Random thoughts about David Kwong's "The Enigmatist"

TL;DR.

  

The Enigmatist runs until June 22nd at the Lighthouse ArtSpace in Toronto.  For tickets and more information visit Starvox Entertainment.  

 

 

Lighthouse ArtSpace, Toronto ON

 

 

Last Wednesday, KOP and I made the trek to Toronto's Lighthouse ArtSpace.

• This was our second trip to this location.  Just over a year ago we saw Alex McAleer - Mind Reader in this space.  (If you were at the McAleer show, please note that you need to use the West entrance for The Enigmatist.)
• The performance space is one flight of stairs up from the main level.  Contact the venue if you require accommodations. 
• The show is about two hours long, with one 15 minute intermission.
• While there is nothing inappropriate for young children in the show, this is not a show designed for young children.  The Starvox website states "The show is appropriate for children aged 6+."  However, we're not sure that Kidlet would have enjoyed it much before the age of 8.
• "Hearts" ticket holders have general admission seats closest to the stage.  The seats are all on the floor.  "Spades" and "Clubs" ticket holders are on risers in the back half of the house.
• Plan to arrive early.  There is a preshow activity in The Puzzle Garden.  From the Starvox website:
  "The doors to the bar/lounge will open 60 minutes before curtain.
  
  "The Puzzle Garden will open 60 minutes before curtain for Hearts ticket holders, and 30 minutes before the show for Spades and Clubs ticket holders.
  
  "We recommend that you arrive early to solve the four puzzle walls, which will be located in the lobby area. Please plan to spend 20 to 30 minutes (in total) solving the puzzles before taking your seat inside. While not mandatory to gain entry to the performance, completing the puzzles will enhance your overall experience of the show."  [Emphasis added.]
• There is time to complete unfinished puzzles during the intermission.
• Puzzle tip:  Some of the puzzles have a poster with important reference information on it.  Use your phone to take a photo of the poster.  Then you can review the details without blocking others from seeing the clues.
• David's book How to Fool Your Parents, and his Enigma’s Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards are available for purchase at the venue. 
  
  
       
  
  
  
  

 

 

On with the show...

 

Preshow vibes

• The performance space is intimate.  Due to the general admission seating, arrive early if you wish to sit close to the stage.  
• There are so many dimensions to the show, it's hard to know where to start! 
• We were a little nervous about attending.  The promotional material mentions of "brain twisting riddles," "cracking ciphers," and "puzzle solving" were somewhat intimidating.  (This did not sound like an evening of passive entertainment.)
• All our worries were for naught!  
• Yes, there are plenty of activities where the entire audience can rise to the challenge and participate!  
• No, you don't have to participate if you don't want to.  (But we're pretty sure you'll want to.) 
• Puzzle solvers were consistently celebrated! 
• Right off the bat, as David mentioned in his interview with us, a young audience member solved the first puzzle before any of the adults! 
   

 

  How'd we do?   

Puzzle Garden 
- We were able to solve two of the puzzles without assistance.  The other two required nudges in the right direction.

During the show
- We solved one puzzle properly, and intuited the answer to another one (without actually solving the puzzle part).  Some of the others we may have been able to solve with more time.  

The inability to solve puzzles did not detract from the enjoyment of the show.

 

• David treated everyone with the utmost respect.
• He is incredibly knowledgeable, has a fantastic memory, and demonstrates impressive sleight of hand.  
• It is very clear that David, when designing his show, took to heart Will Shortz's quote "... a good puzzle makes the solver feel smart."  The show is carefully constructed in the same fashion.
• David never made the audience feel "less than" in any way.  
• The show is highly interactive.  We counted around thirty volunteers in addition to multiple whole audience participation opportunities.  The majority of the time, people were able to volunteer from their seats.
• This is legitimately the first time we've seen (heard?) Tom Lehrer invoked in a magic show.  We approve!  (Doubly so given the subject matter and the method of delivery.)
• David has an engaging stage presence, well-honed audience management skills, and excellent technical abilities!   (As evidenced by a few perfect Faros, a one-handed rotational pivot cut, and some card lovely manipulation.)  

The Enigmatist is magic, inside a puzzle, wrapped in pure entertainment!*

* With apologies to Sir Winston Churchill

• The show has a solid throughline, inspired by historical figures and events, providing an intriguing narrative.
• It is clear to the magicians in the audience, that a extraordinary amount of thought, planning, and attention to detail went into this show.  (Pay close attention.  There are a surprising number of callbacks in the second half!)
• With few exceptions, the "magic" done in the show is presented in a very customized way, obfuscating the "trick" part of the performance while highlighting the awe and wonder of the presentation.  David's use of surrogates for traditional magic props, gives the show a unique and truly personal feel.
• We tried desperately to keep up while David created an impromptu crossword puzzle.  At some point we just gave in and let his spectacular vocabulary and puzzle building expertise wash over us.  (And he incorporated a word we shouted out!)  It was absolutely amazing to witness in real time!
• The Enigmatist is a masterclass in using magic principles as a tools to create entertainment in delightfully novel ways!
  
    

 

Learn more about David by visiting his website DavidKwongMagic.com, following his Substack newsletter Enigmatology, buying his book How to Fool Your Parents, and following him on Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

 

Disclosure:  KOP and I were guests at this show. The opinions expressed above are entirely our own. We did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.

With thanks to Erica Fee and Starvox Entertainment for the tickets.

 

 

  Remaining dates  

The Enigmatist runs until June 22nd at the Lighthouse ArtSpace in Toronto.

Tickets and more information at Starvox Entertainment.


Read our interview with David:
A peek behind the curtain with David Kwong.

