Posts made in May, 2013

Morgan and West

Posted by Georgina Kirk on May 16, 2013 in Reviews

Time-travelling magicians Morgan and West are fast becoming stalwarts of the contemporary magic scene. As two nineteenth-century gentlemen, they purvey elegant entertainment – engagingly executed effects, laced with gentle, character-based humour. Free of insult, innuendo and every other cheap device, this act is of the David Devant school, in which it is “all done by kindness”.

Rhys Morgan and Robert West met and started performing together whilst at Oxford University in the late noughties. Since then, they have clearly worked hard to hone their well polished double act and to come up with original ideas for the presentation of their magic. Careful to avoid using anachronistic props, this innovative duo breathes new life into old plots. Each effect is both a pleasure in itself and part of the overall illusion that we are in a wealthy friend’s drawing room a hundred plus years ago.

With several different shows in their repertoire, Morgan & West are in constant demand all over Britain and have recently returned from a run at The Garden of Unearthly Delights in Adelaide, Australia. They were headlining at Steve Faulkner’s magic show in Sheffield this week and I enjoyed their act so much I’ve booked to see them again in Buxton at the end of the month.

In an era where edgy street magic still holds sway and many magicians strive to be cool, a return to the Victorian age of parlour magic may seem to run counter to the Zeitgeist. But the tide is turning and by evoking the bygone golden days of conjuring Messrs Morgan and West may well also be showing us the future of magic.

Find out more on their newfangled website:  www.morganandwest.co.uk

Richard Leigh’s Magic Shows in London

Posted by Georgina Kirk on May 2, 2013 in Reviews

Richard Leigh is inventive, perfectionist and indefatigable. The metaphorical plate-spinning act he pulls off week after week, month after month, year after year, creating magic in many different guises in many different settings all over London, is an extraordinary feat in itself – and the magic is wonderful.

To give you an idea of what some of the shows are like, I’ve reproduced here (on the new website) my reviews from a few years ago. Details have changed over time but the overall experience hasn’t: Richard Leigh’s magic shows are reliably excellent.

For the latest info and to book tickets, go to www.falseimpressions.co.uk.