Packed house revels in magic of mishaps
There was a full house at the Theatre Royal for the opening night of the riotous Magic Goes Wrong by the renowned Mischief Theatre.
The company which brought us comedy classics in the ‘goes wrong’ series including The Play That Goes Wrong, Groan Ups and Peter Pan Goes Wrong has added another riotous string to its bow with this production, which plays until Sunday, November 21.
You just know with Mischief you will be in for a good show, great production, talented and hard working performers and amazing lighting and sets.
Magic Goes Wrong does not disappoint. The audience interaction is high comedy at times.
Even if magic or illusion is not your thing you could not fail to recognise the hard work each actor puts into this performance.
The old style music hall staging is superb, we are instantly thrown back into the world of amateur/low rent magic or variety shows.
The show centres on a hapless gang of magicians as they stage an evening of grand illusion to raise cash for charity.
As the magic turns to mayhem, accidents spiral out of control and so does their fundraising target.
It is an extremely clever and entertaining show created with magic legends Penn & Teller.
It is an unbelievably polished production which first aired in the West End in 2019 and is currently touring the UK.
It is hilarious at times as these unsung amateur magicians come on one after the other with some outlandish stunts and magic tricks which go spectacularly wrong.
The actors work unbelievably hard, there is never a dull moment.
One of the funniest is a completely over the top character called The Blade, played by Kiefer Moriarty.
The story is about a charity which raises funds for magicans who have died on stage.
Hilariously, many of the characters of this production die on stage.
Knives are thrown in the wrong direction, a female assistant gets predictably carved in half, many of the cliches of the modern magic show are turned on their head and we the audience even get to see some of the tricks of the trade.
A character called the Mind Mangler is equally hilarious, pretending to
know people’s names just by looking at them and guessing what their job is - it is a complete send up of the classic magic show and the nonsense that goes with it. Paul Daniels will be turning in his grave.
We love Mischief and the ‘goes wrong’ productions in Bath. They have been coming here since 2014.
The sellout audience at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday night this week loved it. There was lots of laughter in the crowd at the harmless but immensely clever nonsense going on stage.
Just the thing for a pandemic audience delighted at the reopening of the great Theatre Royal in Bath, one of
the best in the country.
When the show’s MC thanked the audience for coming to a live theatre performance there was a huge applause, everyone delighted to be entertained by this hugely talented ensemble of performers and actors in a play which is superbly and craftily written by a gifted team of creatives.
You will laugh out loud, especially in the first act.
Magic Goes Wrong continues at the Theatre Royal until Sunday, November 21. For tickets visit theatreroyal.org.uk
or call 01225448844.