The internationally acclaimed Mind Magician, Keith Barry will reconnect the people of Ireland with his newest magical, mystical and emotional mentalism show. His most interactive and immersive theatre show to date, ‘Reconnected’ is packed with mind-reading, audience participation, emotion, and lots of laughter. Keith Barry’s last live show was on the 7th of March 2020 where he played to a packed 3Olympia theatre, ending the show with a loud, raucous standing ovation. On the 8th of March 2020 he began writing ‘Reconnected’ and now the show is going on tour across Ireland where you can experience it for yourself. His first night starts right here in a sold-out Galway show at The Black Box Theatre but fear not, a second date (June 23rd) has been added and you can grab tickets if you’re quick! GALWAYnow had the pleasure of chatting with Keith about why he feels at home on stage, the importance of reconnecting after lockdown, and what we can expect on the night.
When the pandemic stalled live entertainment you were able to come up with a solution, adding virtual events to your repertoire – how did those work for you?
They were brilliant – It worked really well for me, once I set up the cabin at home for doing the virtual shows. It has dipped off now, but during the last two years I did a lot of public, team building and motivation events for corporate online. I also did executive coaching and one-to-one coaching sessions and they worked great but I’ve got cabin fever now though!
Even though you’ve mastered the virtual world, it’s clear that your heart seems to be on stage. Are you excited to get back there and why is that element of your work so important to you?
It’s by far my favourite part of what I do. I’ve been on stage every week since I was fourteen where I started out doing talent shows and kids parties. I don’t think there has been a week gone by that I haven’t been on a stage up until the pandemic. It has been over two years this week since I was last on stage and It breaks my heart because it’s in our DNA to be on stage. When I say ‘our’ I mean myself, comedians, singers, whoever works in this industry. I’d do it for free if it wasn’t my livelihood and for me, I just love the energy of being on a stage and the reaction of the crowd. I love transforming people into a world of wonder where anything and everything can happen and I think that is so important these days to have that moment of escapism.
The show is called reconnected – for obvious reasons, but why do you think it is important for us to reconnect right now and enjoy some magic?
As humans we are social creatures, we need to be around other humans and just being online doesn’t cut it! We need those physical and emotional interactions so the show is designed to reconnect people emotionally, physically and spiritually.
What makes this show different from your other tours?
At the start of the show I am going to teach half of the audience how to hack into the other half of the audience’s brains. I have never done anything like that, ever – nothing even remotely close. That is going to be amazing to witness because it’s going to be successful, and you can just imagine how it will reconnect people in that moment!
What can those who attend the show expect to feel?
The show is designed to get people away from their everyday lives and problems. It’s going to be a real fun show with spooky elements and also elements of madness. But, at the end of the show, trust me when I say this – it doesn’t matter if it is an audience full of sceptics – there won’t be a dry eye in the house! And, that’s for a very good reason – they will be balling their eyes out with love really, and even the most hard nosed sceptics can’t not be affected by what’s going to happen at the end of ‘Reconnected’.
Tickets on sale now from Ticketmaster – (In person: From Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide, By Telephone (24 Hour): ROI: 0818 719 300, Northern Ireland: 0844 277 4455, Book Online: www.ticketmaster.ie).
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