Over time, I’ve discovered that some of my most favourite magical presentation styles are character magic / magic involving storylines. “Friends of Friends” was billed as a special one night only event where the audience was introduced to the special “friends” of some of the magicians within the festival. As soon as I heard of this concept, I knew it would be an unmissable show and an evening of unbridled hilarity – I was not wrong!

Definitely in the (new) category of “shows that have made me cry with laughter”, the ‘friends’ in this show were highly comedic while also being very magical and theatrical. Many different kinds of ‘friends’ were introduced, from a Pet Psychic to a Jedi Magician to ‘special guests’ seemingly visiting from Las Vegas. It’s difficult to select a favourite performer  / character, however there were some in particular that made me extra excited / cry with laughter: Stunning “Demona Loveless” (echoing the beautiful looks of Elvira crossed with Morticia Addams) certainly stunned / charmed some of the male members of the audience and presented a highly entertaining sword fight / sword swallowing routine; there was a magical wrestling match between “Matty Wild vs Inmate 211” that had the audience vocal and shouting for more – seriously the body slams were epic! Psychic surgeon Barry Rumpey was also a hit, namely due to the fact his volunteer was submitted / coerced by his friends and could barely look at any of the ‘surgery’ that was taking place. It was an utterly hilarious routine that just got more surprising and hilarious by the minute.

It was a delight to see magicians have what looked like more creative reign over their alter ego persona’s and the talents / mannerisms of those entities. The entire show was lighthearted and was almost had a vaudeville show feel, as no one was exactly sure what was going to happen / who was going to appear on stage next. If the producers of that show ever read this then: PLEASE bring this show back every year! It was a festival highlight for me.