Review by Marissa Burgess

I’ve said it before – I’m left largely frustrated by magic shows; more often than not leaving the room feeling more irritated than entertained. Sod the sense of mystery, I want to know the elaborate series of ropes and pulleys behind the magic.

So this is my kind of event.

The first part is the regular 'show,' where Barry and Stuart display their usual series of magic tricks in the big room, the Cow Barn. Then, three-quarters of an hour later, it’s followed by the 'tell' in the Wee Room for a smaller group of people where they reveal the techniques they used.

First, the 'show’. Barry and Stuart have built up a reputation for slick tricks with a dark edge and a touch of humour too. Though the pair are engagingly irreverent on stage and they good naturedly niggle at each other throughout, the gags are themselves are truly groanworthy – scratch 'n' sniff nude lady playing cards anyone?

But that's not what they're about, and with the magic, to the naked eye at least, they do appear to be faultless. They give away the first trick, where Stuart apparently appears out of 'nowhere' in an apparently solid box, to anyone that cares to peep from behind the rose-tinted spectacles they were issued with on the way in.

Then in to the show proper. They've been in trouble before for their biblical tricks so ensuring that there's potential to be roasted for blasphemy once more they attempt to turn water into wine. Magicians seem to love to taunt the animal rights lobby – rabbits in hats, doves smothered by hankies – and Barry and Stuart are no exception as they make a show of putting a goldfish in danger of a messy acid death. There's some dark spookiness with the ace of spades, a Houdini-like escape from bondage (behave) and a little Light Relief with an embarrassing clip of a gothy teenage Barry on the local news, winning a magic competition. Plus they bring magic bang up to date with some trickery that employs Facebook and Twitter to aid them.

So just how did they do it? We should issue a spoiler alert here – but without giving too much away, we can report that it involves some geeky loopholes with technology, a goldfish that was never in danger of an acid death after all and some good old fashioned sleight of hand. Oh, and Barry's revenge in showing Stuart's local TV clip from when he'd won the very same competition the previous year previous.

Should you leave feeling too reassured by all the scientific explanations in the second show they round off the evening by putting the willies up us with a good old ghost story. You just try walking through the Meadows on your own at 1am after that...

Review date: 10 Aug 2011
Reviewed by: Marissa Burgess