☆☆☆

Magician Angus Baskerville has quite a following, at the reviewed date of his Hidden Powers show he managed to get a strong audience on a sunny weekday afternoon. He has a dual mission of educating his audiences about autism and also impressing them with magic, all structured around the story of his own childhood as an individual with autism. It’s gently empowering with some well performed magic.

The magic performed tends toward the modern classics, themed on stories from Baskerville’s youth. If some of the humor comes across as a bit juvenile from an adult perspective, it feels appropriate for a family-friendly show that, at the reviewed date, had a significant minority of children in the audience. There is a clear creative highlight in Baskerville’s bank note routine, which features a particularly unusual reveal, allowing Baskerville to show off a few skills at once. Thematically it’s perhaps a bit tangential to the primary point of the show, but it’s such a fun reveal that the audience hardly notices.

With an audience of mixed ages Baskerville does a great job of balancing getting the enthusiastic children involved with making sure he gets adults onstage with him when required. Baskerville is kind to his participants, often asking for volunteers, and when he does need a random choice for effect ensuring that the participant is chosen via a selection process that is easy to opt out of. Those who do participate are even sometimes rewarded, even sometimes with a cheeky monetary memento.

Hidden Powers is not just a magic show, Baskerville also seeks to educate and advocate for neurodivergent individuals, especially those that share his diagnosis of autism. It’s a theme that’s clearly very close to his heart. The theme does effectively tie the show together, and while there are a few moments where it feels tangential—and, in his final effect, it seems to wholly takes the backseat to a good reveal—by and large Baskerville does a good job of using it to mold the presentation of his tricks.

Well suited for all ages and demonstrably popular, Hidden Powers is a not-so-hidden gem of a show. Baskerville performs his magic well, with plenty of jokes and inspirational conclusions that he’s reached over the course of his life along the way. It’s wholesome, family friendly, and welcoming of all types of brains.