☆☆☆

Magic Roman immediately grabs the attention of the children in his audience—and many of the adults—with his lovely bubbly coffee mug at the very start of Magic Roman’s Summer Holiday. The pretty bubbles are equally lovely to see and engaging for the children, several of whom reach out to bat them out of the air. Roman here establishes the pantomime-esque atmosphere, welcoming kids’ verbal contributions to the show. It all makes for an excellent lunchtime destination for young families.

As an adult, magically Roman is a bit of a mixed bag. He does not shy away from tricks and props that will only appeal to children, a point in his favor given his target audience, but perhaps worth noting for their attending parents. And this does not mean that there is nothing to keep the adults engaged, he earns their applause too—especially with his mind reading style trick that had a fun twist for all the age groups. Roman rounds out his entertainment value with a few original songs themed on his holiday, great transition pieces that feel a step up from the usual practice in magic shows of playing a recording of music in such transitory periods instead. He has a multitude of talents.

Kids and adults are all invited onstage, and Roman is great with both. The kids in particular are encouraged in their adorable interactions with him at all times. His cutest exchange comes from an effect with a paper bag. The kids’ increasing frustration at Roman’s misinterpretation of their requests was rewarded, eventually, with an exciting reveal that stunned them in to silence. Entertainment aside, he does a great job of encouraging the kids to get rid of excess energy through dancing and screaming, surely a welcome addition to the show in their parents’ eyes.

Magic Roman’s Summer Holiday is excellent children’s entertainment. The show is primarily geared toward their little ones but the adults will undoubtedly find joy in it as well. As at the reviewed show it appears to be under-appreciated, but for the group it’s geared toward it’s well worth the visit.

More information on Magic Roman and his performance dates can be found here.