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Magic on the Mersey
The Aloft, Liverpool
September 2021
Reviewed by Quentin Reynolds
Growing
up in magic I always enjoyed reading reports of magicians like Charles
Bertram who frequently performed in the drawing rooms of private homes.
These shows have a warm intimate atmosphere and lend themselves well to
banter with the audience.
Steve Price has taken a season in one of the grand rooms at Liverpool's
Aloft Hotel. He takes us through a plethora a magic classics with never
a pack of cards in sight, (although three effects do use playing cards
of varying sizes).
He opens strongly with the Anderson T&R Newspaper swiftly followed by
the Sucker Vanishing Glass and the Serpent Silk. Steve ties the show
together by telling us of his own journey through magic, the tricks he
encountered and some of the magicians he met.
An invisible deck is handed to an audience member and while no actual
deck is involved, the invisible chosen card is found inside an envelope.
Strong! Steve shows his skill with a pleasant billiard ball routine, the
Gypsy Thread and the Bending Mirror, all performed with quiet humour.
Next a quick Rubik's Cube effect followed by the Leopard Silk.
Avoiding the popular Sidewalk Shuffle, Steve goes with Chase The Ace
using giant cards. The last person I recall doing this was Ken Brooke.
Some mentalism next as we are treated to a matching ESP routine, again
people making choices from their seats. Banknotes to Pocket follows with
some witty patter.
Now it's time for a rant. I am totally fed up watching magicians do rope
tricks that seem to involve every known move. Not just Steve. They are
all at it. If you are going to do a C&R rope routine, please cut and
restore the rope, even do it a few times in case the audience didn't
realise what the effect was the first time. But why, why do you have to
add jumping ends, sliding knots, making circles, putting ends back on,
cutting with fingers, stretching the ropes, over and over again? Please
magicians, have mercy on your audiences and stop subjecting them to such
confusion and tedium. The best contemporary C&R rope routine I've seen
is Fay Presto's. And she does it close-up, at tables, under their noses
and she really cuts the rope with a scissors and leaves them baffled.
Rant over.
To revive the audience there is a fun interlude with the Electric Deck,
the Lyle Hat Tear and the Señor Mardo Egg Bag. It's refreshing to see
this as there are many moves not possible with the now standard Malini
bag.
An encounter with the Magic Square that finishes with a prediction got a
good response and Steve followed with the Selbit Blocks which is a
difficult effect to sell to an audience as it entirely depends on pace
and rhythm. Steve did an excellent job and it flowed and built to a
strong climax. I suspect the Sympathetic Silks is fairly new to Steve
and both I and the two friends I was with thought it needed more work.
Much to my surprise what followed was one of the highlights of the show
and received an amazing reaction from the audience. Surprise for me in
that it is not an effect that I would have expected to see in a stand-up
show but the audience was enthralled throughout. It's Angelo Carbone's
On Edge, the card balancing effect. Overall Steve's show is good and
solid with strong classic effects. So why did this stand out so
strongly? Contrast? Variety? I'm still wondering!
A nicely paced Hydrostatic Glass routine brings the show to a big finish
and much applause.
There were four children in the front row, the oldest being seven and
all paying full attention throughout. That says a lot.
Because Steve is mainly a cruise ship performer where currently onstage
audience participation is prohibited, and where the show length is 50
minutes max, could be why there was no on stage participation. In a 75
minute show, as this is, it would add a change of pace and texture.
You will enjoy this show and be sure to bring some family and friends.
It's good value and you are supporting live entertainment. Details at
www.magiconthemersey.com.
© Quentin Reynolds, September 2021