Well, the 2019 Melbourne Magic Festival was an incredible ride that including many surprising moments and of course much laughter and enjoyment. In fact, one of the outcomes of my time at the festival is that I realised I laughed every single day that I was there (as opposed to my usual life where I obviously do not laugh enough some days)!

In light of that, I present to you a NEW LISTING for 2019: a list of the 3 shows during the Melbourne Magic Festival that made me cry with laughter. Yes, I am easily entertained but not every show makes me cry with laughter…I have sacrificed eye makeup and my clothing sleeves a few times to wipe away my tears as I try to regain my composure. It feels good to laugh so much, so I hope you enjoy this new list!

“MagicSports” performed by teams of magicians
A show like TheatreSports….except everything is magical. The segment / game titled “Make a trick” usually has me laughing way too much but this year, there were another two games that also had me crying with laughter: “style rollercoaster” featuring hilarious interpretive dance and “arms expert” with wild gestures and movements. “Balloonatics” was a new game which also made me laugh a lot too. I laughed so much during this show that I very nearly wet myself so I guess take that as a warning: YOU WILL LAUGH LOTS during this show!! Hot tip: Take minimal caffeine and use the bathroom before the show.

“The Great Kaplan” performed by David Kaplan
The opening sequence in his show slayed me! Whilst he was moving on with the rest of his performance it took a while for me to regain my composure after the hilarious sequence of events that opened his show. The ‘happy crying face emoji’ is apt here…David Kaplan’s show was loaded with comedy – much more comedy than I expected. I still smile when I think of his show.

“Friends of Friends” performed by various ‘friends’ of magicians
A new and quite thrilling show for 2019. I love character magic, so this show already had a strong appeal however I had no idea of exactly what was in store. The ‘Friends’ that appeared during the show just kept getting funnier and funnier as the night went along….standout hilarity goes to “Nostradamicus” with his Russian roulette style soda routine; “Demona” who slayed me with her witty one liners and hilarious sword fight routine; and “Barry Rumpey” with his psychic surgery on an audience volunteer who prompted much of the comedy…this show was wild and I loved every minute. I hope it returns in future!