Ali Cook: Pieces of Strange

Looking more like a cheeky London chap than a mysterious magician, Ali Cook blends comedy and sleight of hand to create a great show that will keep you laughing and leave you speechless.Cook’s easy-going patter and use of audience involvement immediately endear him to the crowd. The first half of the show, following an incredible trick involving a duck and chicken, relies heavily on his comedic abilities, combining jokes on fatherhood, smoking, depression, and gently teasing audience members. These small routines inevitably result in a trick, and though most are traditional sleight of hand - producing things from behind ears, pulling goldfish from thin air - they are all astonishing. Only occasionally can you predict what will happen next, and even when you think you can see how it’s done it’s impossible to pinpoint it. Then come the truly astonishing acts, during which the audience’s laughter abates to nervous giggles and then gasps. Cook’s mindreading abilities are unfathomable, and even when you think the trick is over, there is another revelation to makes you rethink all that has come before. His razorblade act provokes mixed audience reactions – those that don’t use their hands to clap have them over their eyes. The finale, a variation on Houdini’s famous escape from a locked water tank, is the climax of the show and a fantastic note to end on.If you like comedy and magic, and don’t mind getting a little splashed, then this is the show for you. If you don’t like any of these things, go anyway and sit at the back – you might not get wet, and Cook will convert you.