The Magic Theatre was conjured into the park for the 1993 season as
part of The Land of Make Believe.
More than just your typical magic cabaret act the show told the
story of a magic theatre first built by the 14th Earl, which had
fallen into disuse and abandoned in Victorian era until it was
rediscovered in 1993 by Henry Hound. Inside the theatre lived a
puppet rabbit and cat, which had been brought to life through the
magic of the theatre.
As the curtain
went up the the Magician hadn't turned up for his performance,
leaving his assistant to try to pull off the show's tricks.
Unfortunately every trick he tried went wrong, much to the amusement
of Henry and his new friends.
Luckily however
at every failure the light would go down and two mysterious figures
would appear to complete the trick in question leaving the assistant
believing he had done the magic himself. Henry, the cat and the
rabbit knew the truth though and spent much of the show mocking his
talents; that is until the end of the show when the Magician's
Assistant finally manages to perform a trick of his own making the
entire cast disappear and then reappear on the balcony at the back
of the theatre.
Other tricks in the show included levitation and making people
disappear, as well as Henry getting one of the kids out of the
audience to have a go with the show's guillotine, which magically
managed to avoid chopping of the volunteer's head despite slicing up
vegetables in the neighbouring hole. The show also featured song and
dance routines created by Phil Winston, a respected name in the
industry, who had previously worked on other projects such as the
Royal Variety Show.
Henry only starred in the show for it's first season as the hound
departed the park at the end of the 1993 season, but the show continued
without him. The show then ran until The Land of Make Believe closed
at the end of 1996, before being replaced by the Children's Fun
Factory, a new music show with magical characters and sing-a-long
songs.
Despite the Magic
Theatre disappearing at the end of the 1996 season, remnants of the
show could be seen right though to the end of the 2011 season, with
the balcony where the cast would appear at the end of the show
surviving until the theatre was converted into a 4D Cinema.
