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Dave Allen at the South Downs Magicians Christmas Party
Wednesday 7th December 2011
Reported by club secretary Paul Bromley
Dave
Allen comes with a long list of accomplishments and awards to his name – and
it’s easy to see why.
From the moment he stepped out on stage, he conveyed an air of engaging
amiability and relaxed confidence. And that goes a long way towards putting his
audience at ease and setting the tone for his show.
And “show” is the right word for what Dave Allen does. It’s not just a series of
routines or magic effects but a well-rounded, excellently-constructed and
superbly-staged performance.
Dave uses a large number of audience members on stage during his routines.
Whether young children or adults, he treats them all with the utmost respect and
care including, most importantly of all, remembering their names.
He began by introducing a padlocked Box of Mystery hanging in full view to one
side of the stage.
An audience member chose a special word to “sponsor” the show which Dave then
introduced liberally throughout his routines. The audience member joined him on
stage for a blindfolded balloon-popping routine with one coloured balloon left
unpopped to win a prize chosen at random by another audience member using an
Argos catalogue.
Dave’s excellent vent skills were on show (there’s that word again) when Daisy
the Cow appeared for some “udderly” good exchanges and a colour-changing silk
routine involving a young boy. The boy’s smile was as wide as the stage.
Then it was his take on “The World’s Most Dangerous Trick” which was so much
more than a card sword routine. Dave turned into a masterpiece of comic timing.
Another vent routine followed, this time with an adult from the audience dressed
in a mask and a sideways-on baseball cap performing karate routines, disco dance
moves and a song. Again, Dave’s handling of his spectator was first class.
Two adult spectators took part in a film poster recognition game which also
included the entire audience. This led to a single movie being selected linked
to a chosen card.
To round off the evening, Dave then invited the first spectator back on to the
stage and revealed the contents of his Box of Mystery – it contained details of
the sponsored word, the chosen prize, the colour of the unpopped balloon and the
movie poster from the earlier routines.
And that seemed to be the end of the show … until Dave performed a mesmerising
Floating Table illusion to the soundtrack “Pure Imagination” from the Willy
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film (Gene Wilder version).
And then that too seemed to be the end of the show … until Dave invited on to
the stage a young girl who had been desperate to help throughout the evening and
whom Dave had kept promising that she would get a chance to assist him.
The girl had a smile twice as wide as the stage as she helped to float the
table. The “aaaaaah”s from the audience were so heart-felt and heart-warming
that they will stay with us right throughout the festive period.
© Paul Bromley, December 2011