Wonders: Scott Silven, mentalist, magician or trickster

Reviewed by John daly-Peoples

Auckland Arts Festival

Wonders

SkyCity Theatre

Until April 24th

Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples

Last night I went down that rabbit hole where Alice (In  Wonderland) went. Or rather, Scott Silven led me down it – to a world where the rules of logic don’t apply, where the random and unexpected are the norm. At least that’s what Silven had me thinking. After all, he is mentalist, maybe even a hypnotist so he can make me believe his extraordinary sleight of hand performances are real, or were they mere illusions or complex deceptions.

He doesn’t make objects disappear or turn pumpkins into rabbits but he does elaborate things with words, numbers and pictures.

Certainly he is a showman, having the gift of the gab with a history of invention and mentalism going back to his youth and the safe place he found in his grandparents attic where he found a  mental connection to the stars and the universe – and then to huis audience.

The set reflects that distant past and the attic with the comfortable leather chair, an artist’s easel and assorted chairs and furniture all of this bathed in soft lighting giving it the sense of a séance.  

His narrative connects his illusions (or are they tricks) which he learnt those  early years in his grandparents attic to the stage at SkyCity.

He starts the show with the simple guessing a number in someone’s head but then moves on to elaborate illusions where  guessing the number or the word goes through elaborates steps before the revelation. At one point the word turns out to be a number and the number refers to a page and line in a dictionary.

So, how’s this for a trick. Silven gets a husband and wife up on stage. The husband has to guess what his wife’s favourite place is. He guesses Italy but he is wrong so we get a bit of audience participation. A large map of the world get ripped up into about 500 pieces by the audience. The 500 pieces get put in a box and the husband chooses a sliver of paper, bearing – a bit of France.

There is quite a bit if audience participation Everyone in the audience gets given pencil and two pieces of paper one for a word one for a drawing which all get shared eventually. This all links to Silven’s proposition that we can collectively make things happen – it sounds like snake oil but it works.

Is Silven onto to something or is he on something, whatever it is he gives a captivating performer and his act is heightened by great sound track along with some dramatic used of lighting.

While you can be sceptical of all his little routines you still keep asking – how did he do that.