Illusionarium

‘Illusionarium’ is a 50 minute show jam-packed with illusions, magic, comedy and audience interaction which premiered at the ’2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’.

The show begins with Tim Ellis as Professor Googalfitz welcoming the audience and demonstrating his latest crazy inventions.

Suddenly Sue-Anne Webster appears with a fast-paced version of the magical classic ‘The Linking Rings’.

The magic is non-stop as Tim and Sue-Anne conjure up a cavalcade of illusions including ‘Soda Resurrection’ and ‘The Great Whammo’ (where a teacher performs the magic and becomes the star of the show!)

Sue-Anne is squashed to only 30 centimetres tall and, after a surprise climax, Tim & Sue-Anne cap it all of with their internationally award-winning song and dance trick ‘The Six Card Rap’.

All in all a fantastic show of fun and illusion which shows the students that both males and females can excel in the art of magic.

SHOW REVIEW

“THE KIDS WERE TRULY AWESTRUCK.”

(Comedy Festival Review) The Groggy Squirrel, Caitlin Crowley

Ten minutes before Illusionarium begins, one of Tim Ellis’s characters, Professor Googalfitz, wanders out to the foyer and warms up the crowd with his goofy glasses. It’s a great way to set the mood for the 60 minute magic show that follows.

Husband and wife team, Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster, must be the hardest working magicians in the country – they pack in corporate events, lecture tours and public appearances. This year’s comedy festival show Illusionarium, like most magic shows I have ever seen, has a certain element of cheese to it. But once Ellis and Webster hit their magical straps all is forgiven – their magic tricks really are awesome.

I’ve seen plenty of ugly uncles pull coins out of ears before but I’ve never seen anything like Tim Ellis’s display of conjuring coins from the hair of audience members – including enough to pack a piggy-bank from one young boy’s mop. When a crushed empty soft-drink can was uncrushed and refilled before my eyes then I just sat back and enjoyed their skills. And the kids were truly awestruck.

Sue-Anne Webster does a great job coaxing adult audience members onto the stage and into a dance routine while she does rope tricks. A friend commented to me how much like Barbara Eden, circa I Dream of Jeannie, Sue-Anne is so it wasn’t surprising to learn that she does do a tribute act to the television show.

This show is really good value so if you like levitating tables, Houdini escapes and watching attractive women being squashed into tiny spaces then I recommend you check out Illusionarium.

Once again I asked some of my little people their views on the show:

• Jasper (4): I liked it when the girl lifted up the table and made it fly. See, that is real magic.
• Indigo (10): It inspired me and my friend to do a project on magic tricks. It is so brain-pulling because you want to know how they do it.

Suitability: Primary
Type: Magic, Comedy
Duration: 50 minutes plus Q&A
Cost: $5.00 plus GST per head
Minimum Audience: 120 students
Availability: Please enquire