Standing in front of thousands of people performing anything would scare the shit out of most people, but to do it naked – and do it well – is taking things to a whole other level.
Enter Brisbane boys, Christopher Wayne and Mike Tyler, aka The Naked Magicians, who for the first time in history have combined performing magic tricks with comedy and on top of that, perform it completely starkers. The Naked Magicians show is described as “Magic Mike but with actual magic in it” and in Christopher Wayne’s own words, is a performance which breaks the mold of any other magic show in the world.
“No other magician has had the balls to do this kind of show – mind the pun – and it’s more than just magic, it’s the funniest show you will ever see. It’s a show for everyone because everyone either loves comedy, or magic, or nudity, so if you don’t love one you’ll love the other and when you combine those three things it makes for the funniest comedy show in the world.
“It’s like Nutella and pancakes; they’re both nice, but if you put the two together, then EVERYONE loves it!”
Off the back of a massive debut season, 2014 saw The Naked Magicians smash out an epic 90 shows and are now seeing international offers knocking at their door. After a receiving an entourage of positive reviews and with the year now drawing to an end, the duo are at last catching their breath and enjoying the opportunity to gather their thoughts and reap the fruits of their labour.
“We’ve just finished our last three shows, so we are finally getting the chance to take a break. The last nine months have been really full-on and originally we were just trying to make our money back, but we ended up touring non-stop around Australia and not just the big cities, but small towns like Ingham through to Cairns. It’s been a really epic year and it’s only now that we’re getting a chance to reflect on everything that has happened.”
The Naked Magicians concept derived from a chat a couple of years ago with Mike’s former manager and ‘The Illusionists’ brainchild, Simon Painter. It was after a session of brainstorming the boys recognised the show would be a game changer and with the blessing of Painter, took to writing the script and getting comfortable with seeing each other’s wobbly bits.
“The first time we saw each other naked was absolutely terrifying!” laughs Wayne. “It was for a photo shoot and the photographer said, 'ok get naked' and we just stared at each other nervously for a few moments and then after a while we just thought, 'oh well, better get on with ito and we did.
“It’s weird because now we are so ridiculously comfortable together naked and we’ll even get off stage and high five each other and then just stand there for a few minutes completely naked like it’s the most normal thing in the world.”
The energy and enthusiasm Chris has for his craft is evident, he can hardly contain himself as he talks about the different elements to the show and how much fun it is to perform. Before venturing into the world of nude magic, Chris was an international superstar gospel magician and also appeared on 'Toasted TV' as the resident magician.
He also worked as the comedy writer for Brisbane radio station, B105, and it was with all of these tools that he was able to combine his love for comedy and magic and together with Mike’s magic background, the two were able to create the first-ever full frontal magic show.
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“Entertaining is my heart and soul and I knew this show was something special and it’s the type of show that can go beyond Mike and I and can be passed on to the right people when we don’t look as good naked anymore. It’s the most exhilarating feeling standing in front of people completely naked, I wish I could do it all the time. It’s like the ultimate rush and it’s hard to think about where you can go from here.”
If performing in front of thousands of people naked on a regular basis can make you this happy, then perhaps it's something we all need to start trying!
The Naked Magicians tour nationally in 2015.
Naked Magicians Tour Dates
22-24 Jan – Theatre Royal (Hobart)28 Jan – Matt Dann Theatre & Cinema (Port Hedland)
29 Jan – Queens Park Theatre (Geraldton)
30 Jan – Mandurah Performing Arts Centre
31 Jan – Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre
1 Feb – Cummins Theatre (Merredin)
3 Feb – Goldfields Art Centre (Kalgoorlie)
4 Feb – Esperance Civic Centre
5-7 Feb – Regal Theatre (Perth)
10 Feb – Nautilus Theatre (Port Lincoln)
11 Feb – Middleback Theatre (Whyalla)
12 Feb – Northern Festival Centre (Port Pirie)
12 Feb - 1 Mar – Adelaide Fringe Festival
3 Mar – Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre (Mount Gambier)
4 Mar – Chaffey Theatre (Renmark)
5-13 Mar – Twelfth Night Theatre (Brisbane)
14 Mar – Cairns Civic Theatre
17 Mar – Riverway Arts Centre (Townsville)
18 Mar – Rockhampton Leagues Club
19 Mar – Gladstone Entertainment And Convention Centre
20 Mar – Mackay Entertainment And Convention Centre
