The play’s funniest moments come from how bizarre the plot becomesRating
Ok
Magic Alan is a crazy and unapologetically ridiculous new show by Beth Beaden, following Alan (Gregor Roach), an incompetent magician who crashes a children’s charity gala in the hope of finally getting noticed. In an attempt to charm Elaine (Natasha McAteer), the lady with the clipboard backstage, he performs a trick that accidentally summons a demon. The demon proceeds to possess first Elaine, then a pigeon, and eventually Alan himself. From there, chaos unfolds: demon-possessed Alan seduces a respected magician’s agent, hides from the children to avoid cursing them, and encounters another magician, retired Glen, who just so happens to be his father.
Three Fiends Productions are known for their big, brash characters, and Magic Alan certainly delivers on that front. The show thrives on absurdity, leaning heavily into slapstick and the kind of deliberately clunky exposition that feels almost like a parody of bad theatre. Some of the funniest moments come from how bizarre the plot becomes, like the sudden reveal that Gerald is Alan’s dad, punctuated by the awkwardly delivered line, “because I’m his dad.”
While this style of humour creates a spectacle that’s initially hard not to laugh at, it also makes it difficult for Beaden to establish a solid plot or fully rounded characters. The first half of the play is buoyed by the cast’s commitment and manic energy – Alan’s slow, deliberate pizza-chewing introduction sets the tone perfectly. However, as the show progresses, it gradually runs out of steam; the audience becomes increasingly desensitised to the wild antics, and little substance remains beneath the madness.
Exposition arrives late and oddly, such as the mid-show revelation that the performance is taking place at the Tate. Alan’s apparent surprise at being there makes little sense given that he has somehow actually arrived. A late punchline about the children being left in the Tate car park is funny, but only if you ignore the fact that the Tate doesn’t have a car park. In an improv sketch, such inconsistencies would add to the absurd charm, but in a scripted play they just make the world feel incoherent and confusing.
It’s hard to know whether we’re meant to take Alan’s situation seriously or laugh at him like we would a cartoon character. We’re invited to empathise, at least partly, with his dream of becoming a great magician, yet his complete lack of awareness – about the event he’s crashed, the venue, and the other magicians – undermines any real connection we might form with him or his supposed ambition to be noticed. The stakes feel so implausible that it’s difficult to care about his predicament, however energetically it’s performed. The joke, of course, is that the whole situation is absurd, but that absurdity can only hold our attention for so long over the course of an hour-long show.
This anarchic style of humour might work better as a series of shorter sketches, where plot development isn’t required, or it could be paired with a stronger narrative and more developed characters to sustain its chaotic charm for the full hour.
However, the play has plenty of redeeming qualities. The lighting design is dynamic, particularly during the demon possession sequences, when Elaine’s eyes first flash yellow. Beaden delivers a funny and endearing performance as Julie, the weepy assistant, grounding the madness with a touch of genuine character work. Her writing also reveals a distinctive sense of humour – one that, with a bit more focus, could develop into something properly hilarious.
Written by Beth Beaden
Directed by Nicole Austen-Paige
Produced by Natasha McAteer
Lighting by Robert Glass
Magic Alan has completed its run at Golden Goose Theatre.
