(Mo Magic surveys the forks he has bent during the course of his show!)From engineer to entertainer to enlightened motivational speaker Mo Magic Magician Extraordinaire does it all. (Review by Raeesa Abdul-Karrim)
Wednesday evening saw the international debut of Mo Magic’s solo theatre production Amazing You! at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. After a decade of amazing local and international audiences, Mo unravels the secret to his success, from humble beginnings to internationally acclaimed showman. Having seen Mo perform at numerous events prior to this, I have to admit I was rather excited about attending the opening night.
My first thought was - how would he come onto stage? Would he emerge floating into a smoke-filled theatre or perhaps spring up from under the stage or just maybe he would appear Harry Potter style next to an audience member? Clearly, I was letting my imagination run away with me as he simply walked onto stage which, I guess, is sufficient if you’re incredibly good-looking, charming and, of course, uniquely talented.
After a rather overlong history of his life in pictures, Mo Magic appears and has the audience in the palm of his hand with his first magic trick. The show flows from one seemingly-impossible feat to the next, with Mo intermittently inspiring the audience to follow their dreams and be true to themselves. Being spellbound, the first half definitely came to an end too soon for me.
My favourite segment was one where an audience member was called on to be a part of the magic. In fact, quite a bit of Mo’s magical illusions involve audience participation, which makes for great entertainment. Every time he said he required an audience member, I silently screamed “pick me pick me” but unfortunately I wasn’t lucky enough to have him read my mind. Another firm audience favourite was when he changed money from lower denominations to higher ones.
Amazing You is a completely packaged show in which Mo incorporates “principles of science, sleight of hand, showmanship, illusion and psychology.”
Be sure to catch Amazing You! at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. It runs until April 29 with all shows beginning at 19h30 except April 29 which is at 15h00. Tickets available through Computicket. – Raeesa Abdul-Karrim
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