Playing at Soho’s Underbelly Boulevard through September, Asi Wind’s debut ‘Incredible Human’ lands in London’s West End.
The Israeli-American illusionist might be new to the British capital, but he’s already made a name for himself in North America. He was crowned the 2022 Magician of the Year by the prestigious Academy of Magical Arts at L.A.’s famed Magic Castle.
Intimate and Interactive
An air of amiable inclusion is established as soon as you take your seats in a dimly lit room resembling an amphitheatre, surrounded by other intrigued and excited spectators. Soon after, members of the staff hand everyone a piece of paper and ask that you write the name of an incredible human or a celebrity and keep the note in your pocket. The meaning behind this move will be revealed during the show’s final act.
Asi’s specialty is card tricks and an unorthodox approach to people. Unlike other magicians, who often prefer to be distant and overly mysterious, during his shows, the intimacy isn’t just spatial – the charming and funny Wind quickly creates an easy rapport with the audience. The title of the show reflects twin desires that Asi is seeking to reach: to be both incredible and credible.
As soon as he comes on stage, he asks someone from the audience to volunteer to help him solve two Rubik’s Cubes. As you might expect, the performer completes his Rubik’s Cube routine in less than 5 seconds. Then he does it again, this time inside a paper bag without looking at the combinations. The third time, he meticulously repeats the combination the spectator did at the very beginning of the trick, then solves both cubes one-handed and with his eyes closed. An impressive introduction to say the least.
Passionate about magic
Between the tricks, Wind briefly talks about himself and his first introduction to illusions. He recollects that he was blown away by a local magician performing a trick with a disappearing scarf when he was a child. “I can tell you how I did it, but it will cost you,” Asi recreates the dialogue, admitting that he paid and was disappointed by the simplicity of the secret.
He says that magic is all about practice, so anyone can do it if they lock themselves in a room for months. The more he talks, the more his low-key charisma charms and totally disarms us.
Nothing you’ve seen before
When you think of a magic show, you think card tricks, metal rings and disappearing objects – but you won’t find any of that here. Well, he did have one card trick – memorising a freshly shuffled deck then naming each card picked up by someone in the audience, in a random order, with his back turned. This is surely impossible but of course he got every single one correct.
The pacing of the show is perfect, no padding out with lots of talking, it’s one trick straight onto the next and with each trick being very different, you’re always looking forward to what’s next up his sleeve.
Full of twists
He teases, but we’re always in on the joke, and this inclusivity makes it feel like we’re that much closer to being in on the magic as well. Most of the tricks are performed with the viewers’ assistance, whether it’s to shuffle the cards, tear a page out of a book, or pick a song from the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
There are moments where it appears he’s made a mistake and it’s very convincing, but you later find out it was all part of the trick and a way to build up the real reveal, which ends up being a lot more impressive than you were first expecting.
Jaw on the floor
As you would expect he saved the best till last with the grand finale and it was mind-blowing. By the end of the show, you’ll have forgotten about the card in your pocket, only to find out that it was connected to the biggest wonder of the night. We won’t spoil the surprise but it left everyone speechless.
Overall “Incredibly Human” is one of the most engaging shows we’ve ever been to. Time flies really fast, and we believe that Asi’s main superpower is to keep your attention for 80 minutes straight.
The venue is perfectly suited to the performance as it’s small enough to be intimate and see the tricks up close, but large enough to have a great atmosphere, especially with the whole audience getting involved. Even for people not fussed about magic it’s great fun and you’ll leave at the end in complete awe.
The show will play at the Underbelly Boulevard in London until 5 January 2025.
More information can be found here.
Image credits: © Asi Wind, Mark Thomas, Luke Adams
