James Galea - I Hate Rabbits

James Galea, in fact, has nothing against rabbits. The tongue-in-cheek title merely tells us that Mr Galea is sticking to good old-fashioned card trickery with this year’s show.

Bouyant and charming, this magician generates a great deal of excitement with his bamboozling tricks as he produces cards from impossible places amid stealing people’s possessions. He bounds across the stage and on completion of each routine, and is visibly excited by the results. Whether you’re impressed by card tricks or not, he is an infectiously chirpy character.

Galea opens his show with a montage of clips of himself performing on a variety of stages and television shows. The clumsy introduction does the man a disservice as he is more than capable of convincing the audience of his skill; the fact we’ve not heard of him is unimportant.

Galea gleefully feeds off the audience and was at his most delicious when involving them in the illusions themselves. His trick of ‘Bawttle’ and ‘Tyoobe’ with a Scottish gentleman at my performance was particularly funny. The final flourish was touchingly introduced and a lovely way to end the show, garnering some gasps from his captivated audience.

The tricks themselves are fast and fun, although perhaps not wholly fresh or unusual. It’s Galea’s energy, charm and his love of the craft that make this show a pleasurable hour.