| 25 August 2010
Ali Cook’s self introduction came with an apology. He was running late, but luckily had a warm-up act to fill in the dead space. Enter Ali Cook in his alter ego guise as the cruise ship magician. After a bizarrely amusing stunt involving live farmyard animals, Ali Cook removed his sunglasses, tousled his hair and returned to the stage for the remainder of the show. The consequent blend of jaw dropping magic and cheeky one-liner humour had all the ingredients for a captivating spectacle. Unfortunately, I couldn’t shrug off the feeling that perhaps Ali Cook is more suited to straight magic rather than imposing his slightly tedious wordplay on the audience.
In spite of this, the stunts performed were undeniably incredible and the creativity of props used ensured that this was not just another conjurer pulling a white rabbit out of a hat. Swallowing razor blades, credit card slight of hand and a finale that belies belief kept the audience in raptures, even if the stop-gap banter often failed to live up to the rest of the day.
Ali Cook’s casual chit-chat style did of course mean that there was a fair amount of audience participation, so those who are of a cripplingly shy disposition may want to think twice.
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 4-30 Aug (not 11, 18), 9.45pm
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