Show review by Joelene Pynnonen

There was magic in the air as we arrived at the beautiful Jupiters Casino on Friday the 28^th of August. Even with the upgraded seating plan Cosentino’s show, Distortions, had sold out and Jupiters Casino’s Theatre was crowded. With an audience of adults as well as numerous very excited children the anticipation was palpable and Cosentino didn’t fail to impress.

The charm, enthusiasm and lack of pretension that we grew to love while watching Australia’s Got Talent is still there in abundance; but Cosentino seems to have grown since striking out on his own. He has gained confidence in the face of large audiences, tempering his performance to their reactions. Even with the theatre packed and resembling nothing so much as a sea of faces, the show felt personalised. Cosentino has an individual and genuine air about him, using gentle self-deprecating humour to bridge the gap between stage and spectators. While much of Cosentino’s humour is aimed at the adults, he doesn’t forget his younger fans. Many of the clips shown are for their benefit, and it was easy to see that the children there were captivated.

Watching the show that he has orchestrated for the whole spectrum of his audience, I found there was something for everyone. But it’s obvious that Cosentino remembers what it was like to be a child, along with his beginnings as an illusionist and escape artist. He makes sure that when the children leave, they will want to learn about magic as much as he did, even going so far as to showing the mechanisms behind one of his illusions.

While watching him on TV back in 2011 it was obvious to everyone how far he could go. With Distortions it seems that he has arrived. The show is a wonderful mix of dance, humour, biography and, of course, magic. The fresh, unique take on an age-old form of entertainment and Cosentino’s ability to personally interact with the audience was always set to be a hit; and this is no exception.

The illusions and performance side of the show is flawless. Rather than limiting himself to the larger than life, grand-scale illusions that many on-stage magicians do, Cosentino brings parts of Distortions right back to basics. Utilising large screens to show the act to the audience; card tricks, predictions and string tricks are dispersed through-out the larger acts. It further serves to create what feels like a close-knit group out of what is, in reality, a substantial crowd.

The grand illusions, that most of us were expecting, were carried out with flair and left onlookers confounded; not only asking how he did it, but how he had come up with the illusion in the first place. While a magician never reveals his tricks, Cosentino shares some of his inspirations and the history behind certain illusions, giving the show more interesting dimensions and drawing it further into a new genre of magic show.

Distortions is a show that he has made his own. The stage, though simple, was decorated with touches of his personality. A high-backed chair, stack of old tomes and set of shelves weighed down with antiquities all serve to tantalise audience expectations. They are also the only traces of traditional illusionist props in the show. Biographically, the props do tie in to the personal journey Cosentino has taken to reach Distortions. The books and shelves speak of the research and innovations that Cosentino discusses with the audience between acts; as he advises the children especially to go to the library if they want to learn magic.

Cosentino’s Distortions is funny and informal; the kind of show that transcends age. Parents and their children will find it just as enthralling as people out with friends or a partner. There is so much more here than a magic show. The humour, performance and Cosentino’s candid personality combine to ensure this a show that will not disappoint.

Tickets with thanks to our creative partner:

Thought it was time to catch you all up on some bits and pieces. Firstly, I’ll be at CONQUEST, the Brisbane Star Trek con, this Saturday from 9.15 to 10 am. I’ll be a giving a general writing chat. The con is at the Park Regis and I’m looking forward to catching up with a few people I haven’t seen for a while.

The following weekend is the Redlitzer Gala Event where we’ll be announcing the winners of the Redlitzer writing competitions. Louise Cusack, Rowena Cory Daniells and myself will be awarding the prizes for the different categories. On the Saturday, I’m booked in to do a world building workshop at QWC. Need a set number for that to go ahead and I think there are still some places left. If you’re interested check it out here:

World Building

Date(s) – Sunday October 7

Time – 10:30am – 4:30pm

On the 25th October I’m speaking at the Victoria Point library. The details are as follows. Please come and support this event and say hello:

An evening with Marianne Delacourt

In website news, Joelene will be attending the red carpet event for Judge Dredd (thanks to The Spotlight Report), so look forward to an exclusive on that. We have Embrace by Jessica Shirvington as our Burn Bright Book Club Book this month and a Burn Bright interview with Jessica to accompany it.

