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Coincidentally Chris Cox (the “mind reader who can’t read minds”) performed at the New Greenham Arts theatre exactly a month after my show there, so popping down to see his show was something I couldn’t resist.

This was the first time I’ve seen Chris perform live, and this was the first date of his “Fatal Distraction” tour following his run (which attracted rave reviews and regularly sold out at Edinburgh Festival this summer).  Chris has a relaxed and likeable stage persona, which is good because much of his show requires audience participation, though much of it is done from the comfort of their seats, if the audience were not on Chris’ side to start it could be a very tough gig for him.

As a magician it is interesting to see Chris gets quite a bit of mileage out of some items that many magicians would consider dismissing, but these items went down really well and helped sell his skills to the audience, making the larger effects much more believable than if he jumped straight into them.

Talking of effects, Chris performed an interesting picture duplication using four audience members, an original twist on the Q&A routine where Chris was assigned tasks to do onstage and fast paced memory test where Chris had memorised the Edinburgh Festival Guide and the latest Newbury Weekly News.  This all linked together with the running theme of coincidence and romance, throughout the show various elements of a past romance were suggested by audience members and these were proven correct.  This theme worked well and also allowed Chris to put in some effects that were more classic magic than mindreading.

As someone who stands on stage and reads minds I have to admire Chris’ courage to attempt some of the effects and use some of the methods he does, and also his ability to confidently manage the audience and the specific members from the stage.  Chris’ backstage team also deserve to be congratulated for ensuring the show ran smoothly, and no doubt a month of Edinburgh has helped this show flow smoothly and effortlessly to it’s conclusion.

I managed to grab a few words with Chris afterwards and begrudgingly I can confirm he is also a nice person who takes the time to talk his audience and give out badges as people leave, and in the foyer it was obvious many of the audience members were stunned, especially at the amount of detail Chris was able to reveal.

If you get an opportunity to see Chris perform (he was in Reading the following night) then it’s definitely worth popping along.  See www.magiccox.co.uk for more information.

Fresh from their 25 show run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Young and Strange entertained a packed house at The Corn Exchange Theatre in Wallingford, supported by Noel Britten who compered the show.

Those at the HCMS Annual Dinner in May will remember Richard Young and Sam Strange entertained the audience that evening with a 20 minute illusion show, but this was their full evening show, and featured many illusions that just would not have fitted into Sand Martins Golf Club.

The show started with a box on a table in the centre of the stage being raised on a rope to the roof of the stage before Richard and Sam entered from the rear of the theatre, to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd.

They opened with their silk to egg trick in which they have choreographed their actions so their movements are in sync with each other and the music.  As well as other smaller effects, there was also mentalism, manipulation, comedy and large scale illusions.

I won’t go into detail what the effects were as that would spoil the show, however it’s fair to say that Young and Strange have an impressive selection of illusions that many magicians would be envious of, and the illusions are of the sort you would expect from a top act working on cruise-ships or regularly working in the corporate sector.

As with many magic acts spectators were called upon to help, whether they just had to participate from the comfort of their seat (and there was a point where the whole audience had to follow Richard’s lead) or to accompany them on stage, they were also treated well and looked comfortable.  No doubt their time spent at Edinburgh gave them confidence to handle spectators with ease.

Richard and Sam used plenty of music in the show, and took full advantage of the theatre’s lighting to great effect.  With respect to some of the larger illusions I felt they were dealt with quite quickly, the stage-time seemed slightly disproportional to the scale of the illusion.  Perhaps Young and Strange deliberately wanted to keep it this way to ensure the pace of the show was kept high.

Through-out the show Noel Britten would also entertain.  To say he compered isn’t strictly accurate, but as a rough guide he came on twice each half, doing one trick for every two shown by Young and Strange.