[Magic – Comedy. Sweden] Umbrella Revolution Garden of Unearthly Delights Thursday 7th March 2024 While we are still filing in to grab our seats, Charlie Caper is already entertaining with his tricks. This takes some time, since word has obviously spread about the superb skills of this magician, and there’s a big crowd of all ages. It’s a hint of his background in the major street-theatre venues around the world, and a clear sign of his generosity and abundant talent. This excellent show has many of the staple classics of magic: the cups and balls, multiplying bottles, levitating globes, multiplying money, and a wide range of card tricks with a standard size deck. All of these are personalised with his unique charm, and they are seemingly impossible when he lets members of the audience take control. His endearing manner has the whole audience enchanted. His clever patter and jokes are funny. It feels like he must be doing several things at once, with his disappearing bow-tie constantly needing replacing as a running gag throughout the other acts. Yet his moves are simple and smooth. His sweet, bumbling, humble character is comical and appealing. His superb magic is honed to perfection through decades of experience, constantly switching our expectations to generate fun and enjoyment, and to produce the beautiful sound of the laughter of sheer delight. A robot puppet gives a special modern slant to the performance, beginning as his dancing partner and becoming his magician’s assistant. Charlie Caper takes the craft of magic and masterfully transforms it into an art form of his own. I challenge you to watch hawk-eyed, like the entire audience did, and prepare as much as you like, to discover just one of his secrets. Harnessing the power of pure magic, Charlie Caper makes us wonder whether each one of us also embodies this. As Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”