Piff the Magic Dragon received a glowing review on the usually snarky Chortle, a British Comedy Hub. How snarky? Check out the last lines from a recent review of a Fringe Festival comic and his jokes about London:
“If, as a comic, you are relying on anecdotes with no real peril or no punchline you’re clearly in for a rough ride. … Rarely have I been so turned off by such a blatant bout of town or city bashing. He can add awareness of this to the various notes-to-self he ought to make.”
Ouch. That’s Snark to the E, as the kids say these days.
Given Chortle’s willingness to pull no punches (along with an occasional head-butt and knee to the groinal regions), we were impressed by their take on Piff the Magic Dragon.
The reviewer notes that Piff the Magic Dragon’s flat affect is rare in magic.
Deadpan isn’t much used in magic. David Blaine might be a miserable sod, but generally conjurers want to sprinkle some showbiz razzmatazz over everything they do. Not so much Piff, who’s depressed and lonely, bitter that his wife and assistant has left him, and grumpy about the amount he’s had to spend on every prop.It’s an appealing persona, even if he hasn’t quite nailed it yet.
The show sounds like our kind of magic and comedy. Piff recently appeared on the Penn & Teller show “Fool Us!” You can check out the video of that very funny encounter on Piff’s web site.
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