Antony Street hails from Australia and has made a name for himself in the world of magic and illusion and he’s brought a new show to New Zealand for a nationwide tour this winter. I’ve never seen him live before and I have to say, he’s not your typical type of showman. Unlike many I’ve witnessed, usually from the USA, Street is kinda laid back. While his two lovely assistants are in sequinned costumes, Street himself spends most of the show in a black t-shirt and dark jeans.
The show is also quite laid back – there are moments of dramatic music and sudden entrances from behind silky sheets (and one of them accompanied by a motorbike), but mostly this show is about audience interactions with card tricks and mind games. He’s very personable, quite funny, and obviously popular and judging from reactions, lots of people want to join him on stage.
Most of the routines are clever and even for a skeptic like me there are moments of ‘wow, how did he manage to do that?.’ I know it’s not magic but it is pretty darn clever. Most of the tricks involved predictions of some kind and they were pretty slick. Only one felt a bit laboured – getting kids to colour in a picture which matched perfectly to one he’d done earlier. The rest were well executed and had an air of mystery about them.
Where he was strongest was in the traditional illusionist fair, namely putting a young lady in a box, which he then skewers, then making her reappear. Yes, we’ve all seen it done before, but it is pretty cool.
His best trick of the night however involved taking three rings from different audience members. I won’t spoil what happened as the tour is still on, but it was quite remarkable what went down on that score.
This was a watchable show, especially for kids, but I did wonder if its really laid back style meant it wasn’t quite as magical as it could be.
TOUR DATES: ILLUSIONIST ANTHONY STREET 2025
Napier Municipal Theatre
Sunday 6 July
Book tickets here
Baycourt Community Arts Centre, Tauranga
Tuesday 8 July
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Clarence Street Theatre, Hamilton
Wednesday 9 July
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Great Lake Centre, Taupo
Thursday 10 July
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War Memorial Theatre , Whakatane
Friday 11 July
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Forum North, Whangarei
Monday 14 July
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Turner Centre, Keri Keri
Sunday 13 July
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Sir Howard Morrison Centre, Rotorua
Tuesday 15 July
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Gisbourne War Memorial Theatre, Gisbourne
Thursday 17 July
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Royal Whanganui Opera House, Whanganui
Friday 18 July 2025
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Opera house, Wellington
Sunday 20 July
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Regent on Broadway, Palmerston North
Wednesday 23 July
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TSB Showplace, New Plymouth
Thursday, 24 July
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Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
Friday, 25 July 2025
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Theatre Royal, Nelson
Monday, 28 July 2025
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NBS Theatre, Westport
Tuesday, 29 July
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Event Centre, Ashburton
Wednesday, 30 July
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Regent Theatre, Dunedin
Friday 1 August
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Opera House, Oamaru
Saturday, 2 August
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James Hay Theatre, Christchurch
Sunday, 3 August
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Civic Theatre, Invercargill
Wednesday, 6 August
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Regent Theatre, Greymouth
Friday, 8 August
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Memorial Centre, Queenstown
Sunday, 10 August
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