At the start of her show, Suhani Shah discussed what she should be called. A magician or an illusionist or a mentalist? Shah’s journey began as a six-year-old watching a magic show and telling her parents she wanted to become a magician. She performed on stage for the first time at seven. Shah can now best be described as a mentalist, but she showcased such a range of skills that it would be unjust to simply classify her as such. A consummate performer, she held the audience in thrall in her debut outing in Australia.
Spellbound consisted of several segments of increasingly preposterous displays of mentalist skills primarily based upon Shah’s ability to read the minds of the participants who joined her on stage. It was a show that required a high level of audience participation, which naturally raised the question of whether the volunteers were plants or just regular audience members.
There are always going to be those who focus on how the amazing acts are performed, while others will be simply content to sit back and be amazed as Shah reveals the correct answers time after time. Either approach works, as you could spend hours trying to work out how she does it, or just enjoy the ride.Â
In a world where we can watch videos of magic acts and tricks easily on the internet, it’s a challenge for any performer to still wow the audience. Shah had a great stage presence, and her charisma made it easy for her to win over the audience. She was also very funny and endearing when making self-deprecating remarks about her own abilities.
The story of her journey to becoming a mentalist and showing off the first trick she did for her parents to convince them of her skills was one of the highlights of the show.Â
However, the Capitol Theatre was too big a venue for a production that included segments with writing on a whiteboard. Spellbound could have been improved with the addition of a big video screen to help those seated further back.
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Despite this, Shah is a wonderfully talented and entertaining performer and Spellbound was a great night out, and an opportunity to let a little magic into your life.Â
Suhani Shah – SpellboundÂ
Capitol Theatre
Writer and Performer: Suhani Shah
Suhani Shah – Spellbound was performed 13-15 June as part of RISING Festival 2024
