Kozo Komatsubara is an Auckland juggler with a cold, but that doesn’t stop him delivering a high-energy show to an almost capacity crowd last night at the Fringe Bar. The show starts with the gothic, ninja-looking juggler performing sleight of hand magic at a furious pace matched to growly music beating out of the sound system a la Las Vegas. Just as we ooh and aaah at one deft illusion with a serious of Chinese fans and fire, the next shot is delivered eliciting well earned applause. 

Back onstage Kozo introduces himself and the show proper starts. Each section of the show is a style of juggling: balls, clubs, knives and the patter is well practiced but not stale. Kozo has a very easy manner with the audience cracking jokes in his routine as well as deftly responding to shouts outs from the crowd. Each section shows a high level of dexterity and skill, and each section gets a member of the audience up to help out. 

Kudos to the volunteers – it’s one thing to watch these kinds of shows on TV but there is a palpable sense of wonder and fun when it’s done right in front of you and in the intimate space of the Fringe Bar. Especially the ‘Razor Blade in the Oreo’ trick. At times I wonder if Kozo will get a blade stuck in the roof, and one routine involves a ladder – literally heightening the risk factor.

This intimacy allows us to see how technical the juggling is and makes us all the more aware of the expertise on display here. While I’ve seen numerous clubs juggled, seeing five spinning from the side really shows the work off to spectacular results.

A great show well worth the effort to see – especially for the ‘Three Teaspoon Challenge –Komastubara has us eating out of his deft hands.

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