Review Centre: Comedians

"Best, most entertaining magic show I’ve ever seen. Hands down! Blazed rocked our socks off!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Serendipity is what you’re aiming for in Edinburgh: a happy discovery out of the blue. Yes, it sounds like a paradox, like “expect the unexpected”. But up here, you must not just expect it, but welcome it. So if you hear, for instance (in a genu-ine example from a few years ago), of a 15-minute musical about a stewardess called The Jolly Folly Of Polly The Scottish Trolley Dolly playing in a minor venue towards the bottom of the Royal Mile, well, it’s not much time or money, so you’ve nothing to lose by taking a punt on it. And if you’re staggering across the Royal Mile in the small hours and meet a crowd of drunken loud¬mouths, wait for a couple of minutes before writing them off: it could be comedian Arthur Smith’s legendary Alternative Walking Tour. This event, though, is now in semi-retirement following an incident in 2000 when the reeling mob was mistaken for a bunch of nocturnal anti-Ann Widdecombe protesters (no, honestly), which led to the arrest of comic Simon Munnery for assaulting a police offi¬cer . . . “assaulting” in the sense of getting in the way of the cop’s body- charge. (Munnery’s tried and acquittal were amusing, too, but took place outside Festival season.) The true Edinburgh expe-rience is being knocked side-ways by a show, trying to explain it to others and real-ising that there’s no way you can do so and still sound remotely compos mentis, such as the piece about 10 years ago which consisted of a Hungarian woman in a sealed Perspex tank, per¬forming a dance routine whose duration and moves were limited by the available air in the box. If I were to say that last week I was affected beyond words by a Polish theatre company singing the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh in the strange polyphonic harmonies of southern Albania, you’d no doubt wonder whether I’ve been getting enough sleep lately. Yet Chronicles: A Lamenta-tion by the Piesn Kozla com-pany is a remarkable piece admirable and impressive, though hardly shattering. And then, walking away from the venue a few min¬utes after it was over, I had to stop in my tracks: I was fighting back tears, for no reason I could identify. Somehow the piece had bypassed the conscious areas of my mind and tapped into the well of basic emotion. Harrowing stuff. But the main discovery of the month so far is altogether more joy-ous: a bunch of Ukrainian paper-tearing clowns: Around 1990, Italian “ori¬gami impressionist” Ennio Marchetto was the hit of the Fringe, performing a series of mime impersonations while wearing amazingly intricate costumes he had constructed out of card¬board. Marchetto returns this weekend for the first time in several years, but he may find his thunder already stolen by the Mim-I- Richi company and their show Paper World. Not that their show is as painstakingly designed . . . dean me, no. They sim¬ply tear loads of plain paper up and play with it. And I mean loads: possibly around an acre of the stuff per show. You walk into the theatre, see a huge paper backdrop and think, “Ah, that’ll be the climax of the show.” Not a bit of it: it’s already in shreds after half an hour, and the fun keeps coming. Mim-I-Richi’s discovery is a simple one: tear paper, crumple it up, and you can pretend it’s just about any-thing: a football, a baby, a maneating monster, what¬ever. It’s the same sort of aesthetic which has informed many of designer Julian Crouch’s projects in the UK with Improbable Theatre, but more endear¬ingly ramshackle. Also like Improbable, Mim-I-Richi relishes the spontaneous and unexpected; it’s that shared delight in the moment which is at the heart of the best clowning. The players go to great lengths to involve the audience in their show, and are happy to take ideas and run with them, even when the “idea” is an uncontroRa- ble little boy in the front row who won’t stop flinging balls of paper back at them. For this isn’t enforced audience participation of the “let’s pretend we’re having fun” kind. The four perform-ers manage to get hundreds of people in the Pod Deco’s main space all pratting about gleefully like kids in a playground; they create an atmosphere of free play that is intensely liberating, and make sure that every single person in the house is car¬ried along. All that without a single word of dialogue. People by the hundred are discovering Mim-I-Richi up here, but that doesn’t make the joy of serendipity any less when you find them yourself."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We used Blaze entertainment for our Masquerade Party for Seniors Week. Blaze used a good variety of tricks and was very entertaining. It was a great pleasure to us to see our clients enjoying the show and having a good laugh along the way. Blaze was prompt and reliable and I highly recommend Blaze Magic."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Zach was fantastic to work with! We had him entertain guests at a speakeasy themed cocktail hour in West Hollywood and he was a hit! Will certainly be working with him again soon."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Blaze volunteered his time for our Black Tie and Bubbles fundraising event. Blaze was originally booked as an ice breaker but was still entertaining the crowd at 9pm when the CEO left the event. He politely mingled and gave an element of surprise to the night. People loved him and we would definitely use him again."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I couldn’t get my head around the tricks this man did, very interactive, excellent magician 10/10"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Top notch Act from a Topstar Craftsman ….incredible begins with Intl ThemyFamous. I highly recommend his services "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We had Joel perform for our 5th anniversary at our steakhouse/auction mart! The man did a phenomenal job of keeping everyone laughing! The show moved along flawlessly and time flew by! I hated it to end! Would I recommend him to people…definitely!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I just wanted to drop you a brief email to thank you for the performance you gave at our event. The reports that I had from individuals about your act was excellent, and I personally thought it was a ‘scream’. You manage to combine the magic and the comedy so well, and I have to say it was extremely entertaining."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We had Joel out as our entertainment for our corporate event. He absolutely nailed it! He did an excellent job with his material and also a little engagement with the crowd. I would highly recommend him for any of your future events."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We are most grateful to you for putting in your time to come into our Library to entertain and amaze so many of our children! Without you, the day would have been so much less successful! We had the biggest Saturday crowd we have ever seen in the library: 855 people, on the day. From our viewpoint, having you there on the day made it an exciting and interactive day, and your enthusiasm and willingness to come was a real tonic to our efforts. We truly hope that the great relationship between Blaze Magic and the Nerang Library will continue into future events."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Lovdev was amazing at this military evening event, he adapted so well to the crowd and his content was perfect for the type of audience that was watching him perform. Lovdev was definitely the highlight of the night and a good way to end this military event. Would 100% recommend him to other private/public events."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Denny put on a fabulous show for our adult community last night. Loads of laughs and tons of "how did he do thats?" He is very, very funny and personable and everyone had a great evening. Thank you, Denny!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Markus Kublin recently performed in LA, and his show was an absolute standout! Blending sharp comedy with mind-bending mentalism, he kept the entire audience—kids and adults alike—completely engaged from start to finish. His natural connection with the crowd made the experience feel personal and unforgettable. Funny, professional, and incredibly talented, Markus delivered a performance that truly left a lasting impression. If you’re looking for top-notch comedy and impressive magic, I highly recommend booking Markus!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Joel entertained us for our staff forum, and it was a blast! Clean comedy that had us all rolling in the aisles. I would definitely recommend hiring Joel for your comedy needs. Thanks Joel for a fantastic evening!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: