Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, PhD
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Liberty Magic continue their 2025 show series with Swedish magician Malin Nilsson. She’s an award-winning, third-generation magician who brings her show, Magic: Unplugged, to Pittsburgh for a 5-week run.
Malin is a stage name and acronym inspired by her love of magician Max Malini, standing for “Magical Alternative Lavishly Ignoring the Norm.” Interestingly, Malini was not Max’s given name as the Polish immigrant was born in 1875 as Max Katz Breit, so it’s some meta-meta layering.
Like her idol, Malin is also a street magician, which means she performs close-up magic with common objects. Her favored tools of the trade are rings, ropes and cards. In fact, she replicates one of Malini’s famous card tricks, paying homage to his work while bringing it into the 21st century. Malin inculcates the everyday with newfound power, helping us see common objects in transformative ways. She accomplishes this most magnificently and memorably with a simple loose-leaf tea infuser.
Malin is a showwoman. Dressed in a black tulle skirt, she keeps her wand tucked into her boot and dons the quintessential magician’s black top hat, which she often utilizes as a prop. She dramatically enters and exits through a curtain of metallic gold streamers. This lends both a fantastical air to her performance and levity given the audience can see her on the other side of the curtain’s frame. Malin frequently tosses confetti throughout her performance, reminding us of the power and importance of celebrating small moments and joys.
Street magicians are also hype people who cultivate audience response. Malin fosters interactivity as she brings audience members on stage. However, most of her magic is performed to music, so transitions sometimes feel awkward and forced. This may be due to the fact English is not her native language, so bantering in English while performing may be a Pittsburgh bridge too far. She is self-aware and self-deprecating in this regard, even noting at one point that she is not a “mistress of suspense,” giving the audience the freedom to cheer for her.
The Swedish have a strong connection to animals, and accordingly, have some of the strictest animal welfare legislation globally for both pets and farm animals. Malin translates that love transatlantically. Animals and natural forms are a key theme within her show. Malin demonstrates an authentic, gentle whimsy with animals as she taps into her actual hat and transforms the classic magician/rabbit relationship. The figure of the rabbit becomes a touchstone across the show.
Malin’s show takes viewers on a journey that gains power as it unfolds. Her acts of magic become progressively more impressive, and the audience’s oohs and aahs rise in tandem. At one point, she quotes Max Malini who famously affirmed, “I am the show.” One can sense him nodding across the time-space continuum at his protege as that statement also applies to Malin Nilsson.
-TKR, Ph.D.
Unplug with Malin Nilsson through May 4, 2025 at Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222. Liberty Magic offers a VIP experience to go backstage with Malin after her 70-minute show. Purchase tickets online here.
