(Stuart Lightbody)
(Review from the artSMart team covering the
Witness Hilton Arts Festival which ran at Hilton College from September 19 to
21)
Show that will
surprise you and leave you with a sense of wonder. (Review by Keith Millar)
Illusive, which enjoyed sold-out performances at the Witness Hilton Arts
Festival, is no ordinary magic show. There are no rabbits popping out of top
hats or glamorous assistants being sawn in half.
Instead it is a
wonderfully elegant and polished production which is presented with
considerable panache and charm by the charismatic Stuart Lightbody.
Lightbody is an astonishing
illusionist and an excellent entertainer. His show is filled with drama,
humour, and illusions which boggle the mind. This is sleight-of-hand artistry
at its best.
He has excellent
rapport with his audience and involves them in all of his illusions. Using mostly
packs of cards, and performing increasingly impossible tricks, he leaves them
astounded and mystified by his mastery of his art.
He weaves a web of
intrigue and deception which leaves you doubting your own common sense and
power of observation. You can’t help but to believing that there really is
magic taking place and that this man is a wizard.
Illusive is written by Lightbody himself. He has visited several international festivals
with the show and won the Creative Award at the Prague Fringe Festival.
Direction is by the very talented Tara Notcutt who was responsible for hit
shows such as Three Little Pigs and
…..miskein which were previously seen
at the Hilton Arts Festival.
Both Lightbody and
Notcutt deserve credit for taking what could have been just another ordinary
magic show and turning it into a sophisticated and classy piece of performance
art.
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