Mario Morris is working the crowd as he begins his set – bringing them in closer to create a more intimate environment of the open-air stage, and creating room behind them to encourage others to sit down and join the audience as the set progresses.
For the first half of his set, he explains the tricks to them as he does them to further confound us. The magic is what you might expect when you hear the word ‘magician’ – the expected things are there; a hat, a case, handkerchiefs, and decks of cards.
It comes with a light humour that might be expected too and it’s a humour that is perfectly judged. He compliments his young assistant, plucked from the crowd, making him the star of the show – it works in contrast to some of the other acts we’ve seen.
Not all of the show works though and the finale lacks urgency, while some of the jokes are wrung until the humour has left them – less might be more.
But he redeems it all with his finale involving the appearance of a lemon, followed by a selection of spreads and finally a jar of instant coffee in a way that is truly astounding.
Mario Morris Magic is at Glastonbury Festival
