West End Magic – Lamproom Theatre, Barnsley

West End Magic is good, wholesome, inoffensive family entertainment that mixes magic, illusions, sleight of hand, spectacular lighting effects and comedy. It is slightly old-fashioned and a throwback to the sort of variety shows that would appear at the London Palladium in their heyday, but is nonetheless refreshing for all that. It will appeal to families with younger children in particular, and there were certainly a few present on the night this reviewer saw it. The obvious enjoyment one little girl got from the experience when she was one of the volunteers on stage and the absolute smile on her face will be a lasting memory.

The show has a permanent place in London’s Leicester Square Theatre (it is, in fact, the longest running West End magic show) and also tours the country, enabling as many people as possible to witness and enjoy this brand of magic close at hand. Some of the performers are ever present with others changing depending on the venue. But the overall content remains the same high standard of expertise and skill. The Lamproom is an ideal space for this kind of entertainment. It offers an intimate atmosphere with a good working space, excellent lighting and sound effects, and close enough working distance between performers and audience to make the “magic” seem real and convincing.

The undoubted star of the piece is Oliver Tabor, a past President of the British Ring No.25 and also a member of The Magic Circle. His act is totally silent and is extremely clever, often set to music and requiring expert timing. He is known for his classic magical performances with doves which although you might have seen done dozens of times in the past on tv still have the power to excite and amaze. Tabor shows great dexterity and sleight of hand in a bewildering set of tricks, whether it is cards, ropes, bits of paper, signs, musical instruments, material or coins. As well as performing solo he also teams up with Vicky Butterfly as part of “The Glamourists” and their main act involves Vicky dancing as a butterfly with amazing LED illumination. This is very graceful and beautiful and achieves a stunning effect.

Chris Wilder is the MC who not only links all the various strands of the show, introducing the acts and interacting with the audience, but is also a magician in his own right and performs a dazzling array of sleight of hand and clever tricks that keep everyone well entertained. His classic modus operandi is to set up initial failure with a stunning denouement that appears even more clever than you at first thought (a la Tommy Cooper) – but without the fez. It really is a skill to be able to keep everything going whilst at the same time performing at a high level yourself, and in this regard Wilder succeeds admirably.

The final member of the ensemble is another magician who has a long pointed beard to make him look like an authentic wizard. He appears at various times during the show moving props, setting up the stage ready for the next act, and interacting with the audience in his own slot. One of these comprised a quite complicated routine that involved multiple members of the audience and was reminiscent of Dynamo or Derren Brown. He held it all together pretty well and the pay-off was suitably well worth waiting for.

There was a chance to meet all the members of the group individually as the audience left at the end and this was a nice touch, adding to the general informality of the evening and cementing the evening’s entertainment.

Reviewed on 11th October 2024. On national tour till November 2024.