From January 19, 2023 until early March, Cosentino is returning to the live circuit with a tour across Australia from Perth to Toowoomba.
Australia’s most successful magician, illusionist and escape artist calls his new tour Decennium – a celebration of a decade of performing.
Across the past decade, Cosentino has also become a successful author. He has just released his latest book – Tricked – a follow-up to his autobiographical Anything Is Possible.
Being confined to a hotel room helped the writing process, he told Mediaweek. “I wrote it during Covid. I remember being in hotel quarantine in Queensland last year, and I’m writing the book during two weeks of hours and hours and hours locked in a hotel room. Basically, 20 hours a day spent working on this book.”
Cosentino’s new book Tricked
Writing and honing his stage skills helped Cosentino through Covid. As he built his international brand during the last 10 years, especially through touring and TV in Australia and South-East Asia, Covid was a substantial interruption.
Although Decennium is being billed as a Greatest Hits Tour, Cosentino said it is really a new show.
“We have taken material from five national tours over the decade, but in essence, we are creating a brand new show because of the way the show is linked together.”
Lockdown helped his writing, not necessarily the Cosentino bank account though. Like many, he turned to virtual performance.
“2020 was really a write-off for us. But we did a lot of things online. I actually ended up doing online keynote speaking – corporate clients from Medibank to Subway to Optus.
“What would happen is the staff would be at home with their families and on a Friday or Saturday night I would teach them magic through Zoom. I performed a few magic tricks and illusions, and I’d share my story.”
Come 2021, Cosentino and his team were desperate to get back in front of live audiences though. “We went to WA, and I spent a month and a half touring the state. We just kept adding shows. Then at the end of 2021, we went to Queensland, and I spent three and a half months there.”
Cosentino explained how he decided to take risks flying out of Victoria to both those states, not knowing how the regulations might change and impact their return. He paid the wages for his touring party during a number of quarantines.
“We took huge risks, and every single one of those risks paid off. When we got to Queensland, we just monopolised as there was no one else touring except for us.”
Cosentino Decennium tour posters – collect the set
Cosentino on the road
Taking the magic show on the road is a bigger deal than just flying in the star, his assistant and partner Priscilla Stavrou, and a box of magic wands.
Cosentino explained: “The minimum setup is one semi-trailer and eight of us travelling. The gear includes 25-30 moving lights and then we pick up another five people at the venue so now there are 13 of us. For the Decennium tour, the numbers grow again. We need two semi-trailers, 13 people on the road, plus extra staff at each venue and also the Live Nation team on the road.”
Cosentino shows adapt to the size of the venue. During the Queensland regional tour, the shows varied from 500-seaters like Caloundra where they did three shows, to bigger venues like QPAC in Brisbane.
Cosentino got plenty of practice during lockdowns, but he can only do so much away from a crowd.
“You can never practice enough. You can always refine things but there’s a point where it’s got to be in front of an audience, like a comedian telling a joke.”
Cosentino’s performances on Australia’s Got Talent and later his own specials have been central to his success. He is keen to again return to making television.
In addition to the AGT series he competed in, Cosentino has subsequently performed guest appearances on AGT series across the world.
“We’ve got lots of different TV concepts and ideas going on at the moment. I can’t say too much about that because they are very insensitive.
“We’re always pitching ideas. We’re always talking with production houses, lots of different concepts and different ideas. The landscape is ready for it now.”
His TV journey started with a second place on Australia’s Got Talent which was then followed by Dancing with the Stars (which he won) and he later appeared on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! as an intruder.
“You want to be careful with what reality shows you select,” he said, noting he wants to make sure people continue to associate him with being an illusionist and a magician.
Read about Cosentino’s previous Australia-wide tour:
This is no illusion: Cosentino is in Mediaweek ahead of new tour