It wasn’t quite ‘do this’ and ‘do that’, partly because I rebelled in the second half and stopped doing what the great man on stage had periodically instructed people to do. Perhaps it was my aversion to using my mobile phone for any purpose while a show is in progress in a theatre that made me refuse to comply. I thought, too, of Stanley Milgram’s obedience studies (to oversimplify, the main finding from a series of psychological experiments was that people are, on the whole, more likely than not to follow an instruction from someone in a position of authority or leadership, even if they were being told to do something they didn’t want to do).
Jamie Allan decided there were two broad categories of people in his audience – dreamers and sceptics (no prizes for guessing which camp reviewers were lumped into). The sceptics will always have reasons to disbelieve anything at all, even two plus two equals four, and there’s little that can be done about that. Life is too short to try to persuade people who won’t be persuaded. There were some checks and balances put in, usually involving an element of audience participation (by which I mean a willing volunteer was invited on stage), to make the point that he wasn’t cheating, as it were.
Interspersed with magic tricks were a series of personal stories – the whole show is themed around recreating childhood memories, which becomes problematic because some people, quite honestly, did not have an upbringing that involved living in the kind of loving, stable and supportive family setting that Allan benefited from. The upside to having a mother that Allan cherishes (present tense) even in death is that this isn’t a triumph over adversity and trauma story. Repeated references to ‘sleight of hand’ reminded the audience that these are convincing tricks, but ones that have been worked on and perfected over a number of years. Commendably, he even goes to the trouble of demonstrating how a trick is done – without, he says, incurring the wrath of the Magic Circle.
At least on the gala night, the traditional won over the contemporary as card tricks (filmed on live camera and projected onto screens to ensure the whole of the Criterion Theatre could see what was happening) were successfully executed, but something else involving technological wizardry had to be abandoned. Also, is there a tad too much talking in this show? Details of Allan’s parents and the pub they ran would have been more interesting – if this were a one-man play. The same goes for a section about the history of magic: there was something about King James VI of Scotland, witchcraft and rough seas, which came across to me as filler. Perhaps it was an appeal to the theatre crowd in a West End playhouse, but I’d have liked a bit more shows of magic… in a magic show.
What magic there was, mind you, was very good, and very convincing. I am led to believe a previous incarnation of the show ran at about eighty minutes without an interval – that more condensed version would have been preferable to this 110-minute edition (with an interval). Allan is very personable and enjoyed an excellent rapport with both grownups and children invited to the stage. A sufficiently pleasant evening out.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Jamie Allan’s Amaze is a revolutionary experience in the world of illusion. Weaving together storytelling, state-of-the-art technology and timeless conjuring techniques, Amaze does more than just showcase magic, it places it directly into your hands – you won’t just see it, you’ll become part of the story and partake in the wonder. At Amaze you will live the story, and experience the magic.
Co-Creator and Star: Jamie Allan
Featured Artist: Natalia Love
Magic Crew: Richard Ede & Adam Renner
Co-Creator: Tommy Bond
Director: Jonathan Goodwin
Senior Creative Designer: Clare Nordbruch
Creative Consultant: Harry De Cruz
Illusion Director: Richard Young
Set Designer: Damien Stanton
Lighting Design: James Perrett & Tommy Bond
Sound Design: Steve Davis
Producer: Corey Ross
Executive Producer: Steve Sterling
JAMIE ALLAN’S AMAZE
Criterion Theatre (Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus)
18 October to 23 November 2024
