By Elisabeth Easther - 16 Mar 2011
Oh wow wow and wow. I saw Smoke & Mirrors last night, the award winning stage experience from Australia and even in the harsh light of day, I’m not sure superlatives will be enough to do it justice.
Marrying old style vaudeville, music hall, circus, acrobatics,
sing-alongs, tap, a modest amount of striptease, terrific trapeze,
burlesque, magic, comedy and tragedy, Smoke & Mirrors stole my
heart.
The performers worked their butts off while I sat on mine and
laughed, gasped, whooped and even cried. The final scene, the
tawdry sadness of life on the stage, put a great big lump in my
throat.
Every member of the cast was astonishing; the musicians were
excellent. Listening to the soundtrack now I'm delighted I'll be
able to relive this theatrical tour de force long after the
ringmaster took his last bow.
Every song felt like I already knew it just 3 bars in, and not
just knew it, but loved it.
It's not easy to put my finger on what made me relish Smoke
& Mirrors so much, to be prosaic about something so out of the
ordinary. But I'd like to encourage people who adore twisted
musicals and feats of gravity-defying wonder to go see Smoke &
Mirrors. If you can still buy, beg, borrow or steal a ticket -
you've got till Saturday night.