☆☆☆

Danger Dave Reubens is very wholesome for a man who opens his show by drilling holes in himself.  Stunt Magician: Sabotage is premised on Reubens receiving threatening letters from a would-be saboteur, and using the audience to help him discover the identity of this nemesis and save the show, a bit like an interactive magical Scooby Doo.  His larger-than-life cartoonish personality fills the large warehouse, and keeps the undivided attention of even his youngest fans. 

Reubens uses a range of familiar dangerous magic routines to build his storyline, as well as fun danger-themed takes on other tricks.  He definitely doesn’t do any card tricks, which he sounds very pleased about—and to be fair it is unusual for a magic show to feel complete without any cards involved.  His escapology series is especially fun to watch, he demonstrates his ability to escape from a few different types of handcuffs, and his take on Russian Roulette brings in a bit of fear without breaking UK gun legislation or making any members of the audience feel threatened. 

To be fair none of the audience ever feel threatened during Sabotage, regardless of whether they are on or off stage.  While for a few tricks Reubens understandably favors adults to join him onstage, he seems to make an effort to get as many kids involved as possible when appropriate.  The children who do go up to him look delighted to walk amongst the scary-looking props but are kept away from anything potentially genuinely dangerous. 

Reubens is the kind of children’s performer who keeps their adults engaged as well, even if only out of curiosity of how he will resolve his show’s plot, which he does to great effect with his lovely wholesome panache.  He is a great performer especially for parents who want to indulge the excessive sadism of undeveloped young minds while still ensuring that their small ones leave with a positive message. 

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