Josh Staley: Wacky Wizardry Goes Wrong

Wacky Wizard Goes Wrong is a high energy magic show aimed at kids. Wild, wacky and almost as much comedy as magic, this show had its young audience see sawing between rolling around laughing and being simply stunned.

Josh Staley, working only with a technician and handling his own door and introductions, has a great vibe. Brightly dressed in a blue (everyone’s favourite colour apparently) suit, with a bright red tie and red converse sneakers, he blends the look of a professional magician with a sense of fun and approachability.

With kids yelling from the first minutes “This is sick” (the ultimate compliment from a primary school boy) and “Woah”, while there is a lot deliberately going wrong (we are inundated with rubber chickens) it is clear that Josh is a very talented magician, with great skill and flair.

Josh keeps his young audience involved, with magic words to yell, hands to wave and every single child in the audience who wanted to volunteer was brought up to the stage to participate in some magic by the end of the show. He also handled the occasional bratty remark or jibe with grace and good humour. I don’t think I have ever seen a show where the young boys, in particular, were so involved.

Great fun for the kids, and enjoyable for the grownups as well. Josh Staley: Wacky Wizardry Goes Wrong, is a joy, and I am disappointed that I can’t catch Josh's evening show, Deception by Design, as his skill as a magician is outstanding.

Kimberley Shaw

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