JUST as there are comedians and then alternative comedians like Mr Brand and Mr Jupitus et al, there are traditional magicians and alternative magicians.
That is, the David Blaine school of tricks. Dynamo, who walked on water on the Thames (although rumour has it, with the help of a plank) and entertained us last night at the SSE, fits right in with Blaine. And the good news is you can catch his show for the next four nights.
The show was a nice mix of the Bradford guy's autobiography, including footage of a wonderfully eccentric mum, and wonderful tricks. The tricks are sassy, including finding page 158 of Alice in Wonderland (what else?) in a green matchbox as an audience member got involved, a delightful guy who fluffed his lines and was Belfast savvy.
But Steven Frayne, as Dynamo, does it all rather well, with his disingenuous manner the icing on top.
We saw all kinds of magic during the two hour gig. There were Dynamo's big coloured balls thrown into the audience and caught by punters who gave us brief biogs. There was the incredible sequence when Dynamo did some levitation.
Now back in the day, third form at secondary school in Kent as it happens, I and some mates did a similar levitation trick. We performed the number in third class history in front of Alan Walton, our amused history teacher.
As I recall, it involved an incantation ("The power of levitation never fails"), canny handwork under the body of the girl taking off and bare cheek. Dynamo did it all supremely well, with no visible help and we all clapped enthusiastically. Dynamo of course did the whole thing with a sleight of hand or leg.
If I'm being honest, in the first half - rated eight out of ten by the father and son behind me - I wasn't totally there. In fact, I thought Dynamo needed recharging at times. But the second half, when we put details of our fave films into boxes, was great.
Maybe we all need a bit of magic in our lives, as was evidenced by the applause. And if Mr Dynamo ever approaches you with a pack of cards, just say no.