 

 

Don't take our word for it, see what Glenn Sumi had to say in his June 12th review "This genial nerd will make you believe in magic — not the AI kind — at ‘The Enigmatist’" in the Toronto Star.  (Paywalled.):

"David Kwong’s solo show is mesmerizing, with a keen attention to detail." 

Read more.

 

 

A peek behind the curtain with David Kwong

You may already know that David Kwong: 

• constructs crossword puzzles for the New York Times
• was the head magic consultant for the movie Now You See Me 
• wrote How to Fool Your Parents, a magic book for children

We're delighted to interview David leading up to the Canadian premiere of his show The Enigmatist which runs from June 10th to 22nd at the Lighthouse ArtSpace in Toronto.  For tickets and more information visit Starvox Entertainment.  

What is your first memory of magic?

 

Like every magician, I have these indelible moments from when I was a kid. For me, the most impactful was when I was about seven years old and saw a magician performing at a pumpkin patch. He performed the sponge ball trick, which blew my mind, of course. But what happened next would change my life forever. He did the trick to my dad. Now my father is a biochemist, and still is the smartest person in the world to me. So when he opened up his hand and suddenly had two sponge balls, I turned to this omniscient figure and asked him how the trick worked. My dad flashed me a sheepish grin and said, “I have no idea." And that’s when I knew I wanted to be a magician! And this moment continues to inform my work. I recently released a kids book of magic tricks,  How to Fool Your Parents. It’s a book dedicated to smart, brainy, kids. I’m basically channeling my seven year-old self!

 

Who inspires you magically?

I’m still inspired by Penn & Teller who are going 50 years strong. I’m part of the small group of practitioners that doesn’t pretend to have super powers in any way. And I like to pull back the curtain and reveal the science behind why illusions work. In fact, as you’ll discover in my show, I liken magic tricks to puzzles: they challenge your brain to see if you can figure out the solution.

 

 

 

 

 

Who inspires you that is not a magician?

Will Shortz, the puzzle editor of the New York Times. He’s been a wonderful mentor and friend since I first met him as a teenager. Will has brought smart and accessible puzzles into the homes of millions and millions of people. He always says that a good puzzle makes the solver feel smart. I try to channel this in every puzzle I create and show that I perform. 
  

 

"... a good puzzle makes the solver feel smart."
-- Will Shortz

David Kwong, The Enigmatist
Photo credit: Yann Rabanier

Tell us about your connections to Canadian magic.

Here’s something that is the ultimate uncanny coincidence: My father was friends with Doug Henning at McMaster [Univeristy]! My father tells me that he gave Doug one of his first magic gigs: a performance at a Chinese New Year banquet on campus. Also, my father rented Ivan Reitman’s apartment one summer. As many know, Ivan produced Doug’s first magic show, Spellbound, in Toronto in 1973. This show was eventually reworked into The Magic Show, which became a Broadway hit a year later. I’ve become good friends with Ivan’s son Jason in Los Angeles, and have consulted on some of his films. It is a tangled web of magic! 

 

 

 

Do you have any tour or pre-show rituals you’d be willing to share with our readers?

The mental gymnastics that I perform in the show require a great deal of memory. So I get to the theater early and I practice with flashcards in my dressing room. I usually solve a crossword puzzle or two as well, you gotta get my brain going and I actually find it relaxing! 

 

David Kwong
Photo credit: Justin Barbin

  Crossword puzzles are like magic tricks  

Good puzzles and tricks tell stories. There are themes, twists and turns, and the surprising reveal at the end. This is perhaps my favorite puzzle I've constructed for the New York Times. It was a Halloween puzzle, a day when the constructor has license to be extra tricky.   

[Editor's note:  Have a look at the Thursday, October 31, 2013 puzzle to which David refers over at XWordInfo.com.  

Puzzle spoilers from David:
Essentially there are four monsters (from Universal monster movies). There is the entry MIRRORS in the vertical middle of the grid, which reflects them from the left side to the right. WOLFMAN becomes NAMFLOW etc. But DRACULA has no reflection! So in the lower right, all the entries are one letter shorter than you might expect.] 

 

 

 

What can your audiences expect to see during The Enigmatist?

The Enigmatist is an evening of magic, puzzles, and cryptography (codebreaking). There are brainy magic tricks, and a box that the audience must collectively unlock to reveal the mysteries inside. I also regale the audience with the story of America's first codebreakers. Also, the puzzles start right away! Audiences are encouraged to come early to the show where they have the option of solving puzzles in the lobby. This is called the Puzzle Garden and ties into the show! 

 

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I’ve been so pleased to see how The Enigmatist has transformed into a family show. There’s nothing more exciting than when a young audience member stands up and solves a puzzle before any of the adults. I hope to see Toronto's brainiacs, young and old, come out to stretch their brains!

[Editor's note:  highlighting added.]

 

 

 

Thank you David, for making the time to answer our questions!

Learn more about David by visiting his website DavidKwongMagic.com, following his Substack newsletter Enigmatology, buying his book How to Fool Your Parents, and following him on Facebook and Instagram.

  

  The Enigmatist  

Catch The Enigmatist June 10th to 22nd at the Lighthouse ArtSpace in Toronto.

Tickets and more information at Starvox Entertainment.  

 

 

From the May 6th Instagram post by Starvox Entertainment:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Starvox Entertainment (@starvoxent)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toronto: David Kwong, The Enigmatist [Jun 10 - 22]

Tickets at Starvox Entertainment.

 

From the May 1st Facebook post by David Kwong:

Bringing "The Enigmatist" to Toronto! My family is from Toronto so this is like a hometown show for me. Come join the Puzzle and Magic Party! 🎉