One of the world’s most spectacular magic shows, The Illusionists is coming back to our shores and bringing a brand new bag of tricks, defying everything from gravity to genre.
The Illusionists premiered their first performance together at the Sydney Opera House in January this year, unleashing acts of levitation, mind reading, disappearance and escapes all to rave reviews.
The group is made up of seven international stars including The Grand Illusionist, The Escapologist, The Trickster, The Gentleman, The Inventor, The Enchantress and finally The Anti-Conjuror in the form of Dan Sperry.
“It's the largest and best selling magic show to tour the world, and with good reason. It’s so versatile with so many different styles of magic brought together,” Dan explains.
“That premiere happened before we had performed anywhere else together and it sold out. That's the kind of response we got, so for me so say anything else about it won't do it justice. I think the show pretty much speaks for itself.”
With the motto 'magic no longer sucks', Dan is the youthful rebel amongst The Illusionists whose love of everything macabre and mischievous set in from a young age. “I don't think I was a troubled child but I was a troublemaker. I knew pretty early on that I wanted to make a career out of it. I've always liked putting people in uncomfortable situations and watching them have to deal with it. It’s all just mischief, there's never malicious behind it,” Dan clarifies.
“Then at the age of 16, I had this Peter Pan complex where I developed a fear of growing up. I decided I could have this as a job, and I can get paid to be an asshole and make a fool of myself.”
As the Anti-Conjuror, you can expect Dan’s performance isn’t for the fainted hearted, many of his acts coming with the ‘Don’t try this at home’ warning label. The Illusionists will change everything you thought you knew about magic, far from the rabbit-and-top-hat routine.
“Of course there are some of the very stereotypical elements of magic involved in the show but for my act, I use things like candy, razor blades and broken glass to pull magic out of that stereotype. I'm still doing stuff based on classic principles but it’s more shock horror and contemporary. Like a bad acid trip, maybe?”
Dan admits that his individual act can be quite hard to swallow at times but he has toned down his role with The Illusionists. He maintains this show is the perfect package for a family night out, offering something for everyone.
“We each have our own speciality. That's why the producer picked us, we each appeal to a different demographic so that way, it's something that everybody can come to and enjoy. Sure Grandpa and Grandma might not like what I'm doing as such but if they can see their grandchildren enjoying it, that's still good too.
“Families don't really socialise so much together anymore so that's what's good about this. It's something they can all appreciate, creating memories together and it gives them something to talk about after.”
Surely with a show made up of so many bold and outgoing personalities, there would be a thriving sense of competition, but Dan describes the collaboration more like a board of directors. “It’s not about personalities or your personal ideas, it's about business. We're here for the show and for the art, not our own egos. That's why we're still here and the show is the best.
“If anything, it actually gets pretty dull backstage. It's the same thing every night on stage for us but we know it will be the first time the audience has seen it so we have to try and give each other a run for our money and keep each other on our toes.”
Since the debut show in Sydney, the spellbinding performers have been looking forward to coming back to Australia. For Dan, the thrill of living on the edge is always embedded in his mind.
“Hopefully we’ll be getting a few more days off and experience some Australian culture. We only had one day off out of the three weeks we spent there last time. This time I want to dive with sharks or something crazy like that.”
The Illusionists play Adelaide Festival Theatre from December 31 - January 12 and QPAC Concert Hall (Brisbane) from January 18-27.
