Review by Hannah Fredriksson
Take everything you know about magic, wrap it in purple pleather and set it on fire - The Purple Rabbit delivers outrageous illusions and saucy mentalism in the most chaotic and thrilling way.
The Purple Rabbit takes the format of an ensemble variety show, and though some of the acts are staples of the magic scene, what sets The Purple Rabbit apart is that it ties them together with a mischievous thread of provocative comedy and delivers them with rock-and-roll swagger.
Naturally this show has an element of audience participation, so come ready for anything because things are certain to ‘get a bit weird’.
The group is led by magician Dom Chambers, who uses his larger than life charisma and deft slight of hand skills to conjur a seemingly infinite number of beer-filled schooners (I genuinely have no idea where he was hiding them all.)
Harper Jones is (possibly) the world’s one and only sexual psychic-ologist, with a specialised skill for uncovering the audience’s dirtiest secrets and airing them for all to see.
Also in the cast is a firecracker of a fire dancer, and an Australian beatbox champion that creates sounds with their mouth that seem to go beyond the possible human range. Rounding out the group is an 'unnamed' and highly dextrous magician, who knows their way around a Rubik's Cube (or nine).
The Purple Rabbit keeps you on the edge of your seat with manic mayhem, it feels like it’s constantly on the cusp of falling apart - but of course, that’s what they want you to think! Throughout the show the ragtag bunch of magical misfits command the crowd effortlessly and have you looking one way while they are setting something up somewhere else.
The group kinda looks like a comic book ensemble about to commit an act of international espionage - and honestly I think they're capable of it. They’re clearly seasoned professionals, but they don’t take themselves too seriously and you can tell they have an absolute blast while performing.
The show culminates in a chaotic grand finale that is so wildly ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh fiendishly at the brilliance and the audacity.
Make sure you fall down the rabbit hole this Fringe Festival season, The Purple Rabbit will take you on a hell of a ride and prove that it really is ‘The Year of the Rabbit’.
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