Directed by multiple award-winner Tara Notcutt (Mafeking Road, Three Little Pigs, A Town Called Fokol Lutho), Illusive isn't about smoke, mirrors, and fancy effects. Instead, it uses classic misdirection techniques to make objects - cards, coins, and even needles - disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye.
"Illusive contains some of my favourite pieces of pure, sleight-of-hand artistry and, in doing so, portrays a magician as someone who plays in the gap between reality and imagination," Lightbody said. "The fact that magic is not real makes it nonetheless beautiful and all the more fascinating."
So many grown-ups in the audience, well aware that what they were watching wasn't "real", were still mesmerised by Lightbody's remarkable skill. It seems that Roald Dahl was right: "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
Illusive (PG-13) is at Cape Town's Kalk Bay Theatre until 6 October. Tickets are available from www.kbt.co.za. For more information, go to www.stuartlightbody.co.za.
