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Review by Paul Nelson |
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ONE of the pure delights of childhood for me and, I suspect, for everyone
else lucky enough, was to be entertained by a real magician who could work
great wonders for childish eyes. I am really glad to report that the wonderment
does not go away with adulthood and when you have as consummate a magician
as Geoffrey Durham, all the joy is still there.
Geoffrey Durham seems to be a very mild mannered man who enjoys dazzling people.
With each magic trick, his delight knows no bounds and he gives the impression
that he is as delighted as you that the trick actually worked. Balding and
bespectacled, a veritable Pickwick, he simply hasn't grown up.
Well, he may not have grown up but his expertise certainly has.
In Geoffrey Durham's Little Miracles at Wimbledon Studio Theatre,
the master himself has very few props. There are no glittering curtains, he
has no glamorous assistant, but with the aid of several members of the audience,
he does all the dazzling that is needed to make an evening of magic go with
a swing.
To a packed and rapt house, he made things disappear, reappear and disappear
again. He levitated a woman from the audience. He took the wedding rings from
three rather doubting men and linked them all together with the aid of his
'magic pencil' and throughout he joked and made everyone feel that they had
personally hired him for their own private party.
Even during the interval, he wandered around his audience, by now his friends,
and startled them with tricks in true close-up. Adults and children alike
adored him. It was a remarkable evening.
My favourite trick, though I find it hard to pick out just the one, was a
stunning display of a snowstorm made from a torn newspaper. To enormous applause
Geoffrey Durham sat on a stool covered in tiny torn pieces of paper which
rained down on his delighted face coming from where?
If it is possible to get a ticket then get one, though I fear they will be
difficult to obtain.
Geoffrey Durham must return to Wimbledon. You would think from the reception
he received that he was 'ours'.
Geoffrey Durham's Little Miracles starring Geoffrey Durham. Presented at
Wimbledon Studio Theatre, The Broadway, London SW19 until January 25 at 7.30pm.
Tickets 020 8540 0362.
RELATED LINKS: Click here
for the Wimbledon Studio Theatre website...
RELATED STORIES: Click here for Paul Nelson's preview and full tour details...
