Circus of Illusion  Canberra Theatre Jan 11-12.

Circus of Illusion has visited before and offers some good  old fashioned circus bits and pieces with an occasional touch of pantomime. There’s a kind of a wisecracking ringmaster in charge and a bloke who does dangerous balancing tricks and a woman who has a gentle hula hoop act and two statuesque showgirl dancers who also become very much the heart of some of magician Michael Boyd’s classic illusions.

These illusions are central to the show. People vanish and reappear in and out of elaborate boxes, swords and the danger of impalement hover and the assistants add glamour as well as considerable skills to support the vanishings and reappearances. Young audience members are frequently pulled in to help with the less dangerous stuff like card tricks.

The setting apart from the apparatus of the various bits of magic is just a few drapes artfully lit with strings of flashing lights but that’s all that’s needed for a bit of mood and atmosphere.

And the wide eyed kids down the front love it all. 

Shades of the old Sydney Tivoli back in the 1950s complete with the under tens being drawn into live performance and live magic. 

Alanna Maclean