Penn and Teller at the Hammersmith Apollo

Last week, I saw the magic legends Penn and Teller perform at the Hammersmith Apollo. They performed 17 tricks in total. Many of these had been performed by the duo on their 2011 show Penn and Teller: Fool Us, but they also performed a number of illusions I had not seen them do before, as well as a few traditional circus tricks.

What Tricks Did They Perform?

(N.B: If I made any mistakes in my descriptions below, please excuse them. I saw the show on the Wednesday night and therefore my memory of it is not 100% clear)

First Half

• For their first trick, Penn and Teller chose a volunteer from the audience and took her phone. They appeared to make it "vanish" from a paper cup by throwing it into a bucket which was lifted over the stage. They then showed the audience a polystyrene box which had been hidden under an audience members seat throughout, and opened it to reveal a fish. They cut the fish open and revealed that the volunteer's phone inside it. 
• They then performed an illusion with a giant metal detector, similar to those seen in airports, as they made an assistant appear inside it. I enjoyed the unique and creative presentation.
• Their third trick was a version of the "Cut and Restored Rope" trick which involved a large sheet of polyester.
• Next, they did a close-up routine centered around Teller. He performed a few close-up effects involving an apple and cigarettes, then Penn explained how they were done, with Teller showing the effects from a different angle to highlight the secrets. However, there were still some elements, such as Teller turning an apple into a pear, which remained unrevealed and were therefore even more effective.
• Penn and Teller then performed an escapology routine in which Teller was sealed in a bin bag which was filled with helium. The stage went dark and a popping sound was heard. When the lights came back on, Teller had escaped from the bag, which was completely undamaged and floating above his head. 
• They then performed a routine which they had apparently not performed on stage before. It involved Teller giving a speech about the universe (It was actually Penn speaking, and Teller miming to the words) and illustrating the points he made with a number of card tricks, such as the Six-Card repeat, and making a chosen card appear inside a balloon. This was another instance of great presentation making a simple set of tricks appear unique and spectacular.
• Afterwards, Teller performed a solo routine based on the classic effect "The Miser's Dream", involving a fish tank, a glass bowl, and a volunteer. He made coins appear from a number of unexpected places, putting them in the glass bowl, which was being held by the volunteer. He finished by making a number of Goldfish appear in the tank.
• Penn and Teller then performed a mentalism routine. They had three volunteers choose a joke each from a series of joke books. After correctly predicting the jokes chosen by the first two, they had the third volunteer read the first part of their joke aloud. They then produced an envelope which had been signed by a number of audience members in the hour before the show. They opened it to reveal a giant banner which had the punchline of the chosen joke on it.
• The last trick that Penn and Teller performed before the interval was one of their signature effects. They performed a version of the "Sawing a woman in half" using a giant buzzsaw, then stopped to reveal how the trick was being done, opening the fake table they used to reveal the assistant's midriff inside. They then turned the buzzsaw on and appeared to cut through her midriff, apparently sawing her in half for real. The twist was great, and this was the best trick to end the first half on.

Second Half

• Penn began the second half of the show with a juggling routine in which he juggled fire and broken bottles. The most important part of this trick was the build-up, as Penn highlighted the risks involved in what he was attempting. This increased the tension, and the relief when he pulled the trick off successfully was felt throughout the audience.
• Teller then performed a solo trick, in which he appeared to eat 100 needles and a length of thread, then removed the thread from his mouth with all the needles attached to it. 
• The next trick was a simple stage illusion in which Teller asked a volunteer to pick a card. He got into a glass box with fans beneath it, and tried to find the chosen card (A Queen of Hearts) as the deck was blown throughout the box by the fans. A curtain was placed over the box, and when it was removed, Teller had vanished and been replaced by an assistant dressed in a "Queen of Hearts" outfit, representing the chosen card.
• Penn and Teller then did a comedic routine with a volunteer. They did a set of effects involving a hoop which involved them passing it from one of the volunteer's arms to the other. The tricks were unusual due to the fact that the audience were fully aware of how they were done (One involved a second hoop), but the volunteer did not know due to the fact that her eyes were closed throughout.
• This was followed by one of the best routines of the night. Penn performed a set of close-up tricks involving toy cows for a volunteer, who filmed them with a camera. However, these tricks were accomplished by Teller extending his hand out from behind the backdrop and providing the required props, seen by the audience but not the volunteer or his camera. During the course of the routine, the changes secretly accomplished by Teller became more elaborate, At the end, the backdrop was lifted up, but there was no-one behind it. Instead, Teller was sitting in the volunteer's place, wearing the volunteer's clothes. It was a very original routine, and the final twist was incredible.
• Teller then performed a solo trick in which he cut the buds off a rose by "Cutting" the shadow with his knife. He then appeared to cut his finger, and made blood spurt from his shadow in the affected area.
• After this, Penn did his signature "nailgun" trick. A strip of nails was placed in a nail gun, with a number of empty spaces scattered randomly throughout. When Penn believed there was a nail inside, he fired the gun at a wooden board, and when he believed that he had reached an empty part of the strip, he fired it at himself. All of Penn's predictions were correct, and he avoided injury.
• For the final effect of the night, Penn and Teller decided not to do a conventional magic trick. Instead, they performed a fire-eating routine. Again, Penn succeeded in creating the perfect atmosphere for the routine, and made the fire-eating seem really impressive.

Overall, Penn and Teller were great. Their presentation was top-notch, and their tricks were clever and innovative. I was glad to have seen them perform live, and I hope that they perform in London again in the future.