If you programme a receiving house, you've seen plenty of magic come through the door. This page is for you. Over summer 2026, It's Not a Game, the pair's own theatre magic show, played twenty-nine performances in 28 UK theatres. That run is over, more dates are on the way, and below is the detail a programmer actually needs before pencilling anything in.
On this page
The 2026 tour at a glance
It's Not a Game opened at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury on 23 June 2026 and finished at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton, on 8 August. Two venues got a second night, Winchester's Theatre Royal and Welwyn Garden City; everywhere else had one. The full route was announced in BroadwayWorld.
The mix of houses is worth a look, because it shows the show isn't tied to one kind of building. Among the stops:
- Leeds City Varieties and the Blackpool Grand
- Watford Palace and Malvern Theatres
- Worthing Pavilion and White Rock Theatre, Hastings
- Key Theatre, Peterborough and Chelmsford Theatre
- Tunbridge Wells, Victoria Theatre Halifax and Lighthouse Poole
- Marina Theatre, Lowestoft and Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon
What happens on stage
It's a story show, not a run of tricks. Written by Ryan Simons, it's set in a futuristic world that keeps glitching, with Debra, an AI assistant, as a character and choices from the audience steering what happens next. The pair described it as their most ambitious project to date.
The staging is big: a video wall, a countdown clock, lasers, fire, projected smoke and LED lighting. In the production photos they're suspended head-down under an enormous rig of spikes, one of them has a water-filled box locked over his head while the clock runs down, and there are sparks and flame from their hands, a levitation and a tower of glowing screens. Volunteers come up from the house too.
The finale is called Jaws of Death: both of them in straitjackets, upside down, under a huge mechanical bear trap that's counting down. It's the bit audiences talk about in the bar afterwards.
Want It's Not a Game in your season? Get in touch.
Check a dateRunning time, age guidance and warnings
On the 2026 tour, venues listed the running time as roughly two hours including an interval. Malvern Theatres' listing aimed it squarely at families with teens, plus magic fans of any age, which matches what the show is: a family evening that doesn't talk down to adults.
For your box office notes, the production uses pyrotechnics, strobe lighting and special effects. Those warnings went on venue listings during the tour, and they'll need to go on yours. Any changes for future dates will come through with the booking details.
One practical point for programmers: because the theatre magic show leans on a story and audience choices, it plays best as an evening (or a weekend matinee) in its own right rather than a slot in a variety bill.
You’re doing it: the documentary
Who made this theatre magic show
A theatre magic show lives or dies on the people behind it, so here's the team. Ryan Simons wrote it and Alex Moran produced. Ben Parsons composed the music and Andrew Crofts lit it. On the magic side, Neal Austin directed the illusions and Tom Elderfield consulted. Photography was by Matt Crockett. Fine Entertainments Ltd financed and marketed the tour.
The video on this page is "You're Doing It", a short documentary about how the show was made. It's a good watch for a programmer: you see the rehearsal room, the scale of the kit and how seriously the pair take the build.
Send your windows. We'll talk routing.
Get a quoteWhat audiences and reviewers said
The run closed to standing ovations. A family blogger in Hampshire reviewed the second Winchester night (24 July) for the Adventures of a Hampshire Family blog, gave it five stars and found it "completely mesmerising", praising how modern and clever it felt.
The Hampshire Chronicle covered the same run, and its review dwelt on how interactive and cinematic the evening was. If you're weighing up a theatre magic show for a family audience on a summer evening, both pieces are worth five minutes.
Things that help you sell it
Recognition does a lot of the work for a box office. In 2024 the Britain's Got Talent panel voted them through with four yeses. American viewers saw them on Penn & Teller: Fool Us in 2021, and in 2024 The Magic Circle named them its Champions of Stage Illusion. On top of that they're booked annually for the Royal Variety Aftershow Party.
For your season brochure and socials, the media page has the press kit, photos and video. Matt Crockett's production shots are strong on a poster and on a listing. Press angles tend to write themselves: a married double act, a story about AI, a finale under a bear trap.
A theatre magic show with a television name attached tends to pull in people who don't normally buy theatre tickets. That's useful for venues trying to reach younger and newer audiences, and it's worth leaning on in your copy.
Twenty-nine shows. Standing ovations. More dates coming.
Enquire nowBefore It's Not a Game
This wasn't their first time on the road. Their earlier show, Imagination, played the Butlin's resorts, where from 2022 to 2024 they clocked up about 250 performances annually in front of families. In September 2022 they joined the touring version of West End Magic in Norwich.
They also design illusions for other people's productions. In 2025 they were credited as illusion designers and consultants on The Void, a new theatre tour. That side of their work is why the kit in their own shows is built for touring and not just for television.
Pencilling in future dates
New dates are being planned. If your venue would like to be on the next route, get in touch early. Seasons fill fast and a touring illusion production needs time to plan the get-in.
Tell us your venue, its capacity, the stage dimensions if you have a tech pack to hand, and the windows you're looking at. You'll hear back about routing and what happens next. Booking for a festival or a one-off variety night instead? Send that too and we'll say what's possible.
It also helps to know how you usually sell a show like this. Do you book on a guarantee, a split or a hire? Who handles local press? Is there a family offer or a schools rate you'd want to run? None of that needs to be settled in the first email, but the more you share up front, the quicker the conversation gets somewhere useful.
Want It's Not a Game in your season? Get in touch.
Check a dateProgrammer and venue questions
Is It's Not a Game going back on tour?
The 2026 run is finished and the next one is being planned. Venues interested in hosting it next time should get in touch now with their windows and capacity so they can be considered when the next route is put together.
What age is the theatre magic show suitable for?
On the 2026 tour it was marketed at families, teens and magic fans young and old. Bear in mind it uses pyrotechnics, strobe and special effects, and the stunts look genuinely dangerous, so venues included warnings in their listings.
How long does the show run?
Listings on the 2026 tour put it close to two hours, with an interval in the middle. Exact timings for future dates will be confirmed with the booking, so check the details when you get the contract and tech information.
Can we get photos, video and press material for our brochure?
Yes. You'll find the press kit, stills and video clips on the media page, and Matt Crockett shot the production photography. There's also a short documentary, You're Doing It, about the making of the show. Ask if you need anything specific for print deadlines.
Has the show played venues of our size?
The 2026 route ranged from Leeds City Varieties and the Blackpool Grand to the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft and Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon. Send your capacity and stage details and you'll be told whether it fits.
To talk about bringing the theatre magic show to your venue, [send an enquiry](#enquiry) with the venue name, capacity, stage dimensions and the dates or windows you're considering. If you've a tech pack, mention it and it can be passed to the production side. For background on the act, the biography and television pages have the rest.