“I am Bubble.”
This single line by Sam King perfectly sums up ‘Tricks & Stuff,’ his funny yet strangely absurd close up magic show. Delivered in a small venue not much larger than a living room, Sam entertained with a comedic, nerdy and intentionally ‘homemade’ style show as part of the Melbourne Magic Festival.
Drawing his audience in with some goofy yet ingenious slight of hand tricks, he then proceeded to unravel his more and more imaginative and surprising feats of magic. Indeed, the lynch pin of the magician’s repertoire, the card trick, was taken to new and quite astonishing heights by Sam, who utilised plenty of tropes (writing on the card, showing things to the audience, tearing cards into pieces etc) yet still managed to do the impossible with them, under the noses of an audience at very close proximity.
Honestly, there were too many clever tricks to mention and Sam’s skill is undeniable, there were also some skits and lots of truly enjoyable comedy involving high levels of audience participation, (avoid the front row if you’re not a joiner), yet strangely it still fell short of being a truly amazing show and landed in the ‘that was fun’ zone.
Whilst not without its charm, the show perhaps lacked a little polish and was not cohesive enough – something Sam himself jokily shared. Although this may well have been an intentional choice by the man himself, it didn’t quite feel like something one would expect from an awarded ‘up and comer’, which Sam King definitely is.
So, despite offering an enjoyable show with some genuinely mind-bending tricks, the audience was entertained but not, perhaps, totally wowed by his undeniably clever magical arts.
Checkout Sam the Magician here if you’d like to learn more. Or stay tuned for next years Melbourne Magic Festival July 7-19, 2025.
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
