The Melbourne Magic Festival may be over for another year, but it gives us a chance to take a moment and see how we did. Although I was the Artistic Director and oversaw much of the Festival, I personally performed in five different shows and was absolutely thrilled to see how well they were received:
The Stage Gala Show – a show jam packed with almost a dozen magicians and hosted by Australia’s Honest Con Man, Nicholas J Johnson. The Age reviewed the show HERE with Cameron Woodhead saying:
“The night gave us a glimpse of festival highlights. Founders Tim Ellis and Lee Cohen have a taste for grand illusion – Cohen through a comic elaboration of the classic “rabbit out of a hat” act; Ellis by inverting the magician/lovely assistant dynamic, first as a nutty professor in a kids’ magic version, then in a fun and surprising twist on Houdini’s famous escapes.”
The Close Up Gala Show – is so much fun. I get to host and perform in it, which can create some unexpected moments of hilarity as the review from Tay Around Town pointed out HERE:
“Another highlight was a mentalism game with the audience which featured an inflatable object being batted around the audience. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be noteworthy, however the nature of the object itself coupled with the instance of all the children in the audience to grab the object when it neared them rendered me crying with laughter into the sleeve of my robes. Oh the hilarity indeed! By the end of that routine, the entire audience was laughing and everyone was caught up in a frenzy of magic proportions.”
MagicSports – always a night of total hilarity as two teams of magicians create improvised magic right before your very eyes! The Weekend Notes review HERE absolutely loved it:
“The performance went for approximately two hours and it really was a laugh a minute while being entertained by the magicians!”
But it was The Plus Ones review HERE that really summed it up:
“The variety and absurdity of MagicSports makes it not just one of the best magic shows you’ll see all year, but one of the best shows of any type.”
Professor Googalfitz Explains It All – brought back to life one of Tim’s most popular characters from his days on Young Talent Time and, according to the Weekend Notes review HERE, he hadn’t missed a beat:
“Professor Googalfitz certainly knew how to wow his target audience with his madcap antics and lots of audience participation. Within minutes of the show starting the first audience member, a young boy, was up on stage assisting with a trick involving a cup of milk seemingly upended on his head. How the professor managed to get the milk out of the cup without wetting the young boy’s head was both inventive and entertaining.”
This Is Magic! – was an evening show suitable for the whole family featuring some of my absolute favourite magic. Weekend Notes reviewed it HERE saying:
“This is Magic! was slick and faced-paced, harmonised with flawless continuity that you would expect from a consummate professional and design genius.”
“This trick was case-in-point of Tim’s high-end craftsmanship, he often uses an array of techniques, simultaneously. Maybe, it is complex distraction at play, but it shows his life-long devotion to magic and in getting it right. He also weaves stories and anecdotes into the show with close attention paid to props and the details of story-telling that make the skits authentic, original and memorable.”
The review from Tay Around Town HERE said:
“Tim performed many of his classic and acclaimed magic effects as well as including a few surprises along the way. A personal highlight for me was his performance of ‘Runaround Sue’ – a routine I have seen a handful of times, but I never tire of as it is light-hearted and clever.”
