Literally the best magician

Review by: Paul Towers, 25 November 2017

Literally The Best  Magician

David Alnwick

Upstairs @ The Western, Saturday, 25 November 2017

“amazes with his prestidigitation”

Dave Alnwick has aspirations to be literally the best magician. To this end he has perfected a huge range of tricks, sleight of hand and mentalist magic to prove to the world that a misspent youth can turn out right. Like a hyperactive Ron Weasley Alnwick bounds onto the stage and immediately wins round even the most curmudgeonly audience member with his infectious enthusiasm for magic and wicked sense of humour. His crazy patter, of course, is a vital part of his act as it distracts and misdirects as he amazes with his prestidigitation.

The first part of his act was a series of card tricks which built, layer upon layer, to a climatic reveal. Very clever. This was followed with a good version of the cut rope trick complete with fast paced patter. Very Paul Daniels. In the middle he regaled us with anecdotes from the world of magic and the dangers of some tricks. This led on to a neat effect with a couple of Primark carrier bags (recyclable, of course) and a rat (don’t ask). The final section of the hour was taken up with mentalist magic. Think Derren Brown. This worked very well and, in time honoured tradition, appeared to go wrong until the very last moment when the rat (keep up at the back) came into its own and provided the final denouement.

Well worth a visit to Leicester’s only Pub Theatre on a very chilly November night.

David Alnwick is constantly touring and regularly sells out at the Edinburgh Fringe. Full details at www.davealnwick.com

http://upstairsatthewestern.com/

First published on Western Gazette