Mystique – A Journey Beyond Reality
A Michael Boyd Production. The Playhouse. Canberra Theatre Centre. Sunday October 5.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Magician and illusionist extraordinaire Michael Boyd returns to Canberra for two shows only. His new show Mystique – A Journey Beyond Reality is guaranteed to dazzle and amaze. Boyd is a master of mystique, a conjurer of illusion and the maker of magic. With all the panache of a Las Vegas showman, Boyd mystifies the audience with a flourishing gesture. His timing is perfect, his magic bewildering, his illusions perplexing and his escapology a feat of sheer astonishment.
I have been reviewing Michael Boyd’s shows for some years now. I have watched his tricks from the simple magic that his grandfather taught him to the surprising disappearing acts or the terrifying sword in the basket acts and the breathtaking unbelievable levitation acts. So, why do I keep returning to the scene of his artistry? Is it because I believe in magic? Perhaps. Is it because I harbor hope that maybe this time I will discover Boyd’s method and expose the magician’s secret? Is it to taste the thrill of the moment as the spike appears to pierce his body. Is it the suspense as Boyd struggles against the clock to escape the Scorpion’s claws? Is it the puzzling riddle of the random words from three different audience members that magically appear on a paper locked in a box above the stage? Or is it to see a child’s delight as Michael welcomes the young apprentice magician to the stage?
Boyd’s magic is to open the door to the world of wonder. It is in the gasps of disbelief as a dancer floats into the air and in a flourish of the covering vanishes before our very eyes. Young Chloe looks with amazed eyes as a table soars into the air. A young girl in front of me squeals with delight and holds her hand high in the excited hope of being selected to go on to the stage. Mystique – A Journey Beyond Reality in The Playhouse is an intimate spectacle, highlighted by dancers Teagan and Annie as preludes to the coming act, a stunning lighting display and a pounding soundtrack building to a climax in the nightmare finale.
Mystique - A Journey Beyond Reality is such stuff as dreams are made on. “Chase your dreams” Boyd tells his applauding audience. The magician holds his secrets safe, bewitching and seducing his audience into the wondrous world of illusion and mystery. The show does not have the extravagant spectacle of a David Copperfield Blockbuster. What it does have is an accessibility, a mystical talent to entertain and persuade the audience to believe in magic and the reality of dreams that can come true..
I left the theatre as amazed as ever by Boyd’s skill and showmanship. I remain bemused and bewildered by each feat of illusion. His secret remains safe and I can only resolve to return next time and hope for discovery. But then, perhaps it is better to remain in ignorance and revel in the magician’s world of wonderment.