Card tricks, crazy mentalism, comedy and a ‘cat-bus’, Matt Tarrant‘s 2017 solo show is honestly funny, interactive, charming and also very dishonest.
A magician and mentalist who states at the beginning of his show that “Magic sucks,” may seem odd, but for local Adelaide born Matt Tarrant, this is just part of his ultimate deception. We all know that at the core of magic, there is always a trick. It is all about dishonesty, deception and the sleight of hand.
Matt tells his Honestly Dishonest audience how his aspiration to become a magician and entertainer started at age 7 when he came close to joining a magician on stage for a trick. Ever since then he has honed his skills, drawing inspiration from the world greats such as the one armed René Lavand, who Matt dedicated his opening card trick to.
The one-hour show is extremely interactive, with audience members being chosen to participate by catching a stuffed toy animal called a ‘cat-bus’ hurtling through the air.
Matt explains in his show how the iPhone is the modern day magicians greatest downfall, thanks to our helpful friend Google. Using the inbuilt personal assistant Siri, Matt performed a classic disappearing object trick. Sure, I have seen this trick countless times before (I love magic shows if you didn’t already know), but still every time, even as I watched both hands closely, I can not work out how it is achieved.
Matt then introduced the art of mentalism, his true passion and one of the hardest forms of magic. Now many people may remember Matt from the sandy beaches of Samoa in Channel 10‘s 2016 Survivor reboot where he was the fifth to last person voted out. The ability to read people’s minds through their body language would have been an asset in the mental game and this formed the basis of many of the shows’ final tricks which left us with our jaws on the ground.
It was however, his final heart warming trick where he asked a child to join him on stage, giving them the opportunity he never had to perform a magic trick which left the audience with sweet smiles on their faces.
Immediately after the show ended I had the urge to Google these tricks but instead, I decided to let this pass and simply enjoy the illusion that magic is real, just like that lucky child who got to have her moment on stage with one of Australia’s best magicians.
Matt Tarrant: Honestly Dishonest is showing at The Octagon in Gluttony until March 19. To book tickets click here.
We rate: ★★★★ 4/5 stars
Image: Fringe World
