Bright blue lights shine down from the ceiling, illuminating the posters of classic 1980s films lining the walls – “Star Wars,” “Home Alone,” “Indiana Jones,” and more. Sting’s “Shape Of My Heart” plays softly in the background as guests are asked to write down their favorite childhood toy and drop it into a bucket before settling into their seats.
Onstage, what appears to be an old attic sits empty. Boxes labeled “Attic” and “Jamie’s Magic Toys” in thick black marker are scattered across the floor, while a dusty shelf of old toys, books and photographs quietly hovers in the corner.
Soon, the music fades. A man in a black suit walks out. That’s where his story begins.
Magician Jamie Allan’s “Amaze” has been extended for the second time in New York City, marking Allan’s New York debut with an autobiographical production.
The magic show first gained major attention during its 2023 winter run at Chicago’s Rhapsody Theater, where it became Chicago’s highest-selling magic show of all time. Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones called the piece “a masterclass in magic performance as emotional engagement.”
Jamie AllanPhoto by Danny Kaan
However, “Amaze” has a much deeper history than that.
The show began in late 2023 with workshop performances in St. Louis, followed by preview runs in Colorado, Texas, and Nebraska. After its Chicago success, a redesigned version opened in 2024 at London’s Marylebone Theatre before moving on to the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, where it earned The Times Critic’s Choice. In 2025, the show returned to the U.S. for a pre-Broadway run in Tampa before arriving in New York City that July.
The production walks audiences through Allan’s life – from his childhood inside his parents’ pub to his “iMagician” era – turning “Amaze” into more than just a magic show. It becomes a story of a young boy who followed his dreams.
Performance runs in the family
Having grown up in the 1980s, much of the show is built around the pop culture of Allan’s childhood. Music, toys and visual references from the decade help recreate the world where his fascination with magic began.
The year is 1982, in the English countryside, when Allan is just 5-years-old. Before that, much of his childhood was spent traveling the world with his musician parents.
His father, Alan James Nicklin, led the British beat group Second City Sound, which won the U.K. television game show called “Opportunity Knocks” for six consecutive weeks in 1973. When Nicklin met Allan’s mother, British singer Kay Kennedy, he brought her into the band as lead vocalist and later formed another band called “Touch of Velvet.”
But by the time Allan was five, his parents decided it was time to settle down. They returned to England and purchased a former saddlery that had been turned into a pub called The Horse and Jockey.
Nicklin transformed the venue into an entertainment hub where musicians, comedians and magicians would regularly perform. Although Allan’s parents initially hoped their son would follow the family tradition in music, it was magic that captured his imagination.
“Mom and dad initially bought me every kind of musical instrument, and none of it stuck,” Allan said. “I heard that my mom used to play recordings of singers to me when I was asleep, in the hope that I might get into that, but I just got bitten by the magic book.”
Jamie Allan performing.
That same year, during Christmas, Allan received a Fisher-Price Magic Show set. The toy included a wand, disappearing box and various props – along with stickers representing places like New York, Paris and Japan. Decades later, Allan has performed at nearly every one of those locations. The toy, in hindsight, felt prophetic.
At just 8, Allan performed on stage for the first time at The Horse and Jockey.
“I just wanted to do it on the stage,” Allan said. “I didn’t used to do it for long, but I did it quite often. I used to only do it for about 10 minutes, and I would do it before an act…the locals all knew that I was the son of the owners, and I had the cute factor because I was a little kid doing magic.”
As he grew older, Allan continued performing and refining his craft. By his teenage years, he began experimenting with high-scale illusions – a style that now defines his career.
“I would do anything that I could do to get work,” Allan said. “I was at a point doing children’s parties [over] the weekends, and I would do the odd bits of close-up magic in restaurants and then whenever I could get on stage. But I was lucky enough that by the time I was 20, I didn’t do anything other than stage work.”
The big break
Allan’s big break came in 1995 when he appeared on ITV’s “This Morning,” where he premiered an early version of his signature concept – blending magic with technology. He later spent several years performing on cruise ships, but when the iPads launched in 2010, Allan saw an opportunity.
“[It] was a very current piece of consumer technology, and I was doing something unusual with it,” Allan said.
His illusion, “Digital Art,” which had Allan pulling drawings off an iPad screen into the real world, quickly gained international attention. Allan flew around the world performing the routine on various television shows, including BBC’s “The One Show,” “BBC Breakfast,” “Grand Cabaret Du Monde” and “Penn and Teller: Fool Us.”
The success earned him the nickname “iMagician,” and he spent nearly a decade touring his technology-driven show, “iMagician.” The production ran for three consecutive years in the U.K. During the tour, Allan met his fiancée and magician’s assistant, Natalie Love.
Love, originally a professional dancer, met Allan when she joined the world’s first supergroup of female magicians, Chicks ‘n’ Tricks.
“Jamie was brought in for some magic advice [to help] us learn an illusion,” Love said. He remembers it like it was yesterday. But I vaguely remember him. I was just more focused on learning this trick because I was the new girl.”
Photo by Danny Kaan
At the time, Allan was also looking for an assistant for the U.K. tour of “iMagician.” Inspired by his work ethic, Love joined the team in 2014. Together, they toured the U.K. before debuting in the U.S. in 2018 at Chicago’s Harris Theatre, where it also became the highest-selling magic show.
Their professional partnership eventually evolved into a personal one, and Love believes their relationship has helped strengthen their performances.
“It would be a lie to say that [work] wasn’t a reason why we fell for each other because we did work so well together…and supported each other,” Love said. “I’m not on that stage for me. I’m there to elevate Jamie.”
However, after years of being known as “iMagician,” Allan began to feel it was time to create something new.
Allan describes “Amaze” as a mesh between a “one-man play” and a “magic show,” noting that the first trick doesn’t appear until nearly eight minutes into the performance.
“From the opening monologue, I’m talking about my parents,” Allan said. “I’ve told them so many things about my life before I’ve even done a trick…but it’s purposeful, because people [understand] that this is not just a straight magic show. This is something else.”
The critically acclaimed show is currently playing at New World Stages through May 24, with a runtime of 2 hours. Tickets are available at amazemagic.com.