For those that haven’t realised STAGE FRIGHT is now out and the reviews have been heart-warming. Grab your copy for the Xmas stocking.

Also not long until SHINE LIGHT hits stores. I will (finally!) have some news for you before the end of the year on availability of the Night Creatures series in the US.

And of course November is also the e-book release date of the SENTIENTS OF ORION series from E-Reads.

Sadly, I will not be in Adelaide or Brisbane for Supanova. Family commitments have taken priority (my son only turns 21 one time!), but I have spoken with Ineke and I will be in GC and Melbourne next April. Sorry for those of you coming to get books autographed. I have bookplates available that I can post. Let me know below in the comments section or email me through the contact form.

That’s about it for the moment!

Laurell K. Hamilton (Author), Stacie M. Ritchie (Illustrator), Brett Booth (Illustrator)
Fusing mythology, werewolves, and vampires with a story loaded with mystery, action, and romance, the Anita Blake novels take place in a world where vampires, werewolves, and other creatures of nightmare have been declared legal citizens of the United States. Anita Blake is an “animator” – a profession that involves raising the dead for a living. She is also known as a fearsome hunter of criminal vampires, and she moonlights by investigating cases that are far too much for “conventional” police. But as Anita gains the attention of the vampire masters in her hometown of St. Louis, she also risks revealing an intriguing secret about herself – the source of her unusual strength and power. Watch as Anita goes up against fierce obstacles and is forced to make tough choices. What price will Anita pay in order to save her friend’s life and solve the Vampire Murders? Will she actually kiss Phillip? How far will Edward go in order to find out where the daytime resting place of the Master Vampires truly is?

Collect Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures #1-12. Published October 14th 2009 by Marvel Comics (first published 2007)

Anita Blake, 24 years old, is an animator (person who raises zombies) and works for Animator’s Inc. In the Guilty Pleasures editions we follow her as she is hired to investigate why vampires are turning up dead throughout the city. She also works on retainer for the local police department and between the two jobs she barely has time to eat or sleep, let alone have a social life. After a night out at a vampire bar called Guilty Pleasures she ends up getting put in a dungeon with Wererats, She escapes and is brought to the young, childlike and meanest vampire of the all, the current master of the city, Nicolaus.

Anita is a stubborn, hardened fighter. She never gives up information, she’s not afraid to shoot first and ask questions later. In her line of business she is always on call and can run for days off a cup of coffee. There were often times that I could see why the night creatures wanted to murder her, she was an expert at avoiding direct questions and escaping danger.  Anita only gets in deeper when she asks a friend to help her get more information on the inside circle of the vampires to find out who may be behind the murders.

By doing her job, she is always putting herself and others in danger. But when it comes to danger, she knows how to play the role and she’s not always lucky. Covered in scars and lucky to be alive, she has more enemies to deal with than allies.

The full colored glossy pages add to the action and visual enhancement to the story. The mature content leans more towards the gore and bad language than sex, although the insinuations are constantly there. I was surprised to see so much dialogue and content and I found it the closest conversion of a novel to graphic novel that I have seen. This particular complete volume had some of my favorite artwork and vibrant colors. It would be hard enough to convert full length novels to graphic art forms, but to be able to keep all the major characters, plot points and even sub-plots is what these graphic novels do well.

Although Anita never seems to miss a beat, and has a major attitude problem, she is good at what she does. She is smart and more likely somebody you’d rather have close to you than as an enemy. She only has one close friend who we get introduced to, but they would do anything for each other. This is a great way to show Anita’s more human side and sometimes it’s a nice break from all the fighting and raising of the dead.