I had tickets to see this on 17th March 2020. Theatre closures started just before curtain up on 16th March. So that went wrong. 1 year 7 months 17 days later…..
The premise of the show is that we’re at a charity fundraiser for magicians whose acts have led to disaster, in memory of the recently deceased Sophisticato, hosted by his son. He and four other acts are to appear, with Mel & Martina magicians assistants for all of them. There’s a memory man, an escapologist, a dare & danger act, disappearances, doves and cards; all the classic magic sub-genres, and of course many things go wrong.
After diversions with The Comedy About a Bank Robbery and Groan Ups, it’s a return to the idea that made Mischief, with The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, yet it differs in that the performance precision is matched by audience involvement and improvisation, the thing Mischief did before the Goes Wrong shows, and that they have returned to recently. I really enjoyed it, as I have the others.
Henry Lewis and Nancy Zamit have been in all the previous shows, and their ten years experience shows, though that takes nothing away from the rest of this cast. Zamit has a vicious twinkle in her eye during a great running gag with The Blade, secretly ‘helping’ him risk life and limb in his act. Lewis’ recurring act as the Mind Mangler was the comic highlight for me. He plays the audience expertly, a lot of it ad libbed, with, on the night I went, a man laughing loudly and out-of-synch handled / incorporated brilliantly, as well as any premiere league stand-up.
Mischief have made history in a very short time with five West End shows (three simultaneously at one point, two running now, one transferred to Broadway) and a reach that extends to twenty other countries, two BBC TV series’ and three Christmas specials. Most important of all, though, is that they’ve mastered the art of pure populist entertainment, providing people of all ages and backgrounds with a good time, offending no-one and amusing everyone.
A tonic.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
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