As huge fans of magic, we are looking forward to the College of Magic’s show, Unbelievable, at Artscape on 8 and 9 June, which “will showcase the jaw-dropping skills of talented youngsters and graduates of the College of Magic”.
Known internationally as South Africa’s Hogwarts, the College of Magic is a non-profit community youth development organisation that uses the art of magic to inspire, educate and offer hope to young people. Established in 1980, the College of Magic “provides a haven for children to be themselves and learn to be stars, regardless of where they come from”.
The Cape Town-based college prides itself on having launched the careers of many young magicians and counts international stars among its alumni. It is not all fun and fantasy, though, the College of Magic also runs various programmes that provide life skills to many.
Describing itself “first and foremost a unique place of contemporary education for young people”, the college’s underpinning ethos is that “every child is different … every child is creative and has an innate sense of curiosity and wonder”.
Supporting the next generation of magicians! Count us in! (And, PS, last year’s show sold out)
The Artscape show forms part of the Kasi Magic Festival, an initiative supported by the National Arts Council to take theatrical magic to new audiences. After Artscape, a touring version of Unbelievable will play at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone (13 June), Gugulethu Sports Complex (June 15) and Khayelitsha Sports Hall (June 22).
Unbelievable follows the story of Ntombi, who discovers a magic book that takes her to mysterious worlds filled with fantastical characters. From grand illusion, comedy and juggling, daredevil feats and sleight-of-hand, this production promises to “excite and inspire young and old”.
Unbelievable, a show “packed with thrilling and sophisticated modern magic for the whole family”, promises large-scale illusions like nothing seen before in South Africa.
The show will include guest appearances by two of the college’s esteemed alumni, TV presenter Marcel Pretorius film and theatre actor Matthew Baldwin, who has performed on the silver screen, including in Grimsby and Deadliest South Africa. Other alumni of the college include comedians Stuart Taylor and Riaad Moosa, Mentalist Larry Soffer, Magician Olwethu Dyantyi and Ventriloquist Conrad Koch [just to drop a few more names].
Students from the college have performed all over the world, from Austria and Italy to China and in a recent feature on the show 60 Minutes on primetime TV in the US.
Unbelievable will be performed on June 8 at 3pm and 7pm and on June 9 at midday and 3pm. Tickets, which cost just R135-R150, are available at Book Webtickets