At several points of magician Ben Hart’s show, he tells the audience that which tricks would be performed, and their running order, was only decided upon earlier in the day. That does show – because for all the skill on display, Hart presents a show that is all over the place in terms of style and narrative.
There are elements of his current touring show, Jadoo, in place here. That show is inspired by the street magicians of India, known as “jadoo-wallahs”, and that element of mysticism emerges in places here too. Whether it’s sand pouring onto the stage as if the whole theatre was the base of an hourglass, or translucent silk held across the stage by two volunteers to represent a river as Hart makes rice and water appear from nowhere, some moments convey an atmospheric ambience that helps to elevate already accomplished conjuring to another level.
Elsewhere, Hart leans on Wilton’s origins as a Victorian music hall which would play host to mediums and seances as an inspiration for several tricks, including a fun table-turning routine. He also justifies a trick in which objects in a cardboard box are manipulated as being a seance in miniature, given that the current music hall can’t be plunged into the total darkness needed due to the brightness of the emergency lighting.
Mainly, though, the rest of the evening relies on slight variations of conjuring tricks that we may see elsewhere, albeit with Hart’s charm layered on top. While there are a few prop-based tricks, most of the magician’s skill comes in close-up magic, often with card decks, that doesn’t always succeed in playing as strongly to the back of the auditorium.
Hart partly compensates for this by hooking up a video camera to project stage action on the theatre’s back wall. This allows for some tabletop coin trickery that feels rushed; while Hart’s ability to make coins disappear and reappear at will, often passing through solid objects, is technically accomplished, it feels as if we rarely get enough chance to appreciate one trick before the next is nearly over.
Indeed, there is a sense throughout that Hart isn’t quite in the form of which one knows he is usually more than capable. With patter that is sometimes breathlessly rushed, or with routines whose finesse seems underplayed, there’s just that extra barrier the audience needs to break through to find the gems at the heart of Hart’s work. On the occasions where that breakthrough occurs – such as a piece of confetti slowly transforming into an egg before our eyes – we are reminded of what Ben Hart, at his height, is able to achieve.
Reviewed on 16 July 2024