“… charm, personality, and a stage presence that captures the crowd…. many moments of awe”
Julia Newbould
4 Stars
Venue: Sydney Opera House
Dates: Until August 3
A great magician needs to have charm, personality, and a stage presence that captures the crowd.
JACKSON ACES has all this, and more, in spades. He is very, very likeable. His dimpled smile, his easy demeanor, his humility, and his guy-next-door manner have the audience on side the moment he steps on stage.
Beyond Possible is Jackson’s latest show, now playing at The Sydney Opera House (where he was sold out last year) after tours in Penrith and Melbourne. The world needs more magic, Jackson says – and my date and I agreed we could all certainly do with more of the Jackson Aces magic.
Beyond Possible is a deceptively simple show featuring himself, two glamorous assistants, and a couple of capable stagehands. Props are as expected – a box his assistant enters where sharp objects are inserted, another where she faces impalement burning skewers. And there are cards, cards, and more cards. His incredible dexterity in “cardistry” begins the show – he makes card patterns, introduces his sleight of hand, and sets us up for more magic.
He intertwines his magic with telling his story while shuffling cards; that he was bullied at school, practiced 12 hours a day on the weekends, learned from his papa, and now has 6 million followers on TikTok.
There’s the trick with the cylinders, wine bottles and glasses – where will they appear next? There are a couple of tricks with a Rubik’s cube. And there are pick-a-card tricks.
My favourite illusion was where two friends were called upon from the audience to see if they had an invisible connection and felt what each other felt. He blindfolded them and sat them separately then proceeded to tap only one on the shoulder and we all watched the other insist she had felt the taps and demonstrate where.
There were many moments of awe.
The show is family friendly; the kids love him, and even cynical grownups like yours truly couldn’t figure out any of his tricks. The two-plus hours flew by. Audience members are called upon to participate, sometimes as a group, a couple, and a handful of kids. All is respectful, no one is embarrassed and the amazed looks on their faces add to the magic of the show. Using mobile phones, the entire audience is called upon for other magic.
I can’t remember seeing a magic show; it was probably on a cruise ship where I was a captive audience but this time I went willingly and was so very glad I did. I can certainly see why his shows sold out last year, and I’m pretty sure through word of mouth will be sold out again this season.
Six million TikTok followers can’t be wrong.
4 Aces of Spades
Julia Newbould, Theatre Now
