The Mystica (3.5 stars)

by

Review by Jessica Horwell

In a bright, intimate theatre space inside the mystical, alluring setting of The Butterfly Club in Melbourne’s CBD, a 23 year old magician- David Stewart– used super consciousness and spiritual connection to read minds with the knowing of a mathematician resolving equations. Instead of rabbits, he pulled the numbers we were thinking of out of one collective hat worn by audience and magician.

Stewart maneuvered a piece of silver string through the air as he talked about connection and psychology guiding his practice of magic. Pulling the piece of string from his eye, not his nose- as I have seen before- was a metaphor for the way David could ‘see’ what others couldn’t. In the middle of the show, he placed razors on the cream centre of an Oreo, and turned his back as he asked me to switch the position of the deathly Oreo’s with the five ‘safe’ Oreos lying on the table. He picked up each Oreo- and chugged it down with hesitation, leaving the deathly Oreo alone under the spotlight.

Drawing my attention to the line of my pentagram tattoo, with a finger click he put me in a mediative trance- I felt as if I was being guided by magic.

The most powerful part of the show for me was when Stewart contacted ‘the other side’. Having told us the story of losing his mother at age 16, this was a poignant moment. A volunteer audience member on stage with David told us his pulse had stopped. I was hit with a visceral experience or ‘hallucination’- giant angel wings appearing behind David, and the breath of a bellowing, mystical wind. This young magician is only beginning to tap into his potential with ‘Mystica’ and will amaze audiences on a deep level for years to come.

Mystica played at The Butterfly Club in Melbourne during March 2016.