During each Melbourne Magic Festival I aim to see the International headliners as they bring some special magic that I’ve often not seen, and Woody Aragon was no exception. Woody hails from Spain (a country which seems to consistently produce world class card magicians) and all I knew about him prior to the show was that he specialises in card magic.

The theatre set up was intimately set up for Woody’s close up magic with cards. Woody himself was really friendly, going around and shaking the hands of audience members before his show started. This was a nice touch as it instantly made everyone feel relaxed and almost made it seem like we were seeing a friend perform (rather than a distant magical figure). Some lucky audience members even had the chance to sit next to Woody at his card table. Now, I know what you’re thinking – not everyone is a fan of card magic and one hour of only card magic may seem too much (or too boring!) for some – but let me tell you, Woody produced so many miracles and impossible feats with cards that night! There were times where myself and other audience members were literally perched on the edge of their seats, leaning in to watch the magic unfold under their eyes! Such was the concentration from the audience that you could have heard a pin drop in the theatre during the show. People could not take their eyes off Woody’s cards. Rarely have I seen card magic to be this impactful, baffling and astonishing at the same time.

The pertinent emotion of the evening was disbelief. Woody conjured miracle after miracle and all kinds of seemingly impossible scenarios with different cards. Some card effects were light hearted (like one resembling a flip book of pictures) and many presentations told a story which was fun to watch. Other effects built up over the course of the hour, with the final piece being set to classical music. I’m hesitant to elaborate here as I do not want to give too much away or be too descriptive. Across the evening, the audience greeted the seemingly impossible magic with shakes of the head, with others holding their head (as if the magic would cause their head / mind to roll away). In terms of audience reactions, I heard people muttering “Jesus!” , “No way!” and “Get out!” under their breath with alarming regularity.

I will say that the finale was incredible – Woody briefly revisited a lot of what he had already shown us and then produced a final card reveal which did not disappoint. I left the theatre honestly thinking I should get my eyes checked soon, as so many seemingly impossible feats of magic went down that night. Needless to say, if you ever get the chance to see the magic of Woody Aragon, then rush to get tickets. You won’t regret it.