Tuesday, Sep 27, 2016

Magic shows are notorious for being male-dominated. So it was heartening to see Sabine van Diemen, the Dutch conjuror, work her magic on the crowd seated at the Dubai Opera on Monday night.

Her moves were weirdly over-sexualised, but her words and actions hit home as she jokingly claimed that she chose a man to be sawn into half as a payback for years of patriarchy. Now she’s talking. With great flourish, she called upon her unsuspecting cameraman and made him lie on a table and strapped him tight. Then, with a giant steely saw she sliced him into half with a feline flourish.

Magic shows are notorious for being testestorone-charged, but Impossible (which was earlier lampooned for being male-centric) tried to mix things up on the gender front. Not just that, technology was embraced — such as installing cameras under a giant tank of water to show us how the glamorous escapologist Josephine Lee attempted to free herself — made their illusions look realistic.

Impossible, which is on until Friday at the Dubai Opera, is a magic show that showcases a mixture of death-defying stunts, mind-boggling tricks and astounding daredevilry.

The standout act came from Johathan Goodwin who escaped from a flaming straitjacket. He’s on fire and hung upside down. It looked tough, but Goodwin made it look like child’s play.

The hilarious bits of the evening came in the form of mind-reader Chris Cox. He was charming and instantly connected with the audience. The parts where he guessed that an audience member had eaten salmon for dinner was hilarious and awe-inspiring. While some of the card tricks were a bit too long, the show stood out for its sophisticated method of rolling out tricks and stunts.

Just like the posh venue that they were staging their show in, the Impossible team made the improbable possible with class and conviction.

Don’t miss it

What: Impossible

Where: Dubai Opera

When: September 26 to 30

Tickets: Dh250 onwards

Contact: www.dubaiopera.com

Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Senior Reporter

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