Barry and Stuart: Part-Time Warlocks

The wish to make magic shows funny is as old as the black arts – begetting new exponents every handful of years. Penn and Teller took the craft to a fresh level with hugely entertaining shows that pushed the envelope in terms of what conjurers could, or could not, reveal to their audiences. Jerry Sadowitz is a genuine all-rounder – a brilliant, innovative close-up magician and a terrifyingly pure, fast and ferocious stand-up.

Now Barry Jones and Stuart MacLeod are stepping up to the plate as new pretenders to the comedy magic throne. This is a hugely enjoyable, funny and engaging show, encompassing sleight of hand, double act badinage, schlock horror, song and dance, and surreptitious hypnosis.

The occasional comedy dip in the patter is all but lost in the rich web of tricks, ideas and surprises that hits the audience. Their jokey mind games, using the power of suggestion, toys with the punters, the razor blade stunt has people cowering behind chairs and the camper than Butlins pirate dance routine and trick is a happy climax.

But, most impressive of all, is the voodoo trick – in which Barry or Stuart had appearently instantly hypnotised a man in the audience to share the pain of a voodoo doll – illustrating the depth and breadth of their talent. This show deserves an award.