Kiwi steampunk magic to hit Wairarapa

David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache stage their Wairarapa debut with their Mr and Mrs Alexander: Sideshows & Psychics show at the Regent Theatre on Friday, June 24. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Mr and Mrs Alexander: Sideshows and Psychics plays at the Regent Theatre on Friday, June 24 from 8.15pm
Tickets cost $25 each
Bookings can be made at eventfinda.co.nz or at the Regent 3 Cinemas box office

Steampunk illusionists Mr and Mrs Alexander will "amaze and astound" with conjuring tricks and feats of magic at their debut show in Wairarapa, says promoter Diana Moir.

Entertainers David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache, aka Mr and Mrs Alexander, have crafted a unique award-winning show about a notorious colonial couple that will play at the Regent Theatre in Masterton next month, Mrs Moir said.

The show is part of the Arts On Tour NZ and will be presented in association with Masterton promotion company Up With People.

The tale of the Victorian-era variety entertainers hailing from 1888 New Zealand was created around research the real-life husband and wife team undertook into 19th century performers and "the golden years of magic and spiritualism", Mrs Moir said.

"In researching the roots of these forgotten carnival acts, we unearthed a forgotten sub-culture of gutsy ladies, social misfits, freaks, hucksters and mediums," Tollemache said.

"As part of the show, audiences will see Victorian magic and sideshow stunts, mentalism, psychic illusion and Uri Geller-esque metal bending. And yes, we really do all these things."

The couple have performed circus and sideshow acts to modern audiences in the street and in theatres around the globe, but have returned "to the roots of the genre" and New Zealand with their latest show that blends theatre with variety acts first forged in the colonial era.

The tale of the Alexanders is told in a play that includes mind-reading, stunts and magic, Tollemache said, and while not based on historical figures, the show brings to life the anecdotes and incidents from the careers of actual carnival performers of the Victorian era.

"They tell a truly New Zealand story set among the whalers, gold miners and fur traders of a rough and ready colony. Let this carny duo delight and enthral you with both story and spectacle from the upside down of the world."

The pair performed at the World Buskers Festival in Christchurch in January, offering multiple acts including Super Duper Girl, The Messy Magic Show and as hosts of the Le Tigre Bleu tent; and in 2014 won the Outstanding Ensemble award at the Ottawa Fringe festival for their latest offering, Mr and Mrs Alexander.

"It's set in 1888 with the action taking place across three New Zealand cities. We're committed to telling New Zealand stories."

But do the couple have strange abilities or are they con artists?

"That's the question audiences are left with at the end of the show."