Last week while attending the BMC magic convention, I was able to visit “The Evolution of Magic” show at The Horseshoe bar/theatre at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. This show stars Elizabeth Best (from BGT fame) and Craig Christian.
This was the second time that I have seen the show, and on this occasion the audience was full of convention magicians. The last time that I saw the show (2022) I did not post a review due to an issue that I had with the venue rather than the show itself. I will elaborate a bit more about that shortly.
The show was different this time and was more close-up and parlour magic rather than stage illusions. Elizabeth and Craig performed together and also had their own solo spots. I was lucky to be quite close to the stage and I had a really good view. The show lasted a couple of hours and included an interval. The venue included large tables and opportunities to order drinks from the table or collect at the bar.
Craig did a fair amount of close-up work which was captured well on camera and was humorous in approach while he worked coins and playing cards. Elizabeth, who is famed for BGT, is captivating to watch and is fantastic at narrating throughout the show as she performs. Elizabeth performing some stage illusions through to mentalist and other feats. Both artists regularly encourage interaction and go out into the crowd looking for volunteers. They are captivating to watch and are experts in their field. The show has now run for many years, selling out the theatre, which is quite the feat.
Presentation-wise, the effects were often a series of unconnected performances, all excellent in their own right and offering variety. It was all very entertaining, and while the majority of the show was magic, a couple of set pieces were more dance by guest performers to introduce variety.
I enjoyed this show and found fewer distractions during this performance despite the theatre being full. Last time I attended this theatre, chicken baskets and drinks were constantly being served, and the audience was quite disrespectful. I had a couple near me totally off their faces and FaceTiming and shouting down their phones. At the time, I thought this was quite disrespectful to the artists performing. Thankfully, this didn’t happen on this occasion, and I was able to watch without interruptions.
If you are going to Blackpool and fancy some magic, I do recommend this show. Then, at the end, the performers do come out for selfies and signing things.
This show was performing for February half term, and it will be back again for the summer. Tickets available here. The next dates being April Easter and then again Summer from July.
Comments