Each time this year, the Fringe Festival hits little old Adelaide in an explosion of art and culture, engulfing the city of churches in a lively bohemian atmosphere. The festival sees live performers from all over the world come to flaunt their stuff, be it comedy, dance, music or theatre. I’ll be emerging from the dark depths of the cinema to catch some of the shows on offer, reviewing them for a great site called Buzzcuts.

Here is an excerpt from my review of Mada vs. Vegas, courtesy of Buzzcuts:

Magic meets melodrama in Mada vs. Vegas, but they don’t exactly hit it off.

You’ll already be familiar with the premise of the show if you’ve seen the 2006 film ‘The Prestige’: two rivalling magicians – who were long-time friends prior to a trick going horribly wrong – take to a smoky stage in a battle of wits, card tricks and pyrotechnics.

The idea is certainly novel – not often does stage magic get dealt a narrative – but the execution is lacking. The theatrics of their conflict are considerably underplayed, with the back story explaining why the two became rivals reduced to an offhand remark. Perhaps we could have seen the performance that started the feud?

Their greatest adversary here is time, not each other. An hour isn’t nearly long enough to adequately balance magic and drama, forcing a compromise to be reached. As a result, we get two magicians occasionally casting each other moody glances, trying to outdo one another by way of the more elaborate examples of pub magic.

There’s no questioning the talent of these Sydney illusionists, both being experts at sleight of hand and the performance of the illusion itself. But aside from a particularly daring opening trick (with a very real risk of injury), there’s nothing terribly elaborate here. Nothing you couldn’t see performed, say, by a skilled busker in the mall.

The high level of audience participation keeps everyone on their toes, but it works counteractive to the dramatic tension they’re trying to build. The show is at its best during the last act where the two don’t break the fourth wall, thereby allowing full immersion in their characters. Like something out of Mad Magazine’s comic ‘Spy vs. Spy’, both magicians resort to dirty tactics to get ahead, playing tricks on each other and not just the audience. It makes for an amusing dramatic spectacle and offers a brief glimpse of the show’s true potential.

So who is ultimately crowned top dog? Neither Mada nor Vegas in my book, but rather their accompanying magician Julia Madotti, who enthrals between each act with a magic-infused dance routine. As one of few female illusionists in Australia, she shows the boys how it’s done.

Read many more great Fringe reviews at the Buzzcuts website!

The Adelaide Fringe Festival runs from the 19th February – 14th March. Check out the program guide and buy tickets online at www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Follow the author Anders Wotzke on Twitter.