Tim Ellis has been practising magic for over 40 years, and in that time he’s transformed part of his home into an intimate 32-seat performance space. His current offering, House of Games, has proved so popular that the 2026 season is sold out, with additional Sunday matinees added and an extended run scheduled well into 2027.
Drawing on his love of board games, the show uses well-known favourites as the starting point for a series of close-up tricks that will leave you questioning what you’ve just witnessed. Associated with childhood, family gatherings and friendly competition, these items are steeped in familiarity, but Ellis turns them into something unpredictable, with illusions that are all the more baffling for taking place right in front of us.
The venue's intimacy is a real asset. With so little distance between Ellis and his audience, there seems to be nowhere to hide anything or create a distraction, making each illusion even harder to fathom. The atmosphere is less like that of a conventional performance and more like being in someone's home for an afternoon or evening of entertainment, which is literally the case. Audience participation is central to the experience, with people getting involved from their seats or joining him on stage.
Ellis has a warm rapport with the crowd and a humorous approach that keeps things light, even when volunteers don't quite follow instructions as intended. He handles these moments with ease, making everyone be part of the fun rather than passive spectators.
The production is also enriched by the way he connects his craft to his own life and the cultural history of the games. Whether reminiscing about playing them with his family, sharing an original 1965 Scrabble set inherited from his grandfather or exploring the legalities of hosting two-up in Australia, these anecdotes add a personal dimension to the performance.
It's an impressively complex set-up to orchestrate solo, with sound cues, music and film incorporated throughout. Yet Ellis manages these elements so seamlessly that it's easy to overlook the technical precision required to keep everything running smoothly.
Knowing there's a method behind every trick doesn't make the magic any less impressive. Watching Ellis seemingly read someone's mind and identify a word they're thinking of, or conjure a Lego lion in the palm of his hand, is enough to leave you scratching your head. The card sequences are equally confounding, with audience members shuffling the deck, deciding when to stop and selecting cards, yet he somehow maintains control of the outcome. Even when you're actively trying to work out how he does it, the results are astonishing.
House of Games conveys the pleasure of being surprised, transforming familiar board games into the unlikely tools of captivating illusions. Blending clever magic with stories drawn from his own life and easily establishing a connection with the audience, Ellis reminds us that in an increasingly digital world, there's still something special about gathering around a table, playing some games, and discovering a little magic along the way.
SHOW DETAILS
Venue: The Laneway Theatre, Northcote (exact location included with tickets)
Season: through to 2027, check website for details
Duration: 90 minutes
Tickets: $35 - $50
Bookings: The Laneway Theatre
Image credit: Tim Ellis
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