Must See Magical Humour
“My grandfather Ken Gittens performed The Mesmerist at Watford Palace in 1983.”
Rufus Hound
This marvellous show from Rufus Hound is part family history, part magic and filled with quips and punchlines to create laughter all round. Rufus Hound is a master showman with a ready wit, a commanding stage presence and an eye for detail.
It starts when he is asked to clear out his grandfather’s house and garage in, I think, Warrington, from where his relative hadn’t moved in decades. Hound tells us he was out of touch with his grandfather for some years before he died. He discovers that his maternal grandfather, Ken Gittens was a magician known as The Mesmerist and that his garage is full of props from his shows. I don’t think Rufus Hound has done an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? but he would be an excellent subject.
The set is dominated by posters advertising Ken Gittens as the Mesmerist, a handsome man with a large moustache. These posters are in antique gilded frames. There is also a photograph of Gittens, his wife and Rufus’ mother Lynn as a child. The detailed set is filled with bookshelves and magical props including a ventriloquist’s dummy.
Hound’s improvisation skills are second to none, honed through years on the radio and his genuine bonhomie is charming when interacting with members of the audience, called upon to assist. Each one is interviewed and Hound will find a genial source of laughter from the answers to his questions. It is these improvised conversational gems which lift this show out of generic magic into something much more original, enjoyable and unmissable.
This is not to say the magic is routine, as Scott Penrose, illusion architect of many amazing West End shows, is on hand to advise and there are moments that made me gasp and ask, “How did he do that?” There is also mystery and a sense of danger. Each scene has a projected title, escapology, mindreading, card tricks, hypnotism to cutting a person in half! Even better there is no posing pin up girl, clad in very little as an assistant but fully clothed audience members step in. Hound has obviously worked hard at gaining magic skills.
This show has tempted the Artistic Director at Watford, Steve Marmion into directing for the first time in eight years but I suspect he’s been an advisor on many of the shows produced by Watford Palace. With seats costing from £18 to £36 you have a magical bargain but hurry because it is only on until 21st March. From Theatrevibe, the site that doesn’t give stars, The Mesmerist gets five mesmerising stars from us!
Note: We shall be reviewing Rufus Hound the actor at the Mill in Sonning on 1st May in Jack and Sarah.
Editor of TheatreVibe.co.uk
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Production Notes
The Mesmerist
Written by Rufus Hound and team
Writing Team: Maheni Arthur, Georgia Crowther, Lancelot Ellis, Chris York
Directed by Steve Marmion
Cast
Starring:
Rufus Hound
Creatives
Director: Steve Marmion
Designer: Jasmine Swan
Lighting Designer: Philip Gladwell
Sound Designer: Emma Laxton
Magic Consultant: Scott Penrose
Choreographer: Sundeep Saini
Audio Video Design: DMLK
Information
Running Time: Two hours 20 minutes including an interval
Booking to 21st March 2026
Theatre:
Watford Palace Theatre
20 Clarendon Road
Watford
WD17 1JZ
Box Office enquiries:
01923 225671
Tube/Rail : Watford Junction
Telephone: 01923 225671
Website: watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge at the
Watford Palace Theatre
on 6th March 2026