The Spiegeltent is an other-worldly venue, and this Hocus Pocus and Gossamer Thread co-production, Night Magic, seeks to lift the veil and take you to the other side.
Mixing vaudeville, magic, burlesque, and circus it is a tongue-in-cheek show that doesn’t take itself too seriously, despite dabbling in deathly themes: it’s probably the only festival show featuring ghosts as cast members.
Daisy Black’s aerial performances and Natalya Umanska’s dance number are both well observed, and Alex McAleer’s mind-reading spot is genuinely impressive and deserving of a more dazzling reveal.
Some of the more familiar tricks needed a bit more showman’s patter to raise the irony levels to the max; sadly audiences have lost almost all their innocence since Edwardian times.
This is a promising ensemble, and with a little more of the quick than the dead it has all the makings of a pacey and entertaining show.
