REVIEW: Magic Goes Wrong – funny magic conjured up on Birmingham stage

A funny family magic show filled with loony tune tricks, wacky glitz and laughs is lighting up and sizzling across The Birmingham Hippodrome stage.

The Magic Goes Wrong tour arrives from London’s West End to the Midlands to sprinkle some crazy illusions which are designed to keep the audience guessing and laughing.

The show is the brainchild – and co-written – by Las Vegas magic entertainers Penn and Teller whose latest mischievous and campy stage creation will keep families glued to their seats. The comedy team behind the show is the Olivier award-winning Mischief.

Their anarchic production employs the same format as Mischief’s previous shows such as Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Mischief Movie Night, The Play That Goes Wrong and the BBC series The Goes Wrong Show.

The story follows a group of inexperienced magicians who are trying to put on a magic show to raise funds for magicians killed or injured in the line of duty.

They unleash a night of magic that is filled with ingeniously designed stunts, mishaps and mayhem while also dealing with their private family dramas which fuels some of the comedy.

The crude seaside resort comedy element is kept high as one accident prone magic act follows another, each reaching higher levels of surreal chaos.

The nod to comedians like the legendary Tommy Cooper and to shows such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus are evident in many of the acts. There’s sight gags galore, tons of contraptions that misfire or explode, and incredible feats of acrobatics as each act tries to outwit each other in the pursuit to stage something extraordinary.

Despite the madcap nature of the show there are some remarkable magical tricks on offer for the audience. Also, some of the magic tricks involve audience engagement which really energised the Hippodrome crowd.

Will Bowen’s bright and colourful set designs and Roberto Surace’s futuristic and outlandish costumes add to the wild atmosphere of the show, and director Adam Meggido keeps the show moving at a brisk pace with no moment of boredom.

The show packs in music, dance, laughs and magic all rolled into an energetic night of magic.

Magic Goes Wrong is now playing at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Sunday 29 May