Presented by The BlackTies
Reviewed 16th March 2017
The dome of the Bally is a great venue for an illusionist show; it’s jam-packed with a lively Fringe Festival audience, ready to have fun. The BlackTies oblige. This team consists of four performers who, together with their off-stage assistants, serve up a magical comedy show, remarkable for its intelligence, theatricality and comedy.
Mr Ngo (the Accountant), Mr Mi (the Doctor), Mr Yu (the Lawyer) and Mr Hu (the self-styled Rich Bitch) present themselves as Asian stereotypes of the broadest kind. Each of the performers has a distinct character, and does specialty solo illusionist tricks as well as working with the other three. A feature of the show is the ease and energy with which all four characters relate to each other, keeping the show’s impetus rolling.
The tricks are mostly in the area of mind-reading, card magic and mentalism, but the wacky wizards who perform them add a special comedic MSG to the mix which invites us to laugh at every inappropriate Asian-flavoured cliché. Pushy parents, dutiful sons, immigrant aspirations, fiscal parsimony,
Individual audience members are frequently asked to participate; there’s even a natty card-tearing trick that everybody gets to do. Wrong answers are eventually proven to be right, a conjuror makes a numerically-identified $20 bill appear in a sealed dried-noodle packet, cards are torn and magically matched, “think-of-a-number” gets a mathematical reworking, and traditional red envelopes become part of a hilariously tacky Asian dating show. The show has a modular structure, with each section linked by voiceover Asian jokes of pure Dad-joke standard. The pace of the performance also permits a quieter, more thoughtful moment to do with dreams and aspirations.
This show entertains on so many levels – it’s funny, it’s smart, it’s good-hearted and cheerily self-deprecating. These four talented Sydney showmen must be the long-lost Asian sons of Penn and Teller.
Reviewed by Pat. H. Wilson
Rating out of 5: 5
Venue: The Bally at Gluttony
Season: 7th – 19th March 2017
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $15 – $19.00
Bookings: https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/wicked-wizards-from-the-east
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