Review: NOW YOU SEE ME LIVE, London Coliseum

Packed to the brim with illusions and disillusionment, it quickly becomes clear that Now You See Me Live is only a magic show in one sense of the word. 

Maybe that’s because the much-vaunted connection to the title's film trilogy is thin enough to walk the runway in Paris Fashion Week. Or that trying to do close-up magic from the stage of the West End’s biggest venue seems a frankly pointless task. Or that the cookie-cutter conjurers seem to spend much of the time either smiling with all the forced effort of a beauty contest debutant or dealing out the insincerities of a Friday night Casanova (“just for tonight…only for you…”). 

That’s not to say they don’t know what they are doing. All of them are as skillful as they are photogenic. The main quartet — labelled The Four Horsemen after the film characters — each bring something different to the table. Amiable host Matthew Pomeroy would have been a renowned card sharp in the Victorian era with his fluent combination of hand speed and easy patter. Escapologist Andrew Basso is the Italian one; we know this because he has a thick Italian accent, a beard that could have been sculpted by Michelangelo, shouts “Mama mia!” and has a big book with the word “Italy” down one side. Frenchman Enzo Weyne impresses with a teleportation illusion which fools us not once but twice. Canadian Gabriella Lester (the only female member of the cast) fleshes out the tangential link to the films with a heist routine that ends with a briefcase suddenly filling up with cash.

The crew are rounded out by a trio of young hopefuls from Britain’s Got Talent. Eden Choi treats us to a spectacular card fountain, and then another one. And then another one. Finalist Rafferty Coope predicts which city someone is thinking of (clue: begins with an L). Albino hypnotist Fraser Penman’s routine is as forgettable as his look is memorable. None are given the opportunity to truly shine despite (as Pomeroy proudly tells us) these guys being the next generation of Horsemen. 

Individually, it is hard to fault any of them. Together, though, this adds up to less a horse race but more a muddy trudge. Basso explains the history and dangers behind his recreation of Houdini’s seminal Chinese Water Torture Cell but - coming after so many illusions - it has hard not to see this section as just one more slice of visual trickery rather than expert ability. Likewise, Lester’s escape from an exploding safe has all the peril of a cheese sandwich. The use of screens reminds us of the yawning physical distance between punters and performers, dilutes the personal connections and begs the question: why wander into the West End to watch magic on a monitor when there are 11 seasons of Penn And Teller's Fool Us to see from the comfort of a sofa? Juddering violins and ominous drum beats that wouldn’t embarrass a Bond movie do a fantastic job of heightening whatever tension there is, even when the payoff is painfully predictable.

That’s before talking about two of the most cringey aspects. Even if the likes of solo magicians Derren Brown, Dynamo and Jamie Allan shamelessly pull out their own family scrapbook to tug away at the heartstrings good and hard, that is no excuse to have all seven cast members do the same here to increasingly mawkish effect. And having major set pieces based on basic props similar to the Magic Calculator app (which drives the rushed finale) or the Tora Glass briefcase is frankly lazy.

The question has to be asked: who is the target audience? Anyone who has been to a few magic shows will already be on nodding terms with more than a few of the tricks and will sink a little lower into their opera seats at the sight of yet another case hoisted high above the stage for the majority of the evening. Now You See Me Live could claim to be family-friendly, but it’s unlikely that the average children’s party magician will ask the gathered youngsters whether they are afraid of dying. Fewer still will pick up a live wriggling scorpion by the tail, pop it into their own mouth, apply duct tape over the lips and then invite a volunteer to slap their cheek as hard as they can. Well, at least if the parents are watching.

Those brand new to magic or who have expectations somewhere around the level of the Mariana Trench will probably have a fine time but there are better alternatives around London not least Oliver Tabor’s regular West End Magic night or, for those who want to see illusions happening inches away from their noses, The Magicians’ Table.

Now You See Me Live is at the London Coliseum to 6 September.

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