Did Impossible work its magic?

Ben Hewis, WhatsOnStage

★★★

"can a large scale, two and a half hour long, magic show still hold a West End audience that is far more cynical, spoilt for choice and immune to danger than they were 115 years ago? The answer is yes, and no."

"it's very cheesy, which is not always a bad thing, but it does set the tone and tempo at quite a melodic and meandering pace."

"The show's two standout stars are undeniably the mind reader who can't read minds Chris Cox and Jonathan 'Dangerman' Goodwin. Cox is a genuine comic talent and even if he can't actually read minds, he can definitely hold a 1000 seat auditorium."

Michael Billington, The Guardian

★★★

"It’s a highly entertaining show, but also somewhat retro in its suggestion that the chief function of women is to be bundled into cabinets and bisected, made to disappear or invisibly transported from one side of the stage to the other."

"In the course of the evening we get rope-tricks, sleight of hand and, from Chris Cox, mind-reading. The last is especially fascinating, but I think Cox overdoes the showmanship."

"But it’s fair to say the whole evening is slick, fast-moving and intriguing."

Claire Alfree, Daily Telegraph

★★★

"Mind reader Chris Cox, a natural comedian, provides a much-needed change of tone towards the end of the first act."

"some of the evening’s most impressive stunts are actually the most simple: Luis de Matos beguiles with some sleight of hand trickery while Ben Hart performs a close-up rope trick that leaves the audience gasping."

"Much more problematic is the show’s old school machismo. As the only female performer, [Katherine] Mills’s absence is particularly regrettable"

Dominic Maxwell, The Times

★★★

"a sometimes spectacular, sometimes spectacularly naff gang show."

"Some of the best moments are the simplest: Ali Cook performing close-up magic resonates even more than his escapology"

"Impossible is not a brave new dawn for British magic. Yet it’s too full of skill to resist for long. If one routine makes you roll your eyes, you can be fairly sure the next one will make your jaw drop."

Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard

★★★

"This magic show is so mindblowingly spectacular it will knock your socks off. Sometimes. Elsewhere it may have you impatient for the next Vegas-style thrill."

"Jonathan Goodwin is excellent value, escaping from a flaming straightjacket and reworking a William Tell crossbow classic."

"Suspend your disbelief and any hardline feminism and you will be in awe of bits too."

Impossible runs at the Noel Coward Theatre until 29 August.