They both love magic and set out on an adventure that takes in the theatre of master magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (Kwaku Mills) and the pioneering films of illusionist Georges Méliès (Norah Lopez Holden). December (Brian Martin), a pickpocket, is returning the bag he stole from April (Bettrys Jones) and she invites him for a drink. In 1984, as France play Yugoslavia in the Euros, two people meet in a Parisian Café. Although meandering, this is a fascinating look at conjuring, the history of illusion, and the early days of cinema. Hopefully the performances will settle down during the run because, in the world of magic, less is definitely more. There’s little point in being a firecracker on stage if you don’t set something alight. There’s a little too much earnest arm stretching and mugging with spurts of misdirected energy. The actors occasionally stumble over lines or a piece of stage craft is underwhelming. The ensemble cast give it their all and yet it feels under-rehearsed. Photo: Robert DayĪLEXIS Michalik’s award-winning play, Le Cercle des illusionnistes, proved a hit in France in 2014 but loses some of its sparkle in Tom Jackson Greaves’ production, translated as The Art of Illusion by Waleed Akhtar. Bettrys Jones and Brian Martin in The Art of Illusion.

Art of illusion in theatre