Jasmine & Iñigo ‘surprise’ guests at Impossible show

For a while there, I thought that Ben Hart would cut Jasmine Curtis-Smith into two pieces as he laid Jasmine on a flat bed suspended by stands on both ends — you know how magicians make you wonder no end how they do it and, in the blink of an eye, put the cut-up parts back into one piece.

Much to the relief of the big crowd at the opening of the

Impossible show at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Christmas Day, Hart didn’t dismember the star of Siargao (one of the eight official entries in the ongoing Metro Filmfest). All he did was very simply make Jasmine levitate, running a ring through under the bed to show that…yes, sir!...she was hanging in mid-air, doing it so casually and so smoothly as if he was just drying the laundry in the backyard.

One of the six magicians featured on the show, Hart is noted for “pushing the boundaries of film, theater and television, and testing the limits of illusion, including decapitation, vanishing and levitation, at the age of 16 winning the Magic Circle’s ‘Young Magician of the Year’ Award… with his most recent show

Belief? selling out to astonished audiences.” He also starred in BBC’s Killer Magic where his unique and unorthodox approaches amazed audiences across the country and was recently seen wowing BBC’s

The Voice coaches. Earlier, as opening number, Josephine Lee had a lady get

inside a glass box, covered it with a piece of cloth and then lifted it to reveal that…where did the hidden lady go? Well, it’s magic! Lee is touted to be the world’s leading female illusionist who has thrilled and enchanted audiences with death-defying escapes and grand illusions, who has recently appeared on The Next Great

Magician and Britain’s Got Talent. One act that made the audience gasp showed Bello Nock climbing a pole that almost hit the ceiling of the Big Dome and, together with a lady on another pole, they performed stunts on the poles that swayed left and right, “threatening” to fall but only to save themselves at the last minute, while acknowledging the wild clap-clapping of the audience. It was such a relief that Nock (and his partner) did it with humor. His Charlie Chaplin make-up helped make it (life-threatening?) look so easy and so funny. Dubbed as “America’s favorite comic Daredevil,” Nock was included in Time’s list of America’s best artists and entertainers and impressed the judges of America’s Got Talent.

A kilig moment came when Chris Cox, the mind reader, picked a handsome guy from the audience, who turned out to be…Iñigo Pascual! On the stage, BBC3’s Killer Magic star startled Iñigo by guessing the exact date of his birthday and some other personal data that only Iñigo and his family probably knew, ending the act by keeping himself behind the wall of a makeshift showcase of shirts of varied colors and making Iñigo choose one shirt. You guessed it: Cox mindread Iñigo and correctly guessed that Iñigo picked an orange shirt (oops! no political meaning to it, huh!), plus the name of the clothing company.

So how would you feel if Magical Bones approaches the audience and borrows a P1,000 bill only for him to tear it to pieces and burn them in an oil-filled small bowl? Don’t worry: In a jiffy, he will give it back to you in one piece which he takes out of his pocket. Not only that. The South London street conjurer and break-dancing master, considered as the world’s best hip-hop magician (who started as dancer for Madonna and Black Eyed Peas, et al), he made playing cards gradually disappear by reducing their sizes and, stunned a girl he also picked from the audience, by producing a card (an Ace she had earlier picked) from inside a bar of chocolates.

And let Ali Cook puzzle you some more by letting a boy (also picked from the audience) enter a wire cage and, removing the cover, make him appear inside an empty wire cage at the opposite side of the stage? Cook is known as the master of multiple magical trades who has written and starred in various TV series including ITV’s Penn And Teller: Fool Us; BB1’s Now You See It; and Dirty Tricks which has been nominated for the British Comedy Awards. At the start of the show, the emcee reminded the audience, “All I require is your imagination.” So bring lots of it (imagination) when you watch the magicians make possible the Impossible at their Big Dome show. (Produced by Wilbros Live with

The Philippine STAR among the sponsors, Impossible runs until Jan. 3, 2018, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Tickets at affordable prices: P1,800; P1,500; P1,200; P800; P500; and P150 [plus ticketing charge]. Call 911-5555 or 374-9999.) (E-mail reactions at entphilstar@

yahoo.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)

Ben Hart makes Jasmine Curtis Smith levitate

After taking a bow, the magicians pose (below) with some of the audience during a meet-and-greet backstage

Chris Cox reads the mind of Iñigo Pascual whom he picks from the audience during the opening of the Impossible show at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, on Christmas Day. Produced by Wilbros Live, the show runs until Jan. 3, 2018.

Far left and above: Bello Nock and partner draw gasps from the audience with their daredevil stunts. Center: Magical Bones does his sleight-of-hand magic with a girl from the audience.