Review: ASI WIND - INCREDIBLY HUMAN, Underbelly Boulevard
Magician Asi Wind may not be a household name in Britain, but Incredibly Human could change that.
While Wind is a well-established performer in the US, and long-term collaborator with David Blaine, this is his first time performing live this side of the Atlantic. But do not go to Incredibly Human expecting glass prisons, ice coffins or any of the other paraphernalia associated with big illusions. Using only the simplest of props (bell, book and chalk), Wind conjures up 80 minutes of magical delights.
Unlike successful comedians who win audiences over by being relatable, by letting people in on the joke, magicians can have a hard time establishing audience rapport. Stage magic, by its very nature, positions the performer as the smartest person in the room: they are out there to fool us. Wind is a consummately skilled magician, but his even greater skill is how he gets the audience on side.
Wind’s urbane charm, sly humour and gentle ribbing, but never belittling, of onstage volunteers goes a long way to winning everyone over. In addition, Wind skillfully subverts the basic premise of a magic show. At several points, he invites the audience to consider whether what he just did was simply the result of applying a skill that anyone could learn, but which he has honed to an extraordinary level, or whether he had employed subterfuge.
It is no spoiler to share that, at one point, he teaches a technique for remembering a list of ten random items just elicited from the audience. Was the effect that preceded this teaching simply Wind’s application of this technique to the nth degree? Or was it a trick? Thus drawn in, the audience are left wondering whether, perhaps, with time and infinite patience, anyone could do what Wind just did. Or perhaps not.
None of this is meant to imply that one comes away from the show thinking, ‘well anyone could do that’ – no way. The magical effects are truly mystifying. Knowledge of Wind’s work here in the UK is largely through online video clips – most notably his appearance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us – which shows that he is particularly accomplished in working with playing cards. Anyone who feels allergic to card tricks should have no fear in going to see Incredibly Human – cards are very much in the minority of illusions presented.
The intimate 200-seater Underbelly Boulevard Soho theatre is the perfect setting for Wind’s style of magic, which might in previous times have been described as drawing room magic (which is a compliment!) No ridiculous cabinets, no flashy distractions, no overt sleight of hand. Instead, (apparently) simple, engaging and entertaining magic.
Incredibly Human lives up to its name: Asi Wind is just an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Mike Askew
Incredibly Human runs at Underbelly Boulevard Soho until 5 January 2025, with further info here.
