Presented by: Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed: 23 June 2017
Magic and comedy go hand in hand. Penn and Teller, Siegfried and Roy and dozens of others have used the art of illusion to comedic effect. It’s usually more fun to gasp and then laugh at delight at the latest dazzling act. Whilst it’s easy making a joke out of anything, it’s harder making it entertaining with the added pressure of mystifying audiences challenging artists’ skills. The old ‘rabbit out of the hat’ trick has long gone with audiences more sophisticated than ever in terms of wanting more from magicians. They have to be all-round entertainers willing to draw their audience into their show and grab attentions until the final curtain call. It’s a difficult thing to do and one that Peter and Bambi Heaven mostly fail to achieve.
Billed as if David Copperfield and Claudia Schiffer came from the Gold Coast to perform tricks, Peter and Bambi Heaven – the Magic Inside tries to be a mystical camp-tacular. Asher Treleaven (Peter) and Gypsy Wood (Bambi) perform as two rather dodgy magicians plying their trade any way they can. With that fictional premise out the way, the reality sees them conjure a very adult show with nothing left to the imagination. A duo more suited to playing at seedy casinos or RSL clubs, Peter and Bambi do an hour show filled with singing, dancing, a little magic and lots of smutty humour. If you adore jokes featuring naked bodies, bodily functions and seeing the air turn constantly blue then this is the show for you.
No stone is unturned at aiming for laughs, even if it’s down the gutter. As characters, Peter and Bambi are spot-on impersonations of a certain section of ignorant, ocker Australians clueless about the ways of political correctness. With 80’s hairdos and music aplenty, Peter and Bambi strut their stuff as they attempt to levitate, vanish into enclosed trunks and dance their way to shame. In this regard, the show works as an excruciating slice of the entertainment industry most avoid. Unfortunately the show becomes the very thing it satirises with jokes that go far beyond the pale. Although only going for an hour, it felt much longer such was its unbearably unending crude nature.
The audience generally seemed to enjoy the bawdy carry on as Bambi constantly undressed and did things unsuitable to mention. It’s very much a risqué adult show for undemanding audiences who would probably pay to see the real thing at kitsch Gold Coast casinos. To their credit, Asher and Gypsy dive into their roles with gusto and leave nothing to the imagination. They also show talent in the magic tricks used and it’s a shame they descend into crudity when there wasn’t any need to. Songs by Richard Marx, Def Leppard and others set the tone for the show with its ultra-tacky contrivances matched by the glittering outfits Peter and Bambi wore which came off with unwelcome frequency.
Never have the words ‘and that is the end of the show’ provided such relief. Peter and Bambi Heaven – The Magic Inside promised a show full of camp kitsch and instead gave a performance full of vulgar crudity and smut that would have made the Carry-On team blush. This type of humour has its fans although many a face-palm moment was had by this innuendo-wearied reviewer.
Reviewed by: Patrick Moore
Twitter: @PatrickMoore14
Rating out of 5: 2
Venue: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
Season: 23 – 24 June 2017
Duration: 1 hr.
Tickets: Premium – Adult: $41.90, A Reserve: Adult – $36.90, Concession – $31.90.
Bookings: Book online at www.bass.net.au or phone BASS on 131 246
https://www.peterandbambi.com/
https://www.facebook.com/peterandbambi/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg2kRCULMRv_F3b0ci8CGhA
http://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au/.
More News
