Clovelly Magic Man’s Tricks A Sight For Sore Eyes

By Marcus Braid on September 4, 2015 in News

While making his way through 37 countries over three years, Liam Power used magic as his communication method of choice.

And now, the lifelong Clovelly resident is using his experiences gleaned overseas to create a fascinating and funny new magic show.

“While I travel, I’ve always performed a lot of magic, just because it breaks down language barriers and helps you get new experiences,” Mr Power said.

Mr Power will perform ‘Around the World in 80 Tricks’ at Sydney Fringe in September, which blends magic and comedy together with travel stories.

“They’re basically travel stories combined with magic tricks,” Mr Power said. “For instance, I learnt some card scams and card cheating games off some people in Europe. I perform those tricks while explaining a little bit about where I learnt them.”

“There’s another trick that’s inspired by a little bit of black magic: a Filipino black magic ceremony. It’s using actual experiences, stories and things that have happened to me as a premise for the magic tricks.”

Mr Power said it’s a unique magic show that hasn’t been replicated elsewhere.

“It’s also family friendly; it’s not like a kids show, but the kids can come along and they’ll enjoy it. The parents will probably enjoy it more, though,” Mr Power said.

In March 2014, Mr Power travelled to Cambodia to film a documentary with the Fred Hollows Foundation highlighting their work towards ending avoidable blindness. He performed magic for patients after they had their eyesight restored.

“It was fantastic,” Mr Power said. “It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done, just because I got to see all that Hollows does, as well as performing for people once they had finished surgery. It was really rewarding and amazing.

“I’ve known Gabi Hollows (Fred’s wife) for a while. I always had the idea that it would be great to go over there and do something like that. Gabi worked her magic and got some of her team involved.

“I got the idea to do the show after that. I always vaguely had an idea to do a live show involving travel and magic, but I thought I should do it definitely.”

Mr Power traversed a wide variety of countries and cultures through his journey overseas, but labelled parts of Asia and Central America as the most influential on his show.

“Magic wise, I think the best places I travelled while performing were Nepal, Laos and a lot of Central America and Cuba – the places that don’t get to see that sort of stuff as much as in Western society,” Mr Power said.

“In Europe and in North America there are a lot of magicians. When you go to developing countries, you don’t get to see that sort of thing as much. I prefer to go to those sort of places.”

‘Around the World in 80 Tricks’ will be on show at the Fusebox at the Factory Theatre in Enmore on September 23, 25 and 27. To book tickets or for more information on show times, visit www.sydneyfringe.com.