Tom Brace Saws Himself In Half

I have never been a big fan of magic. By that, I mean the theatrical kind, the kind performed at children's parties, or watched via the television shows of my youth from names like David Nixon, Paul Daniels and, dare I say, Sooty. I guess my scientific training did not help, either. Everything had to have a cause and effect, be explainable and provable. It was only much later that I discovered the fun in being able to be entertained by magicians, to marvel at their sleight of hand, or to wonder in the intrigue of 'just how did they do that?'.

In the same way that comedy has changed a lot since I was was an impressionable teenager, magic has moved on too. The world of prestidigitation is now ruled by the close-up street magic of artists like Dynamo, and it is mentalists like David Blaine who now mess with our brains for entertainment. But, as professional magician, and veteran of the Edinburgh Festival, Tom Brace, proved to his audience at Norwich Theatre Playhouse last night, the thrill and the speculation of 'just how did they do that?' remains as exciting today as id did when Hieronymus Bosch painted 'The Conjurer' back in 1502.

The thrust of Brace's show is that he is a magician on a mission. He wishes to be admitted to the world-famous Magic Hall of Fame (other, more circular, conjuring colleges also exist). In order to do so, he has to satisfy his peers that he meets their strict criteria on five grounds – Skill, Appearance, Showmanship, Connection, and Risk. Over the course of seventy five minutes, Brace presents his case for admission.

Using a wide range of audience members (far too many to be 'plants', thereby ruling out that as a possible explanation), Brace uses a sparkling mixture of charm, comedy and charisma to captivate his audience. He reminds me a lot of Norwich performance poet Lewis Buxton for the way in which his enthusiasm for his art becomes utterly infectious, and also for the audience's willingness to engage and get involved. One classic moment comes when an audience member is asked to phone a friend on her mobile phone, only to receive a text message back to say that she is 'pooping'. Another crazy sight arrives with an audience member being placed in a small spray-tanning tent in order to collect five numbered ping-pong balls for a lottery-numbers segment. Meanwhile, Brace struggles to control a garden blower that he is using to agitate the balls.

The finale produces a unique twist on the old ‘sawing a man in half’ routine that I cannot divulge for fear of spoiling the surprise. All I can say is that it involves a banana.