Review: Magic Men at Brighton Centre

Stopping at Brighton Centre for one night as part of a UK tour, Australian exports the Magic Men have become known for putting on raucous ladies’ nights across the globe.

The soundtrack was great, lots of the ladies in the audience were dancing, and it was good not-so-clean fun so long as you’re not too uptight.

What I did find a little bit disappointing was that while some of the acts really seemed to be putting on a show, there were parts where the show lacked energy and it lost momentum. There were pauses that were too long between acts and too much talking to pad out segments that made it lose its flow several times.

Plus, and I guess this is also a selling point, there were so many women going up on the stage, sitting in chairs at the side of the stage until it was their turn to get danced on, that it felt more like a production line than a cohesive performance.

That is what a lot of the ladies were there for, I guess, but I’d personally have preferred more of the artistry and less of the lap dancing.

I saw Magic Mike on stage in London a couple of years ago and it was hard not to compare it to that – where the balance between audience participation and the genuine art of sensual dancing seemed to have been better struck.

The selling point of Magic Men is star Will Parfitt, who has become known for his resemblance to Magic Mike star Channing Tatum. The problem was, he wasn’t actually in the show that much, only really dancing in the last number.

All this isn’t to say my friend and I didn’t have a good time. It was good fun, but my personal taste is for a more modern take on a ‘girls’ night out’ type show.

At times, we both felt it was a bit cheesy and old-fashioned. It’s definitely most suited to a big group of girls on a hen do or birthday night out.

I think it probably just needs a few tweaks to really put the magic into the show.