Edy Hurst’s Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself – The Lowry, Salford

Director: Joz Norris

Creative Access Director: Alice Corrigan.

Cards on the table straight away, any show that has songs from The Wicker Man on the pre-show soundtrack is instantly going to put me in a great mood. Fortunately for the fabulously titled Edy Hurst’s Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself, the show continued to get better after this strong start.

Emerging from a cauldron in the centre of the stage, Hurst explains that a voice message from his mum reveals that he is a descendant of Elizabeth Southerns, one of the accused women tried for witchcraft in 1612 Pendle witch trials. The show’s title paying homage to the court published documents with a similar name.

With this new found information the aspirational magician begins to demonstrate his magic powers with tarot readings and rituals to ward off evil spirits which don’t quite go to plan. It is not just witchcraft that is a major passion of Hurst, but also the work of popular 90’s pop outfit, The Vengaboys. Eventually these two contrasting obsessions become intertwined leading to a fun finale.

There is so much to enjoy about this ambitious, silly and harmless show. From the outset Hurst demonstrates a fine gift for physical comedy, which continues throughout the show. It’s a performance full of energy, with Hurst crafting a likeable yet shambolic stage persona.

Those expecting a stream of gags and one liners may be disappointed; for this is a series of well constructed set pieces delivered using music, long dialogue driven set ups, and some hilarious video sequences, with Hurst’s trip to Pendle being a particular highlight.

Some of the show needs tightening up a little and can become laboured, whilst other elements work really well, the tarot reading you may think you see the gag coming, but it has a brilliant payoff.

Alice Corrigan has made the show as accessible as possible with the projection screen used not just for the numerous videos used throughout the performance, but also with the script as running throughout in conjunction is a nice touch.

This is a solid, absurd show that will leave you smiling throughout and is a good showcase for Hurst’s unique comedic brain and talent. It may make you give your VengaBoys albums a revisit… don’t say you haven’t been warned!

Edy Hurst’s Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself is on until 1st November