In the saturated comedy-magician subgenre, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd, but Peter Antoniou’s show ‘Comedium’, blending Derren Brown-esque mind reading with a quick wit, is one that should be put on a pedestal away from his competitors.
Antoniou has a likable and personable stage presence and managed to work admirably with an audience of just thirteen. Relying on a series of comically-tuned mind tricks, Antoniou shows off his skill as a reader of people and minds and manages to combine this with a well-honed comedy sense that lightens proceedings.
Leaving magic tricks and sleight-of-hand frippery aside, Antoniou’s comedy comes in part from the chance that he might get it wrong – he seems to treat this as a risk of the job, rather than a failed act – which works in his favour, since he gets it right every time. Such feats as guessing phone numbers, life stories and the fact that I was a reviewer wowed both the audience and myself. Antoniou does all this in such a modest manner that one wonders what tricks he actually considers to be hard. As a psychic, Antoniou is funnier than he is prescient – eschewing the mysterious aura projected by so many stage mediums for an amusing comic persona – but it’s a comedy show after all, and he’s got a fast enough wit to make up for a lessened gravitas.
Antoniou is a low-key, affable showman and his one-man performance is pulled off with confident panache. His set of mind tricks and jokes is inventive, amusing and fun, with an amiable host that makes this afternoon slot one that’s not to be missed.
