Children's entertainment should be brimming with energy, lovable and over-the-top characters, and enchanting tricks. The Nutty Professor has perhaps lost touch with his nuttiness over the years, because he gives a tired performance which implies he doesn't even want to be there. It's a show which is not guaranteed to keep children on their seats for the full fifty minutes.
The visual tricks are inventive and show a nice variety of bubble magic, with the smoke-filled bubbles proving especially popular.
It begins with the entrance of the professor's assistant, Miss Squeaky Bottom. Instead of jumping around the stage, she talks in too normal a voice for children's shows. The energy is set at a low bar and is barely raised throughout the show, which in turn has a knock-on effect in downplaying the professor's entrance. There is some audience interaction which mirrors classic pantomime, but from here there isn't much room for the children to join in with the creation of 'magic bubble mixture'.
The visual tricks are inventive and show a nice variety of bubble magic, with the smoke-filled bubbles proving especially popular. However, the presentation of these tricks is really lacklustre, with the professor and Miss Squeaky Bottom rattling through the different types of bubbles like it's of no consequence to them. The patter between the two becomes incredibly repetitive. When the duo aren't introducing tricks, they push for a joke about Miss Squeaky Bottom's squeaky bottom, which falls flat on its backside each time yet still receives several call-backs. When the professor performs a trick, Miss Squeaky Bottom merely sits down on a nearby chair, which really sums up the lack of excitement or high energy which is stopping the show from being an entertaining experience.
The additions of Scottish accessories is a nice touch to the show, especially the introduction of the Loch Ness Monster – but it is a segment which carries on for too long. The finale is impressive and here is where there is some energy from the two performers, as well as some nice audience interaction. Where was this for the last forty-five minutes? The bubbles are brilliant but with rival shows offering the same visuals it's in the best interest of the Nutty Professor and Miss Squeaky Bottom to up the ante and really put on a show.
