The Magic Apprentice Review – a puzzle bag of tricks that will make you believe in magic | Section

MeIf you find a young member of the audience at the right time, when they are old enough to act but not so old that the sharp edges of youthful cynicism have begun to show, you can make them believe in the magic of theater. The Magician’s Apprentice is the kind of show that will make them – and maybe other adults – believe in magic.

It may seem odd to start by praising the lighting system, but this is one of the best lighting systems you will ever see. Simon Bond’s barn doors, gels and gobos are essential to creating the most sophisticated illusions on stage. Director Paul Bosco McEneaney was a magician before he turned his hand to theater and emptied a bag of tricks to take to the stage of the Buxton Opera House like jewels.

Gunda (Philippa O’Hara), our narrator, begins by photographing a village of 100 wooden houses from thin air, the village reaching into the darkness, the first of many impressive images from photographer Diana Ennis. Most of these stories are told only by Gunda; When sung at times, the notes by Fiona O’Kane and Neve Hutchinson add to the wonder of the story.

Gunda lives in a wooden hut with his mother and father, in a village where he watches a magician. He looks like an owl – you will believe that he flies around the stage with real wind in his wings before taking human form. When his father fell ill, Gunda went into the forest to find the sorcerer, to learn his magic and heal his father.

For fans of the Disney version of the story, there is a moment where an army of brooms fly around the stage. But there is more to this stage adaptation, a collaboration between Northern Ireland company Cahoots and Buxton Opera House. Illusions include manipulation, shapeshifting, objects – and people – appearing incognito. Inputs and outputs do not present problems for this controller. Handling it all is a simple, effective matter. All in all, it’s very interesting.