Ava Beaux

AVA BEAUX: WHICH WITCH

☆☆☆☆☆

Ava Beaux makes a name for herself as a rare female magician, or “magish”, as she prefers to be called.  For reference for those who may be unfamiliar with the gender balance of magishes, out of a total of over fifty magic show listings in this year’s Fringe just two feature a female magish.  Percentage-wise this year is sadly probably one of the better ones, post-pandemic overall numbers are down and regardless of the total number of shows usually only two or three feature women as magishes.  If memory serves Ava Beaux herself was the only female magish at last year’s Fringe, participating virtually over youtube.  That being said, while she mentions this in Which Witch, this is not the point of the show nor why it is worth watching. 

Which Witch creates two characters out of the one performer, Ava and Beaux, and features their struggle for control.  Ava is the one who is recognizable as a conventional magish, while Beaux likes to wear extravagant hats and has trouble communicating with the default world.  In both personas Ava/Beaux performs excellent magic.  Appropriately, Beaux has a weirder take on tricks, which was wonderful to see—although it is perhaps worth noting that ethical vegans may prefer not to be Beaux’s audience participant.  Ava/Beaux relies primarily on sleight of hand, but it was Ava’s mind reading trick that got the biggest reaction on the evening of this review. 

Ava and Beaux each charm the audience in their own way.  Ava has her hilarious stream of stories that keep the audience laughing while marveling at her tricks, while Beaux’s unfettered delight at finding herself in the audience’s presence immediately wins us over, in spite of the warnings.  Neither one makes her audience participants feel unsafe in her presence; while Beaux is less predictable any potential for destruction is focused on her own props. 

The finale of the show is visually gorgeous, it is worth sitting through the show even if you hate magic for the chance to see the last few minutes.  The theme of finding the power to take control of your own healing from trauma caused by others is unexpectedly heartfelt, and appropriately timed for a world where both global events and political elites cause suffering that is often impossible for any ordinary individual to stop—but we can take control of our narrative. 

Ava Beaux’s longer term fans may have a different appreciation for Which Witch.  She has always been a storyteller, but here we see her put down literary inspiration and step in to her own story.  It has been a privilege to watch her grow in to her talents and hone her skills.  Those finding Ava Beaux for the first time this year may have to settle for a perfect, stunning magic show, but surely everyone who sees her will be excited to see what she does next. 

More information on Ava Beaux and her performance dates can be found here.

AVA BEAUX: THE MYSTERIOUS TALES OF POE

☆☆☆☆

As the audience enters her venue, Ava Beaux appears to be incredibly sweet and welcoming, pulling over extra chairs to ensure that the sizable crowd who wish to see her show all manage to fit in the room. This is a comforting memory to cling to as The Mysterious Tales of Poe begins and Beaux’s eerie performance persona becomes increasingly unsettling.  Beaux holds the audience’s attention from the moment she silently starts cutting up a balloon string.  Her mesmerizing performance ensures that no one looks away even as the tricks get more macabre.
 

Nevertheless the audience feels a degree of safety, as all of Beaux’s creepiest effects and destructive impulses are focused on herself.  She is kinder to the participants who she calls upon to help throughout the show.  The magic itself is largely well performed.  If the odd prop is visible before it is meant to be the audience hardly notice or care as they are caught up in the flow of Beaux’s interpretations of Poe’s stories.
 

This is where Beaux truly excels, in the interweaving her storytelling with her magic.  Every trick supports the Poe stories that she narrates.  Likewise, each story is perfectly chosen as being suitable to be told through magic and further her theme, so the magic never feels forced.  The finale of her show is, however, entirely storytelling, and Beaux invites her audience to close their eyes to better appreciate Poe’s words, even at the expense of making her final reveal slightly anticlimactic.  Seeing the majority of the audience follow this advice is a testament to the degree of trust that Beaux manages to build in spite of the frightening nature of her performance.
 

The theatricality of The Mysterious Tales of Poe broadens its appeal; audience members certainly don’t have to be fans of magic to enjoy it.  On the other hand, those who are used to seeing magic performed as trick after trick with no unifying theme might gain a greater appreciation for the potential of magic when performed with Beaux’s creativity.
 

More information on Ava Beaux and her performance dates can be found here.

PBH BEST OF MAGIC SHOW

☆☆☆☆

The PBH’s Best of Magic show, hosted by Chris Cook, featured a different lineup of magicians at each of its three performances.  This review is of the third and final performance, and it was a fitting finale to a Fringe full of incredible magic.

