Review: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On POOF! SECRETS OF A MAGICIAN

Wednesday January 22nd, 8pm, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House.

POOF! Secrets of a Magician. James Galea presents a night of magic, songs and personal stories as he explores the meanings of the word Poof and the life of a gay magician.

It's a cabaret night of past experiences, original tunes, superb magic and personal revelations. The secrets revealed follow his success, failures and influences that make him the consummate performer.

His coming out story starts the night on an hilarious high. This leads to his own song, that wonders how many magicians relate to the Aussie meaning of the word poof.
We enjoy a no holes bared visual feast on the highs of being a gay magician.

This is followed by an astounding card trick, shown to the audience thru a camera and projector. As an amateur magician, for me, the most impressive magic is when one has no idea how it's done. Galea expertise has me dumbfounded.

We enjoy a story of his antics as a working clown. He talks of a precocious child Jayden. Galea's energy and passion gives this story engagement but it didn't lead to a dramatic or comedic end. Hearing the journey was fun but I wondered the moral of the story.

Galea shares the relationship he had with Ian, his magician mentor who suggested he also becomes a musician. From this evening we see Galea is also successful with this endeavour, a fabulous entertainer who composes his own ditties.

He presents a fun magic trick/gag that involved an audience member and the question of the audience's sexuality. Here was another example at Galea's adept ability with impromptu ad libs. But I found in this case, the comedy almost distracted from the magic of the card trick.

Galea then imparts a personal story of great embarrassment to him and of hilarious value to us.

Then we experience another song composition, and with utmost clarity, he tells us his opinion on psychics.

One of his tricks didn't have the outcome he expected and it seems this was not part of the night. To his credit we also saw footage of his worst magic trick failure. This was a jaw dropping experience. Being so open, warts and all, is a highly commendable act and works towards a top notch night of variety entertainment rather than a evening of pure magic.

Galea's presence is so electric. His passion and enthusiasm successfully engages the audience. Sometimes proficient magicians have a demeanour that is all showmanship but keeps the audience at a distant, almost a device to keep the secrets.
Galea is not one of these magicians. In fact this evening cements him as a wonderful cabaret performer, with a variety of talents. He uses these skills to share personal stories of failure and success, where the audience experiences laughter, opinions, heart felt warmth with some superb magic.

https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/poof-secrets-of-a-magician