A finalist in 2020’s Britain’s Got Talent, Magical Bones brings his mixture of breakdancing and close-up magic to the Courtyard Theatre. He’s an entertaining performer, and even though he is now 44, his breakdancing spins are impressive. The magic, however, is a little underwhelming and the show, advertised as 80 minutes, lasts barely an hour when taking into account the 20-minute delay at the start.
Most of the tricks are done with a deck of playing cards, and the most spectacular one, where he backflips in the midst of a flurry of cards to somehow catch the right one, is the trick that wowed Simon Cowell and Co. in the BGT auditions. It’s a shame that the rest of the show at the Courtyard never attains the energy of this early trick. And the small stage with the most basic of props means that the magic is homely rather than remarkable. Magical Bones just doesn’t have the space to make people disappear and then turn up in unexpected places as he did on the BGT stage.
So instead, we have sleights of hand involving Rubik’s Cubes and needles threaded on string. There are more card tricks, some filmed by a camera with the footage projected onto a sheet pinned up on the back curtain. Perhaps the best trick involves a nail in a paper bag, and there is drama here, even though Bones drags out the tension a little too much.
Bones is a natural when it comes to audience participation; he comes across as an old-school entertainer, but humble with it. Possibly he doesn’t need to walk back to his table quite so many times, giving one the impression that while his back is turned, he’s secreting something up his sleeve or into his mouth. After all, we want to believe in magic.
Runs until 15 November 2026
The Reviews Hub Star Rating