Pete Firman Trickster Tour at The Lowry, Manchester Review
Pete Firman Trickster
The Lowry, Manchester
13 September 2014
Reviewed by Cathy Porteus
It’s difficult to know how much to say, when reviewing a magician, as I don’t want to give away the illusions and jokes for anyone who hasn’t seen the show yet. Pete Firman was familiar to us from watching BBC’s The Magicians so we were expecting a light-hearted jokey performance with plenty of good tricks thrown in. On the whole, my expectations were met. Many of the illusions relied on sleight of hand and were delivered pretty slickly. Pete’s self-deprecating humour shone through and kept the evening fun and there were plenty of laughs.
A couple of the tricks really impressed – my favourite was one related to numbers, I’ve no idea how it was done and will remember it for some time to come. This was one of 2 allegedly ESP related pieces, these were my pick of the evening’s illusions. Pete involved audience members in these, which was a nice touch. The cleverness of the hidden illusion led to an audience member near me speculating that he must be using plants. I’m sure he wasn’t and the sheer number of people he used must surely mean this was impossible. The card tricks probably work better in a smaller environment or close up, as they were rather underwhelming and perhaps a little clichéd.
This was the first show of the “Pete Firman Trickster” tour and at times felt a little like a dress rehearsal. Pete forgot his running order on one occasion and later called for help from backstage, to fiddle around with the settings on a camera that he used in one of his tricks. He did say that they had been late getting there because of traffic but I felt this was rather unprofessional. I don’t think it affected most customers enjoyment too much, although more rehearsal time might have helped prevent these issues.
The final trick was presented as an improvisation. Pete seemed to enjoy picking up on the audience’s suggestions to incorporate them into his routine and it proved a great finale. He managed to poke fun at some of the traditional magician’s tricks, whilst at the same time producing a brilliant illusion all of his own.
There were a few young children in the audience, I felt that there was an adult tone which made the show unsuitable for anyone under about 14 and wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking my own children to this show. There was the odd swear word and quite a few references to grown up topics.
So on the whole I enjoyed my night out, there was a good mix of fun and magic plus the audience involvement was a nice touch. Some of the tricks worked really well on the stage and left us all wondering. It looked like everyone left with a smile on their face and this must be a positive sign for the rest of the tour.
The show was in the Lowry Quays theatre, which is smaller than the main stage but still a reasonably sized venue. I found the facilities good and the environment pleasant and in good repair.
Rating: 4/5
Pete Firman and the Trickster Tour is touring the UK until 29 November 2014. For more information and tour dates visit www.petefirman.co.uk/trickster-tour-2014.
For shows at The Lowry visit www.thelowry.com.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
