Alakazam |MICF2026

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https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/alakazam/

Date Reviewed: 07/04/2026

Ben McCarthy brings to life the weird, wonderful and incredibly whacky world of wizardry to life. Whether it be tricks, stunts, levitations, or new life kaboom! into existence, you will have to come and witness this for yourself. Be afraid, very afraid for there are simply no words to describe the absurd physical comedic genius of McCarthy.

There is a particular kind of bravery required to walk into a room, to host a non-verbal performance that can captivate an audience for a full sixty minutes. McCarthy does exactly that. However, you are warned: Alakazam is not a magic show. Except, as McCarthy's own cheeky disclaimer insists, magic is all around us, which means there's magic in every show. After an hour in his company, it's rather difficult to argue otherwise.

McCarthy is a Melbourne-based clown and improviser riding the momentum of his previous sell-out 2025 MICF season, but now returns as a wizard. The high-energy, high-absurdity, physical comedic theatre is the scaffolding upon which he hangs an extraordinary collection of bits, stunts and audience interactions that defy both gravity and easy categorisation. The show is a cabinet of curiosities and McCarthy is its gloriously unhinged curator.

What is immediately striking is the discipline hiding beneath the chaos. This is 99% non-verbal performance and what McCarthy accomplishes through body language, timing and sheer physical commitment is remarkable. Every raised eyebrow, every over-extended gesture, every moment of mock-menace aimed directly at an audience member carries the full weight of a punchline. The wordlessness is not a gimmick; it is the entire architecture. Strip away the language and what you are left with is something primal and universally legible: the language of the clown, executed at an elite level.

Special mention must go to the production team working the lighting and sound desk. In a show so dependent on atmosphere, the technical crew are essentially co-performers and they rise magnificently to the occasion. Musical cues land with comedic precision; light beams build genuine suspense before pulling the rug out with absurdist flair. The synchronicity between McCarthy's physical performance and the audio-visual environment is seamless enough to feel almost, dare we say, magical. Do note that there are brief, intense flashes of light in the show's opening, which may be uncomfortable for those with light sensitivity.

Audience participation is not merely encouraged here, it is critical. McCarthy's imagination feeds directly on the energy of whoever finds themselves in the front row (or, frankly, anywhere within arm and a run-up-the-stairs reach). This is, emphatically, not a show for the timid. Those who surrender to it fully will find themselves swept along in a ride of joy, shock, delight and genuine laughter. Those who resist will simply be incorporated into the act anyway, so one may as well enjoy the journey. A full house will reward the show; the more bodies in the room feeding McCarthy's instincts, the richer and stranger the experience becomes, with sheer unpredictability on offer.

Alakazam is the kind of show that reminds you why live comedy, at its best, is an irreproducible event. It is something that exists only in the crackling, chaotic space between performer and audience. So by the end of the hour, having been subjected to what feels like a fever dream co-authored by a circus school graduate and a medieval court jester, you are left with a feeling that what you witnessed is truly a rare achievement in a festival where comfortable formulas, punchlines and generalisations abound.

Therefore, bring a crowd and leave your dignity at the door. For the love of all things mystical, sit somewhere you can be reached. No show will be the same, especially without you. Be brave. Don’t miss it.

Alakazam plays nightly at 7:10pm, The Motley Bauhaus Theatrette, 118 Elgin Street, Carlton, from 6–19 April 2026. Strictly 15+.  

Review by Sandra Lee