Having lived my life being a bit of a sceptic in terms of magic, I felt that it was time to change the tide. I had never heard of Galea until this year. A big hit in the States, most notably with his appearances on the Ellen Show, I figured, if he is good enough for Ellen, then he is the right place to start.
The Hawke and Hunter Green Room is an interesting venue, having never been there before, my only direction of where it was, was near the Playhouse. It is across the road and up a bit, just near the Tesco express – if you didn’t know. Much larger than you would intitially think, the audience was a mix of ages, clearly live magic is still an intrigue for many. Especially as we live in very different times than ten or twenty years ago.
Opening with a short VT of Magicians Against James Galea (he hates rabbits, don’t you know) and then another VT, which felt like a bit of an ego trip, Galea bounded on stage in a bowler hat and a t-shirt that exclaimed: Life Is Fun. His Aussie charm instantly pulled the viewers in, to the point where hanging on his words turned into gripping on for dear life.
Using an HD camera and projector screen, Galea got stuck in right into the crowd. His card tricks had even a sceptic like me, amazed. The crowd continued to gasp as he teased us all, explaining certain ways of doing things and withholding the rest. Galea also has the wit and personality to get the crowd going, cracking the jokes with his cheeky smile that clearly caught Hollywood’s eye.
A very much, ‘back to magic basics’ show, I defy anyone not to go to this without being captivated. Take your family, friends and enjoy this for what it is: Pure Magic.
Times: Aug 5th - 29th @ 19:30.
Tickets between £10:50 and £12:50