The Naked Magicians

The venue was filled with so much sexual tension you probably could've lay it down, rolled it up and sliced it into perfect little sushi rolls (phallic symbolism intended). Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne aka The Naked Magicians are in town for their run of Adelaide Fringe shows: hypothetical pornos and giant inflatable penises included.

Their show begins with a bit of crude humour, easing the extremely obvious unbalanced male:female ratio in the room — most likely 1:20 — into the night of endless dick jokes and pushing boundaries you didn't even know existed in magic shows. Wayne is described as "Macklemore with a cow tongue", showing off his very very impressive appendage (his tongue, guys) much to the delight of several female audience members.

The crowd participation starts right from the get-go, with almost every trick inviting some (un)lucky audience member on stage to be simultaneously embarrassed and entertained. They present the perfect combination of daggy and slightly corny magic humour with an ironic edge, their show a good balance between humour, banter and actual magic. The usual card tricks, disappearing acts and "wow, how did they guess the word she was thinking about?" bits all made an appearance, but drenched with heavy innuendos and very NSFW props.

"So far everything we've done has involved clothes. Time for us to lose the last of them," a straitjacket act determines which of the two lovely magic fellows is going to lose his extremely tight undies first. The lighthearted humour and good natured audience participation leads to a relaxed atmosphere and makes it much easier to join in on the moderately sexual humour.

Tyler and Wayne's dynamic works so well that you'd automatically assume they have that kind of bro-bond that causes you to be comfortable enough with someone to wave your penis in front of a room of people with them helicoptering by your side. Their dialogue was peppered with quick snipes and one-liners so subtle that you'd miss them if you blinked, adding to the overall easygoing atmosphere of the show.

It seems like the Fringe is one of the few sacred places left on this earth where it's totally acceptable to justify watching naked people perform magic on stage while listening to drunk-text stories and being told to come again.