A couple of years ago, award-winning magician and comedian Dom Chambers approached self-proclaimed “producers of the most wild and insane shows that have ever existed” – Strut & Fret – wanting to create “the wildest, most insane magic show ever”.
Together, they created, 'The Purple Rabbit’ which is about to make its Perth debut at Fringe World 2023 with an almost entirely new cast and new surprises so if you’ve caught this show before, there’s plenty more to see.
Expect a smorgasbord of light, mystery, drama, weirdness, and magic. According to Dom, you should take everything you think you know about magic and magic shows and throw it out the window. “It is a magic show,” Dom begins, “but, I would describe it as the performers in this show being the outcasts of the magic world. These are the people that don’t fit in with elite magic societies, they’re not going to be part of magic show line-ups, they’re really all defining what a magician is in their own way.”
“We have a mouth magician; he’s the Australian beat box champion and what he does with his mouth is completely magical! He uses mouth effects to create illusions as well, not what you’d consider a normal magician.
“We have Harper Jones, who is the world’s first and only sexual 'psycho-cologist'. She’s like a mind reader but instead reading what number or card you’re thinking of, she’ll tell you all your dirtiest and sexiest secrets – the fun stuff!”
Dom likes to use magic for what he calls “useful things”, like getting drunk. Hard to say whether that’s a witty quip or there’s a magic trick (something like ‘Look, I made all my money disappear from my wallet!’ perhaps?) in there somewhere. Regardless, Dom’s specific role in 'The Purple Rabbit' is to make it a cohesive, but daring and exciting event. “The magicians are all a little different to what you’d imagine them to be,” he says.
“It’s a showcase of how far and how different you can take the art of magic.”
Having performed the show in Adelaide and Brisbane already, Dom says, “This is one of the craziest shows I’ve ever been involved with. The audience, it felt more like a rock concert than a magic show. You had people standing, yelling, screaming, going crazy, walking out completely buzzed.”
The hope for Dom and Strut & Fret is that their audiences will walk away with an overhauled perception of magic as an art form. “I want people to say ‘I did not know magic could be like this, this is not how I imagined magic’.
“I think people do have a certain expectation of what a magic show is, and this is not that. I want people walking out going, ‘Okay. Yeah. This has changed everything I ever thought about what a magic show could be!’ and hopefully it’s one of the best shows they’ve ever seen at Fringe World!”
'The Purple Rabbit' plays The Rechabite Hall at The Rechabite (Fringe World) 25 January-5 February.
