London Coliseum
The most talked-about illusion show in recent years has come to London. Now You See Me Live is loosely—read not at all, in fact—based on the hit movie series of the same name. With four leading magicians from around the world taking on the roles of the "Four Horsemen"—Gabriella Lester, Enzo Wayne, Andrew Basso and British magician Matthew Pomeroy—there was very little in common with the movie series, which I found odd. Would it have been so hard to build a show around the narrative?
The show gets off to a flying start with production of a helicopter from am empty stage, an illusion I've not seen before on UK stages. Impressive stuff. Guest magicians from Britain's Got Talent did their little bits, which amounted to nothing much more than party tricks, really. It was up to Eden Choi to show some real magic with dazzling sleight of hand. Cards keep appearing, cascading from his fingertips, changing colour and spinning around—quite a feat.
We get escapology "danger" magic courtesy of the beautiful Gabriella Lester,she is locked in a solud safe along with explosives ,a digital clock shown on the video screens above shows a tense countdown Somehow she not only manages to escape but reappears o9n the balcony! More escape danger follows from Andrew Basso, this time performing Houdini's Water Torture Escape, upside down without any covering whilst a timer counts down. Hang on, didn't we just do this one?
It wasn't all epic-scale illusion. There were moments of humour with audience members brought on stage, particularly a small child who had a funny reply when asked, "Who brings presents at Christmas?" He replied, "Amazon," to much amusement.
The whole audience got involved in a card trick, ending up filling the air with torn pieces, even though it seemed tricky for some adults to follow.
More spectator light relief came before the interval with a woman from the crowd invited to assist Basso with his terrifying act by slapping him across the face, adding brief levity to a scary piece of magic which left audience members shrieking and squirming in their seats.
The show was slick and fast-moving. Dazzling lighting and sound matched the Vegas feel, but it lacked much in the way of charm, feeling more like a conveyor belt of illusions. I've seen Gabriella Lester's performances on her social media, and she should have been given the chance to show off her personality and skills with some audience interaction. As she is pushed to the front in the advertising, she is clearly being marketed as the star of the show. Finishing off with a teleportation trick, the Four Horsemen took their bows to deafening cheers.
It was an entertaining show, if a little thinly plotted, but the crowd loved it and it's always good to get magic into prominent theatres. Maybe a UK tour next year could tighten things up a bit?
Reviewed by John Mather
London Coliseum – August 2026
★★★ ★
Production Photos-Johan Persson