Parlour Tricks – Morgan and West: Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond

RHYS Morgan and Robert West are a couple of dashing young chaps, dressed up in proper Victorian gear befitting of any parlour. I did notice however, that Mr Morgan’s shoes needed a bit of spit and polish and that after he removed a shoe, Mr. West, who amusingly sported a delicately waxed moustache, had red and white Swedish patterned socks on – at least on one foot.

Knowing those two small facts did not help me figure out how they swapped the bottle with the glass or how on earth they managed to get a ring belonging to a member of the audience on to a red ribbon. Or indeed how Mr West could "see" the serial numbers on a £10 note produced by a volunteer audience member after he applied his blindfold.

There was loads of well-orchestrated audience participation with a generous helping of good humour, superb comedy timing and a polite argumentative style giving them a uniqueness that is a real bonus. I loved their over-the-top theatricality, especially during the sketch when they managed to make water disappear from a cup in that well-known three-cup trick, normally done with a pea.

These two confident tricksters produce illusion and brain-bursting, gasp-generating feats of jiggery-pokery with such charm it would be impossible not to like them.

They admit that it’s all about deceiving the audience, and how well they must have practised to deceive, polishing their tricks to bamboozling perfection – shame about the shoes and socks though.

Helen Brown