make up the rest of
the cast.
The audience is immediately warmed by Russell’s natural charisma and opening
patter, but the real charm comes from the fact he’s clearly as excited to be
there as we are.
The opening act sees a young girl floating and a nice version of the Modern Art
illusion which, having heard him being interviewed I know Mr Steinmeyer himself
would highly approve of. The accompanying story being as important as the
illusion itself.
An audience member is then brought up on stage to take part in an old scam
involving a chain and although it’s our host who walks away with his money, his
helper also leaves with a huge smile.
What’s wonderful about this show is the way things are woven together. Leaning
heavily on its theme park surroundings each routine is linked with a wheel of
fortune type selector that tells us which part of the fairground we are visiting
next or some vintage footage projected on either side of the stage. The real
star pieces of the first half are undoubtedly an extremely well worked and
baffling version of another Steinmeyer creation called Hospitality. Multiple
drinks are poured from a simple milk carton and then given out to the audience
to try. Russell performs the piece with great enthusiasm and for my money it’s
the best version I’ve seen outside of Lance Burton’s show.
The first half closes with gasps as (SPOILER ALERT) an instantly recognisable
bright red bumper car is produced right in the middle of the stage.
Following the interval we open with dancing and fire which quickly leads into a
recently modern classic, the shrinking head illusion. I’m not a huge fan of the
trick myself but tonight it brings gasps and hearty applause from the largely
lay audience.
It’s at this point that having been the loudest to shout out how brave they
were, my own son was brought up onto the stage. At only 3 and a half years old I
was a little worried he would prove difficult to handle but Russell is no first
timer and experience shone through along with his genuine affection for his
audience. Completely ditching the script he played along with patience and
mischief which went over a storm with the crowd. Having climbed through a mirror
and had his shoe both burned to a crisp and magically returned (a stunning
combination of routining that I refuse to ruin by describing it any further) we
had a good 2 hours at home before the adrenaline and excitement wore off and we
could get my delighted young boy to bed.
The rest of the second half involved ghost stories and a handkerchief routine
that every magician will be Googling after the show. There was a nice UV puppet
section and a stretcher illusion fronted by the rest of the cast.
Once the curtains opened again the sight of a drawing pad could mean only one
thing and the expected outcome did Kevin James more than proud in its handling.
What’s more interesting is what happens next and a combination of that and
another effect made the two things greater than the sum of their parts. Again
I’ll keep that part vague as the surprise is really worth going to see the show.
As we head toward the finale, the nostalgia which has been beautifully woven
through the show reaches its pinnacle and we hear a story about a man and a
magic shop with which many of you will be familiar.
The close up finale is met with thunderous applause and there’s just about time
for the cast to climb back into a suitcase (not a euphemism) and head down the
road to the next town. Thankfully for them they won’t have to travel far as the
show is back in the same venue the following week for selected dates throughout
October.
I really hope this show gets a break and following some good business appears as
a regular feature next season. It’s jam packed with content and will no doubt
only get better as the run continues.
There’s plenty here for both lay people and magicians alike. I attended the show
with a mixture of family, friends and magicians who all enjoyed everything, even
though it was for different reasons. I must conclude with a huge round off
applause to Russell who tonight pulled off one of the most ambitious shows I’ve
seen in a long time. I can’t wait to see it again in a few weeks.
Details available as Russell Brown’s Carnival of Magic on Facebook and via the
Blackpool Pleasure Beach website.
© Mark James, October 2015