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Almost Impossible 2.0: Martin Brock

 
Paul Fisher Cockburn Review by Paul Fisher Cockburn 4 Published: 4 Aug 2025 Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-24 Aug 2025

AI is, of course, something of a theme at this year’s Fringe – though for Martin Brock, a welcoming and astounding magician from Denmark, it’s all about being Almost Impossible.

Brock deserves all the applause he receives—and more.

Which pretty much describes his show: smoothly performed card tricks (for the most part) that leave his audience numb, prompting successive thoughts of “How did he do that?” To be fair, the audience’s eardrums are also somewhat numbed by a near-constant musical background that’s perhaps mixed a little too high, particularly when Brock is explaining the difference between old Western card sharks – travelling from town to town and using tricks to cheat players out of their money – and a magician who necessarily uses some of the same sleight-of-hand techniques, but with the full awareness (if not understanding) of their audience.

Although his poster shows Brock with playing cards just visible up his jacket sleeve, this isn’t actually the case during the show – for the very simple reason that he’s wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Nevertheless, he is still able to magically produce cards seemingly from thin air and – via a giant screen – perform some mind-blowing close-up magic that verges on showing off.

He’s not one to shy away from the typical Fringe peculiarities of performing in what is, for the rest of the year, a university lecture room, but Brock has a genuine way with people – especially those he pulls from the audience to assist and observe specific tricks. It helps, of course, that he’s handsome, stylish and definitely sexy. Yet ultimately, it’s all about the “tricks” – a word that underplays the ingenuity and originality involved in both their development and performance.

Like most magic shows, there’s an element of “just one trick following another”, although Brock breaks the mould slightly with a brief theme-setting video for a trick involving Himalayan singing bowls. That said, he undoubtedly saves the best for last, transforming a pack of entirely blank cards into a simple accompanying illustration of Frank Sinatra’s It Was a Very Good Year.

As with all great magic shows, there’s a slight reluctance from the audience to applaud – partly to avoid disturbing “the magic”, but mostly because they’re simply dumbfounded by what they’ve seen. But without a doubt, Brock deserves all the applause he receives – and more.

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The Blurb:

Back at the Fringe with an electrifying, one-of-a-kind spectacle of slick, mind-bending magic, laugh-out-loud comedy, cutting-edge video production and astonishing illusions – magic like you've never seen before! Top family entertainment! 'Prepare to be spellbound' (StageWhispers.com.au), as Martin Brock delivers 'glamorous and polished work' (Penn & Teller), all created from scratch, with the finale alone taking seven years to perfect! 'His original stuff is wonderful and brilliantly magical' ****½ (GlamAdelaide.com.au). Guaranteed the most thrilling magic you'll experience this festival! 'One of the best Fringe shows I have seen. Go see it!' ****½ (FringeFeed.com.au).