Magic and comedy have become familiar bedfellows in recent years with the likes of Pete Firman, Barry & Stuart, Chris Cox and, of course, Derren Brown blending and blurring genres with notable success. And then, of course there is Jerry Sadowitz, who has been garnishing the same combination with a liberal sprinkling of expletives for three decades. There is nothing new here, though. Tommy Cooper and Paul Daniels were among those who also conjured up a similar mix with great success, albeit without the potty mouth, years ago.
And there is nothing really new about Piff The Magic Dragon, aka John Van Der Put, whose unique selling point is his dragon suit and his dourness in stark contrast to the cheesy grins of David Copperfield. He has been very impressive in short guest spots, he impressed Penn & Teller on their ITV show, Fool Us and some of his YouTube clips have attracted millions of hits. But his full-length set, at Soho Theatre until Oct 27, while perfectly acceptable, is lacking something. Piff might dress as a dragon but the show needs a bit more fire.
The problem might be to do with his stage persona. His deadpan Jack Dee delivery is fine in small doses, but when the performer sounds as if they lack enthusiasm, even ironically, it can be hard for the audience to feel enthusiastic. There is also the problem, however, that some of what he is doing is close-up magic, which can actually benefit from TV cameras and, erm, close ups. From the back of the room some flourishes which might have been showstopping onscreen felt a little flat.
Of course Piff does have some things going for him. He has a cute Chihuahua, Mr Piffles, to compensate for his own surliness (and that of his equally gloomy assistant, Amy Sunshine). Having a dog onstage to take some of the sting out of the act used to work for Julian Clary too and when Piffles is performing - doing a moonwalk, reading minds - things brighten up. There is also a witty, subversive routine involving a goldfish. It is not a good sign, though, when you are upstaged by a tiny creature swimming in a brandy glass.
But a lot of the tricks are conventional with only a slight twist and the sardonic laugh-or-the-canine-gets-it patter is nothing to write home about. The spectacular – sorry, Pifftacular – climax is worth the wait for anyone who has never seen it, but I'd watched him do the trick earlier in the day on YouTube and it looked better then. Piff should certainly be on television more often, but onstage he left me feeling a little bit piffed off.
