☆☆☆

Many magicians claim to show their audiences impossible feats, but Martin Brock is much more honest. If he can do it onstage, it must not be impossible! So he is very candid in titling this year’s show Almost Impossible 2.0. Brock’s show is a visually beautiful performance-collage of the best bits of magic he’s learned and created over the course of his career.

If one skill shines through in particular, it’s Brock’s card tricks and cardistry. His aces finding trick in particular is so perfectly performed that it feels like art, even before the final reveal. While there isn’t a strong conceptual theme to the show, the style of magic that Brock employs is consistently sleight of hand, and it’s clear that this is his strength.

If there is an area of Brock’s performance that could use some work, it’s in the timing of his magic. At the reviewed show he had a tendency to draw out each effect for a bit longer than felt strictly necessary, and this was pervasive enough that it became a drag on the flow of the show. To be fair, for most of the audience, the perfection of execution would undoubtedly easily outweigh such a relatively small issue—everyone exiting the show was clearly delighted by what they had witnessed. Excellent magic has a tendency to speak for itself regardless of subjective issues in the construction of the show.

Brock only involves a few audience participants in his act, and is sure to get enthusiastic consent from them. An especially keen participant at the reviewed show was a ten year old boy who helped with an early demonstration of card magic. Brock set him up for success, giving him ample opportunity to receive applause from the audience, ensuring a positive memory for one of his youngest fans.

As a family friendly celebration of sleight of hand magic, Almost Impossible 2.0 is a great addition to any Fringe schedule. Brock will get the littler audience members involved in age appropriate ways and keep the adults entertained with his beautiful magic.