One last act. One final illusion. But every trick has a price.
Returning to the once-glittering Clacton-on-Sea, washed-up magician Bazza Cadabra is ready for a final comeback, determined to reclaim the spotlight and prove he’s still got what it takes 20 years on. But every trick has a price.
Packed with theatrical flair, live magic, and emotional punch, The Disappearing Man is a bold new drama about legacy, illusion, and second chances as one man risks everything for his last great trick.
We sat down with playwright Kenny Emson and director Alex Thorpe to learn more about the show.
How did the specific setting of a once-glittering Clacton-on-Sea help shape Bazza Cadabra’s story?
Kenny: It just reminds me of places I went to when I was a kid, and places that have such a special memory for me. When you return to them, they aren't quite what exists in your mind. So, to place that into the world of a character, I thought was an interesting idea.
Kenny: It just reminds me of places I went to when I was a kid, and places that have such a special memory for me. When you return to them, they aren't quite what exists in your mind. So, to place that into the world of a character, I thought was an interesting idea.
Magic is often about deception, but The Disappearing Man uses it to explore heavy themes like legacy, family, and mental health. How did you structure the narrative so the illusions serve the emotional truth of Bazza’s relationship with his son rather than just acting as spectacle?
Kenny: I think they can be both. I think that's the joy for our audience. Our audience gets to see magic because magic is brilliant and exciting, but it's also very much used in an emotional way to tell our story. So, when people do a trick, it is to do something to another character, to make them laugh, to bring them in. Hopefully, we can have our cake and eat it.
Kenny: I think they can be both. I think that's the joy for our audience. Our audience gets to see magic because magic is brilliant and exciting, but it's also very much used in an emotional way to tell our story. So, when people do a trick, it is to do something to another character, to make them laugh, to bring them in. Hopefully, we can have our cake and eat it.
Bazza faces both his estranged son and a flashy young modern magician. What did you want to explore about how different generations approach ambition, fame, and second chances?
Kenny: I really wanted to put a very modern take on it. I think, as someone who's getting older, there is a generational thing where people can look down on influencers and people who use social media, whereas actually it's really hard and it takes loads of skill. So, to put a more traditional magician against someone who is a more social media, digital magician, I thought was a really nice combination.
Then, the kind of mirroring of this other young performer who he's working with, and the fact that he used to perform with his son, I thought created a nice dynamic, a nice triangle.
Kenny: I really wanted to put a very modern take on it. I think, as someone who's getting older, there is a generational thing where people can look down on influencers and people who use social media, whereas actually it's really hard and it takes loads of skill. So, to put a more traditional magician against someone who is a more social media, digital magician, I thought was a really nice combination.
Then, the kind of mirroring of this other young performer who he's working with, and the fact that he used to perform with his son, I thought created a nice dynamic, a nice triangle.
How do you approach balancing Bazza’s showman ego with his deep vulnerability as a father?
Alex: One thing we explore around Baz's ego is actually about his ambition, a drive for success and his commitment to art. We all have that. It's a really human thing.
Alex: One thing we explore around Baz's ego is actually about his ambition, a drive for success and his commitment to art. We all have that. It's a really human thing.
As a dad, I always want to do things that will make my daughter proud. I want her to look at me and say, "Yeah, my dad is happy. He enjoys his job, he enjoys his career, he enjoys the work he does," and I want her to grow up in that environment.
The balance of ambition and ego versus parenthood is a constant battle, and it is for Barry.
The production integrates live magic. How have you worked with illusion designers John Bulleid and Gareth Kalyan to ensure the magic feels integrated into the storytelling rather than breaking theatrical tension?
Alex: Kenny and I have spoken about this a lot. At its core, this isn’t a play about magic. It's a family drama. It's a play about ambition and dreams, and unlocking the difficult parts of life. What Kenny's done brilliantly is heighten that by making these people magicians.
Alex: Kenny and I have spoken about this a lot. At its core, this isn’t a play about magic. It's a family drama. It's a play about ambition and dreams, and unlocking the difficult parts of life. What Kenny's done brilliantly is heighten that by making these people magicians.
In the play, magic always comes out of a moment of connection between people. We've talked in rehearsals about magic being their love language. It's how they treat each other. It's how they surprise each other. It's how they entertain each other. For other families that would be something else. Presents, watching TV together, reading books. But for this family, their language is magic and tricks.
If we can keep the magic rooted in the domestic, it prevents it becoming a cabaret act.
