Duo Morgan & West tell Katherine MacAlister how their new magic show took two years to conjure up

Morgan & West are very excited. Not only because they are showcasing Morgan & West’s Utterly Spiffing Spectacular Magic Show for Kids at the Oxford Fringe on Saturday, but because their new show has been two years in the making.

The two Victorian time travellers have been doing a lot of thinking in their top hats, and after much practice and moustache stroking they are ready to show you what they’ve got. The two local lads began planning the show two years ago.

“You come up with the ideas and talk them through and when you have nailed the tricks down then you can put them in a show.

“So one of us will have a vague idea about say a water trick and we’ll bat it back and forth until it’s perfect,” Rhys Morgan tells me.

Gathering enough tricks to mould into a show must take forever then? “Yes but the concept always comes first so we knew this show was for families, and by that we mean all the tricks will appeal to the adults and the children. And all the magic and tricks fit around that.

“But even when everything’s ready to go, it’s not until you put it on stage the first time that you know whether it works or not or how people will react, although people react very differently to magic.

“Some gasp and laugh while others remain silent.”

Mind you, Morgan & West have already established their credibility, their shows taking them far and wide, all around the globe, performing in Australia and LA, Cape Town and Edinburgh, so they know what they are doing. They met at Oxford University, one was at Christchurch doing chemistry, the other St John’s doing physics, but they didn’t bump into each other until they enrolled in some student theatre productions and once they’d established their magic connection the rest is history.

Rhys became a teacher first in Wantage, while Rob did some research, but they finally plucked up the courage to go it alone in 2009. “It was terrifying. Not being able to rely on that steady paycheck,” Rhys remembers, “but I loved working with children, and magic, so it was a natural progression. It’s the best job in the world.

“But the thing we enjoy most in the world is the challenge of entertaining people without them knowing what or how you are doing it.

“Because you don’t want people to see how much effort you put into each and every show, so while on stage we are very calm, but underneath the surface we are like ducks, paddling away.”

So for those of us yet to witness their shows what are Morgan & West like? “Well we are Victorian time travellers so we like always a spectacle. We dress like Victorians and our sets have that feel of parlour sophistication with lots of theatricals, white gloves, opera hats, facial hair, all faintly ridiculous. I haven’t see my own cheeks for five years,” Rhys laughs, “But that’s very much part of who we are.”

Living in Oxford and Deddington respectively, the comedy duo therefore has no plans to go and live in London.

“We have got too much kit,” Rhys laughs. “You should see us trying to get through customs. We always get stopped.

“Last time Rob had to get out our contact juggling balls and demonstrate what they were for, but they must have been impressed though because they let us straight through,” he laughs.

SEE IT
Morgan & West’s Utterly Spiffing Spectacular Magic Show for Kids (and Childish Grown-ups!) will be at Oxford’s Old Fire Station on May 29 and June 6.
See oxfordplayhouse.com or call 01865 305305