2/5 An Te C. 1 year ago on Google
Short
version:
Save
your
money
and
do
not
watch
shows*
from
this
theatre
company.
Amateurish.
Boring.
*
(See
note
at
end)
Long
version:
I
watched
Abrakadabra
and
this
is
how
I
would
break
down
the
experience
into
three
parts.
1.
The
overarching
"plot"
is
of
a
magician's
apprentice
wanting
to
become
a
real
magician.
This
story
is
told
through
clichéd
slapstick
and
bad
mime.
The
magician
and
his
two
assistants
(the
female
assistant
does
not
become
a
magician
at
the
end
despite
exhibiting
the
same
desire
as
the
male
apprentice).
I
grimace
as
I
call
this
a
plot
as
it
is
the
same
scene
over
and
over
again
of
the
apprentice
stealing
the
magician's
hat
and
performing
basic
tricks
(sometimes
with
audience
participation)
-
until
the
last
sequence
(see
point
3).
There
is
zero
passion
from
the
performers,
only
muted
despair.
Even
the
kids
in
the
audience
who
laughed
at
the
first
few
gags
fell
silent
for
the
rest
of
the
show.
2.
The
farce
scenes
are
interspersed
amongst
seemingly
random
dance
sequences.
The
choreographry
is
terrible
and
I
feel
for
the
poor
dancers
as
they
were
stuck
up
there
filling
time.
A
few
tricks
with
a
harness,
at
first
novel,
becomes
a
crutch
for
the
unimaginative
choreo.
Some
of
the
costumes
are
also
hideous.
3.
I
would
have
been
alright
with
accepting
the
fact
I
was
tricked
into
watching
an
awful
children's
magic
show
with
random
dancing
if
not
for
the
fact
that
there
was
potential
in
this
show.
One
dance
sequence
during
the
show
was
quite
beautiful
and
had
a
story.
And
the
last
sequence
of
the
show
which
culminates
in
the
apprentice
earning
the
respect
of
the
magician
is
a
whirlwind
of
concepts
that
all
had
significantly
more
potential
than
the
rest
of
the
show.
Blacklight
theatre
is
a
technically
difficult
artform.
Here,
new
image
has
copped
out
and
delivered
a
show
stuffed
with
hack
comedy.
There
is
seriously
audience
participation
sections
such
as
having
the
crowd
bat
back
and
forth
a
white
balloon
like
fans
at
a
sports
game
and
"disappearing"
an
audience
member
in
a
manner
that
even
a
Neanderthal
would
have
been
bored
by.
Then
the
absolute
audacity
for
the
cast
to
come
out
for
not
one,
not
two,
not
three,
not
four,
but
five
bows.....
"I
heard
an
audible
Mon
Dieu
from
behind
me
on
the
fourth
bow"
Walking
out
of
the
theatre
I
stopped
and
asked
two
fellow
audience
members
whether
it
was
my
fault
somehow
(perhaps
I
was
tired?)
but
they
both
agreed
that
the
show
was
terrible.
The
magic
from
this
show
I
guess
was
being
so
terrible
that
it
gaslit
me
into
thinking
it
I
had
missed
something.
Note*
I've
noticed
that
many
of
the
positive
reviews
are
about
the
Best
of
Show
which,
after
thinking,
might
actually
be
watchable
given
that
there
were
two
sequences
from
this
show
that
could
be
plucked
and
plopped
into
a
"best
of".
So
if
you
have
nothing
else
to
do
and
have
an
hour
to
kill,
maybe
see
the
best
of?
But
don't
set
the
bar
high