Cook was the perfect choice to host this show.  His love for magic shone through each and every one of the glowing introductions that he gave his fellow magicians.  After watching him juggle getting the crowd excited for each act, helping out in various ways throughout the performances, and performing his own magic tricks when the occasion called for it, it is easy to see why Cook has found success in the hectic realm of performing at private parties.  His unflappable cheeriness at every juncture held the show together.

The show kicked off with Aaron Calvert, a mind reading magician whose main show culminates in hypnosis.  Here, with less time, he focuses on the mind reading, using an audience member to choose numbers on a die for him to figure out.  Calvert’s commanding presence kept the audience mesmerized by his feats.

Next up was the delightfully creepy Ava Beaux.  Her Edgar Allan Poe themed show was reviewed here on one of her first performances, and she has only improved over the course of her time at the Fringe—she certainly had plenty of performances in which to do so, as she proved to be so popular that she had to run her show twice a day to satisfy her fans.  Beaux’s performance persona had consistently been one of her strong points, and even that had developed further; she was fully committed to her darkly comic character.  Beaux is reminiscent (if she would permit a more modern comparison than Poe) of Lemony Snicket, of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” fame.  Her magic tricks were appreciably neat and polished, and she kept up the flow of her act to seamlessly incorporate her illusions.

Following Beaux came a properly comic interval, featuring Tom Crosbie.  Crosbie’s main show included a variety of mathematical and Rubik’s cube based comedy.  Here he focused on the Rubik’s cubes, showing off his quick solves, and tricks like solving the Rubik’s cube while it was in midair.  While Crosbie does not do what one would consider a quintessentially magic centered act, his set was entertaining and provided an interesting change of pace.

David Narayan came next, with his own take on mentalism. He also brought along a taste of the magical history lesson that featured so prominently in his main show, The Psychic Project.  Also similarly to his main show, he kept a twist for the end—which, in this case, featured an unusually exciting wardrobe change.  Narayan’s performances at this Fringe have been heavily informed by history, but it is such characteristic personal flourishes that truly set him apart.

The show wrapped up with a final set by Dave Alnwick, another magician who has proved incredibly popular this year.  His wallet-based trick, featuring multiplying yellow fluffy balls, was a fun and playful way to end the show.  Like in all of Alnwick’s performances, his charismatic personality kept the audience engaged regardless of what he was doing on stage.  As Alnwick is also an amazingly skilled magician, the audience was captivated.

This performance of the Best of Magic show featured a wonderfully skilled lineup and stellar performances from every entertainer.  Each one of these performers are exceptional in their own right, and watching them perform on the same stage was a delight.

AVA BEAUX: THE MYSTERIOUS TALES OF POE

☆☆☆

Ava Beaux’s Edgar Allan Poe-themed magic show ‘The Mysterious Tales of Poe’ can be found in a cozy room underneath The Street bar. Relatively new to performing, Beaux opens her show a little nervous at first, but quickly became more confident as she gets further along, and delivers a spellbinding performance.

Rather than jumping straight in to a succession of magic tricks, Beaux skillfully ties her show together through her re-telling of Poe’s short stories. Her act is not, in practice, strictly a magic show, as her spoken word performance shares an equal role. This is certainly to our benefit, as Beaux is a captivating storyteller. Her illusions and storytelling complement each other perfectly to bring Poe’s tales to life.

Beaux also uses sound and practical effects to enhance her act, her use of sound being particularly effective. The knocks of her tell-tale heart initially sound almost like background noise from the bar above, and gradually become more insistent and distinct as Beaux reaches the concluding lines of the story. This particular re-telling is an impressive highlight of her show.

While Beaux often uses her magic abilities to great effect, this aspect of her performance occasionally feels a little bit clumsier. Her hands at times stray a little too close to her suspiciously puffy sleeves, and her transitions after her tricks sometimes feel a bit hasty and awkward. Her final magic trick, as well, feels rushed, and, on the occasion of this review, did not land as solidly as she might have hoped. But while these are issues, given the multi-faceted nature of Beaux’s act they are fairly minor in context. Her magic tricks will probably quickly improve as she gains more experience, perhaps even over the course of this year’s Fringe.

The Mysterious Tales of Poe is well worth watching for the overall effect of Beaux’s performance. She excels at creating atmosphere—the audience truly feels transported in turn to a ship on a stormy ocean or a mysterious old mansion in the middle of the countryside. This show is an inventive and exciting addition to the Fringe magic scene. While her magic surely will continue to improve, Beaux’s storytelling is so fascinating that her audience can hardly notice any flaws.

 

More information on Ava Beaux and her performance dates can be found here