THE HANGOVER REPORT – Siegfried Tieber’s intimate, immersive SEE/SAW brings out the joy in magic

Siegfried Tieber in "See/Saw" presented by Atlas Obscura.

Siegfried Tieber in “See/Saw” presented by Atlas Obscura. Photo by Adrian Dimanlig.

This past weekend, I attended a performance of Ecuadorian magician Siegfried Tieber’s See/Saw, a slight but highly entertaining one man magic show presented by Atlas Obscura, an organization committed to bringing the wonders of the world to the general public. Although I certainly marveled at Mr. Tieber’s astonishing sleight of hand with a deck of cards, it was his exuberant personality and engaging presence that really drew me in. In this incarnation of the show (the show has traveled to New York from Los Angeles), See/Saw takes place in a cozy storefront in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. At such close proximity – throughout the duration of the performance, I was literally two feet away from Mr. Tieber, who often times inquisitively looked me dead in the eyes – the experience was also a uniquely immersive one.

Magic shows require some level of suspension of disbelief. Or do they? Most of my close associates don’t buy into the metaphysical aspects of “magic tricks”. But taken as a kind of craft, such masterful displays of carefully calibrated skill – which many times require a life’s worth of dedication to perfect – demand respect. Indeed, it takes a certain obsessive passion to effortlessly pull off such acts of wonder. The pleasure of See/Saw, which is appropriately subtitled “an immersion into a magician’s mind”, is partaking in Mr. Tieber’s obvious and infectious infatuation with and undimmed enthusiasm for the art form. Even if Mr. Tieber doesn’t’ quite delve into the philosophical implications of illusion and perception like Derek Delgaudio’s soulful, recently-shuttered long-running hit In & of Itself did, his show was nonetheless a pure joy to behold.

RECOMMENDED

 

SEE/SAW
Off-Broadway, Performance
Atlas Obscura
1 hour, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through September 9

 

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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