“… a gentle, wondrous magic (with) a melancholic but charismatic edge”
Kate Stratford
4 Stars
Venue Playhouse, Sydney Opera House
Dates: 11th-29th June 2025
There is a moment in The Lost Things! where mentalist / illusionist Scott Silven uses a copy of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and that was the moment of emotional connection for this book-aholic. For in essence, this is what The Lost Things! is about – connectivity. Connecting memories with reality, and with the world of imagination.
In an enchanted forest, Silven brings the audience into a world of philosophy and memory. His storytelling is laced with illusions and mental tricks. It is gentle story-telling – his Scottish lilt is comforting, easing us into a semi-fantasy where anything is possible. And then he proceeds to do the impossible. (The Plus 1 is a lot more cynical than I and spent much of the show trying to work out “how he did it”. )
It is a stunning set which pulls you in; you want to wander in these woods. And lighting design is an effective distraction – allowing, I presume, time for Silven to set up the next illusion. It is a marvellous theatrical re-creation of the woods of Silven’s childhood, where once he was lost. And where he lost something. The “thing” comes into play as a setup, but more importantly, what was lost was fear. An imaginative change from the usual Vegas style flash of magic shows; this is a gentle, wondrous magic.
There is a melancholic but charismatic edge to this show. One begins to understand that lost things are only hooks on which we hang our memories of people and relationships. What was lost may come back to us, or perhaps it is best left where we lost it. In the past.
All the way home, the Plus 1 and I discussed not so much the show, but our personal memories. Those small moments of trauma or longing which were like polaroids in our minds; other memories which we knew we had embellished in order to construct stories from which we could move forward. This is the measure of how well an audience engages with a performance. Are you still talking about it for hours afterwards? Does it promote deeper questions about life? The Lost Things! prompts extended discussion – and that is no mean feat.
Perfect family show.
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
