The Wizard’s Guide to Saving the World, Museum of Comedy
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Terry Victor‘s The Wizard’s Guide to Saving the World (with Added Merlin) promises a mischievous character comedy, concerned with shifting social attitudes and cultural standards, as viewed ’n skewed through the eyes of wizards who have been around for ever. This is a wizard spell of magical naughtiness, and farfetched silliness, not to mention satirical thrusts, an attack by the forces of evil, Merlin, Arthurian legend, Gandalf, love philtres, and charms enough to stop wars or climate change. And a singalong. Beware: this show contains words that feel unpleasant in your mouth.
Yes, we know, it sounds all rather… odd. Which is all the more reason we wanted to chat with Terry to find out just what on earth that all actually means!
The Wizard’s Guide to Saving the World (with Added Merlin) comes to The Museum of Comedy on 15 and 16 August. Further information and tickets are available here.
What can audiences expect from the show?
WOKE WIZARD SEX CHANGE FOR ROWLING
What if an actual wizard could sort out the mess we are in? That’s the set up for The Wizard’s Guide to Saving the World.
Shifting social attitudes, slippery cultural standards and words that feel uncomfortable in the mouth will be conjured to cast a spell over audiences who enjoy a blend of left-leaning political sensibility, smut, incantations and far-fetched silliness.
The show (like these words) is written and performed by Terry Victor, whose many professional credits include the West End, Oscar-nominated and Bafta-winning movies, and getting away with multiple murders on the Orient Express. His last solo outing was 2023’s award-winning Grotto.
Being a wizard offers so much opportunity for mischief. Embodying a character who stands up outside of time is a great way to present a skewed view of the real world. But when using comedy to mix today’s headlines with the myth and legends of wizardry, some controversial subject matter is inevitable – there’s no Dumbledore without J. K. Rowling. So, let’s learn to transmogrify with dignity.
The Wizard’s Guide to Saving the World is a magical cocktail of tricks, jokes, danger, love philtres, charms enough to stop wars or climate change, and a world-saving singalong. Other than all that it does what it says on the cauldron.
Is Camden Fringe going to be the show’s first time on stage, or have you already performed elsewhere?
One preview at Shaftesbury Arts Centre – then a month to tinker before the official premiere at the Museum of Comedy.
What was your inspiration behind the show?
I visited a number of places where the legends of Merlin loom large. But it was at the Shaftesbury Fringe last year that the notion of a wizard really took hold. That’s why the preview of this show had to be Shaftesbury.
The show I was touring, Grotto, was another mythic being struggling with the modern world – a drunken Santa in rehab. In many ways Wizard Guide is a sequel. (You don’t need to have seen Grotto. Most people didn’t!)
How long have you been working on the play?
Since last Summer.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
Since I first put pen to paper? This wizard has moved from quill to QWERTY. The structure is fairly solid; trying to keep up with news headlines keeps the text moving on.
What was it that drew you to this show then?
Since covid I have been writing solo work for me. The role grew out of me. My heart is on the wizard’s sleeve.
What is it about your character that you most enjoy and what’s been teh challenges?
His uncertain but scurrilous pedigree. I have had to learn a couple of magic tricks. Blood has been spilt.
Being a fringe festival, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around this with your set and props?
So long as I can scrounge up a table, everything else (costume, set dressing and props) should fit in a bag I can take on the Tube.
How important is audience interaction to you?
Audience interaction is hugely important. I try to run the gamut from shock to singalong, Via laughter.
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run– for you or the show?
Immediately after the Camden Fringe the Wizard is off to the Edinburgh Fringe, for a week at the Alba Theatre – Braw Venues @Hill Street Theatre (venue 41). Then it’s a one night stand in Bristol at the Alma Theatre (Thursday 28th August). Then it will be time to take stock. It would be great to see how far the Wizard might travel.
If you had to describe your show as a meal?
Stir fry: so many good ingredients.
And if it had a soundtrack?
Hocus Pocus by Focus. The whole proggy thing meshes with my head and messes with the script. If you’ve not heard it, be warned it contains yodelling.
What’s the weirdest or most unconventional prop used in your show, and how did it come to be part of the production?
The wizard’s staff. You can’t be a wizard without a staff. It’s the law. This one is made for the show: part camping supplies and part local community workshop, with elements of Amazon and Temu – and a USB connection. It’s magic.
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
Mistakes don’t matter – take the risk.
Thanks to Terry for taking time out from casting spells to chat with us. You can catch The Wizard’s Guide to Saving the World when it plays at The Museum of Comedy for Camden Fringe on 15 and 16 August.
The show also plays at EdFringe from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 August. You can find more information here.
