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Ran’D Shine, who appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us was advertising a free online show. It took place on the 27th of October 2020 and was organised by Ambler Branch Library (Wissahickon Valley Public Library) in the US.
The tickets for the Zoom show were free and of course proved popular, selling out with many screens viewing the show. Further shows are planned and advertised.
On eventbrite the next show is advertised for Sunday the 8th of November at 0000 GMT. For this show you pay what you can afford for the ticket.
Ran’D is a Philadelphia-based magician who has not only appeared on TV, he has had the opportunity to perform for President Obama. He also likes to lecture about magic, and this was obvious during his show as he refers to the history of magic with passion.
If you haven't seen Ran'D perform, you can also view his Penn & Teller appearance on his website. Recommended viewing.
Prior to the show, a couple of emails were sent with joining instructions, requesting that you have a pen, paper and deck of cards at hand. This Zoom show would be very interactive.
Audience members were requested to use the mute button and Ran'D was introduced by a lady called Anne Hall who worked for the library. Management of the show was excellent and Ran'D asked audience members to co-operate with using mute unless asked to interact. While some audience members forgot to mute, Ran'D had a nice way of interacting and gaining co-operation when some forgot.
No hype was necessary as the audience were excited to see Ran'D. His personality is infectious and was able to relate to his audience that was a mix of children and adults. Ran'D appeared pleased to have a mix of adults as well as children.
It became obvious that, through the interaction and the text comments, Ran'D is popular worldwide and many of the adults were from England - and I also noticed attendance from Canada.
Ran'D did not need any gimmicks or fancy graphics, just the camera was enough for him to capture the audience.
The show was about 45 minutes and he worked his way through about 12 tricks. When he spoke about magic, he talked about Egypt and the history of magic to bring his performance to life. I would love to just hear him lecture about the history of magic as he is a truly interesting artist. I cannot elaborate any more to keep this spoiler free but he has a great way with the audience and he is very engaging and interactive. I would definitely book to see Ran'D again.
Style wise, a mix of close up magic, cards and some mentalism. His sleight of hand with coins and balls is absolutely amazing.
As I write this review, I am still smiling nearly an hour after the show finishing and I would have to recommend. Hopefully, Ran'D will advertise some more shows soon for his UK/European audience at an earlier time like today's show was.
To see so many adults constantly smiling along with the kids was great to see.
As the show was free, I feel like I have mugged Ran'D as the show was worth a decent ticket price to view. I would pay to see him perform again and he would be great to see live rather than just via Zoom.
All I will say is that you need to book and watch Ran'D perform. A great show full of energy and surprises. Thank you Ran'D.
