Review: DAVID KWONG: THE ENIGMATIST, Wilton’s Music Hall
Photo credit: Justin Barbin
There’s something magical about walking into Wilton’s Music Hall, knowing one hundred percent that you’re about to be fooled. The Enigmatist, created and performed by David Kwong, is the kind of show that reminds you why people fall in love with magic in the first place, and it’s not because you want answers – it’s because you don’t. And Kwong gives you that rare feeling of being completely safe in your confusion; you sit there like a child again, watching something impossible happen right in front of you, and you’re not even tempted to lean forward and look for wires. You just want more of it.
Kwong is a natural storyteller, equal part puzzle-master and charming host, and his excitement is genuinely infectious – normally the mention of mathematics, patterns, or anything resembling a theorem makes this reviewer’s brain go a bit fuzzy, but Kwong has a way of making the whole room feel in on the discovery, even when he’s three steps ahead.
The structure of the show is playful without ever feeling chaotic. There are riddles, illusions, stories that build themselves backwards, and clues you don’t realise you’ve been handed until they click into place. Kwong guides you through it all with a kind of delighted mischief, as if he can’t quite believe he gets to share this stuff with us. You never feel lectured. You feel encouraged, invited, and gently nudged into being a participant rather than a spectator.
Wilton’s itself adds to the magic. The cracks, the shadows, the way the space moves noise around… it all feels a bit conspiratorial, as though the building is in on the puzzles too. There’s always the sense that something is happening in the corner of your eye, even when you know the trick is happening centre stage.
The real achievement, though, isn’t that Kwong fools you – it’s that you’re thrilled not to understand. You’re happy to surrender the logic and sit in that shimmering moment where you don’t know how something works and don’t want the answer anyway. It’s rare these days to feel wonder without cynicism tugging at the sleeve, but The Enigmatist gives you that feeling for an entire evening.
A clever, charming, beautifully constructed show that treats curiosity as a shared game rather than a test. And if you walk out believing in magic just a little bit? Well… that’s the point.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Lisamarie Lamb