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| Matt Bardock, Alex Thorpe, and Gareth Kalyan in rehearsals.. Photo by Zbigniew Kotkiewicz |
The play blends broad showmanship with quiet, fragile family dynamics. How do you direct your actors to navigate those sudden shifts between theatrical flair and raw emotional realism?
Alex: Working with actors in the world that Kenny has created is about balancing the magic and the domestic. Like all great plays, our job is to mine for the truth and honesty in each of the moment. For the characters in this play, magic isn't extraordinary to them. It's their truth.
Each magic trick, each moment of flair, comes out of a truthful interaction. As we pursue that truth, the magic will become a product of that rather than it being the other way round.
This production brings together Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and HighTide before heading out on a national tour. As Creative Director at QTH, how does the local Essex identity of the piece inform your directorial choices for audiences both in Hornchurch and across the UK?
Alex: Touring is an important part of the work we’ve been doing at QTH since I started here. We make these stories in the safety and security of our rehearsal rooms and in our workshop in East London. By touring the work we provide access and break down barriers to people accessing our work locally, nationally and internationally. It's so important.
Alex: Touring is an important part of the work we’ve been doing at QTH since I started here. We make these stories in the safety and security of our rehearsal rooms and in our workshop in East London. By touring the work we provide access and break down barriers to people accessing our work locally, nationally and internationally. It's so important.
To be able to do that with experts in that work, with HighTide, means that we level up that work. We provide a better environment for the work to be made, for the artists making it and ultimately for the audiences engaging with it.
What Kenny's written is a celebration, a love letter to Essex. But with the best plays, the universality comes out of the play’s specificity.
What was the initial kernel of inspiration that brought the two of you together to tell this specific story about a washed-up entertainer?
Kenny: The thing people don't realise is that all of these relationships, and how things come about, exist in 15 to 20 years of being around theatre, meeting people through theatre, having a pint in Soho Theatre. Through that, you see each other's work, you start to respect each other's work and you look for opportunities where you can come together and find something.
Kenny: The thing people don't realise is that all of these relationships, and how things come about, exist in 15 to 20 years of being around theatre, meeting people through theatre, having a pint in Soho Theatre. Through that, you see each other's work, you start to respect each other's work and you look for opportunities where you can come together and find something.
It feels like this is the perfect play at the perfect theatre for us to work together on. So, there's an element of fate that's kind of landed 15 years' worth of relationship-building into this piece, which is kind of magic in itself.
Alex: Kenny has a long history that predates my time QTH, with his work on Misfits and then Blueprint.
It's been a long time coming that Kenny Emson takes over our Main Stage. His stories, his knowledge of this area, the people, the audiences, the history is really exciting to tour. Our stage demands these big stories that challenge our perception of place and people. That's what Kenny's written, and our stage demands those stories.
The bigger question is: how hasn't this happened before? But I'm delighted it's happening now.
When the final illusion is over and the lights come up, what central question or feeling do you hope audiences are left reflecting on regarding family, ambition, and forgiveness?
Kenny: I suppose, for me, the play is about how ambition can affect a relationship with family, which is something we all manage. A magician is no different to anyone: someone who's working in a shop, someone who's a policeman, someone who's, you know, anything, an engineer. So, I suppose that's the central question for me.
Kenny: I suppose, for me, the play is about how ambition can affect a relationship with family, which is something we all manage. A magician is no different to anyone: someone who's working in a shop, someone who's a policeman, someone who's, you know, anything, an engineer. So, I suppose that's the central question for me.
This comeback isn’t just about applause. At the heart of Bazza’s ambition is something far more fragile, his bond with his son. Bound by shared secrets, old tricks, and unfinished business, their reunion sparks hope, rivalry, and the possibility of something extraordinary. As Bazza faces a flashy young magician, a no-nonsense new manager, and the family he left behind, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur.
The Disappearing Man plays at:
- Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch from 15th to 31st October 2026. For tickets, visit https://queens-theatre.co.uk/shows-items/the-disappearing-man/
- Blackpool Grand from 3rd to 7th November 2026. For tickets, visit https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/event/the-disappearing-man
- Yvonne Arnuad in Guildford from 10th to 14th November 2026. For tickets, visit https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/whats-on/disappearing-man
- Key Theatre, Peterborough from 17th to 21st November 2026. For tickets, visit https://keytheatre-peterborough.com/events/the-disappearing-man/
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