Debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe, Jack Kenyon leaves a magical impression with Table for Two. Abundant with moments of pure impossibility, astonishing coincidences and logic-defying mysteries, Jack takes his audience on a playful magical journey before attempting to answer one rather important question: can a magician successfully land a second date?
I believe this might actually be a Theatre Village first – our first proper review of a magic show.
The closest I’ve previously come was The Unfair Advantage, but that was more focused on card tricks and sleight of hand. Table for Two is something rather different.
As I settled into the venue, I felt less like I was waiting for a magician to perform and more like I’d taken a seat in a restaurant and happened to be witnessing what was unfolding at another table.
And that is where Table for Two gets things very right.
This isn’t simply a magician standing in front of an audience moving from one trick to another. There is a story interwoven throughout the production, with the magic incorporated into the narrative of a restaurant date.
It’s cleverly done.
Jack Kenyon presents as a calm and measured performer. There’s none of the frantic pacing which can sometimes accompany magic, where tricks happen so quickly that you’ve barely processed one before you’re being hurried towards the next.
Here, everything is given space.
The magic is performed with purpose and excellent execution. Jack allows the audience to watch, absorb what has happened and, inevitably, try to work out how on earth he’s just done it.
For the record, I am not a Magic Circle-verified technical expert.
But it certainly looked astounding to me.
The whole production has a calmness about it which I particularly enjoyed. Jack doesn’t need to shout for attention or constantly remind us that we’re supposed to be amazed. He trusts the material, the magic and his own ability to hold the room.
That confidence makes a considerable difference.
There is audience interaction throughout, but don’t panic if the thought of being dragged onto a Fringe stage fills you with terror. It’s not particularly strenuous or intimidating. The interaction complements the performance rather than making unsuspecting audience members do all the work.
Most importantly, I became completely absorbed in what was happening.
The running time seemed to disappear ridiculously quickly. I genuinely found myself wondering where the time had gone when the production reached its conclusion.
That’s usually a very good indication that a show has done its job.
And no, nobody gets sawn in half.
There are no enormous boxes, dramatic assistants disappearing through trapdoors or explosions required. Table for Two remains committed to its restaurant-date setting, and that restraint is actually one of its strengths.
The magic serves the story rather than the story merely existing as an excuse to perform tricks.
There is also something rather lovely about being able to sit in a theatre for an hour and temporarily stop worrying about how everything works.
We spend enough of our lives looking for explanations.
Sometimes it’s good to simply allow your mind to escape the realities waiting outside, accept that you don’t know how something happened and enjoy the experience of being fooled.
Table for Two provides exactly that.
The combination of storytelling, carefully constructed scenes, understated humour and Jack’s calm professionalism creates something which feels polished and complete.
I went into the production wondering what Theatre Village would make of its first proper magic show.
I came out wondering how he did it.
For its storytelling, execution and ability to make an hour seemingly disappear into thin air, Table for Two thoroughly deserves its five stars.
★★★★★
A magical date you won’t want to end
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/table-for-two
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