| 06 August 2011
Right. I can deal with the rolled ‘r’ ribbings of the miserly local stereotype, and if the still lovely Debbie McGee really doesn’t mind her husband’s constant misogynistic put-downs, then okay, that’s just their dynamic, but I’m pretty sure Paul Daniels just made an unscripted gay joke. Yep, there’s another one. A cheeky throwback to Daniel’s campy showbiz heyday, you might say, but, as if by tragic, out pops a joke about a black baby being born burnt, and my fears are realised: Paul Daniels is an actively prejudiced prestidigitator.And all this following today’s shameful/less publicity stunt involving Sooty, a pizza, and bogus hospitalisation. Still, I suppose we’re here to enjoy Daniel’s performance rather than deconstruct his politics and, for the most part, Daniels’ relatively small scale conjuring act is gently impressive. Ball, rope, rabbit and guillotine appear, transmogrify and vanish as you’d expect, accompanied by some inoffensive old school patter and consummate misdirection. The trickery is slick, but only as slick as Daniels wants it to be, with much of the humour and surprise derived from his trademark cartoonish, doddering pseudo-concern, as apparently faltering tricks are rescued deftly from the edge of calamity.
Daniels is entertaining, but this evening seems subdued, and the structural shambles that follows the charming opening betrays a lack of transitional rehearsal, though it’s difficult to tell whether or not this is intentional. I desperately want to excuse Daniels. He introduced my generation to magic, and was something of a childhood hero. Unfortunately, the ideologically suspect banter with McGee and the crowd became for me the most memorable aspect of an ultimately anachronistic routine. The tricks are wonderful to watch, but they’re excessively understated, and thanks to the slow pace and Daniels’ garrulous stage persona, we just don’t get enough magic.
Paul Daniels: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow, Assembly One, George Square, 3-28 Aug, 5pm
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