Taking our seats for Scott Silven’s show Wonders, I’m surprised to see that the stage looks like the set of an old-fashioned play. When the Scottish-born New York-based mentalist appears, he tells us that it is based on his grandfather’s study in the attic of his Scottish home, where Silven loved to spend time as a child, describing it as “a cave of delights”.

Scott Silven and a member of the opening night audience, Sydney Opera House, 2022. Photo © Jacquie Manning

Settling in, he tells us about the strange games he used to play there, like closing his eyes at dusk and trying to count down exactly to the moment of darkness without looking, and how he gradually began to discover his ability to make mysterious mental connections with the world around him.

He tells us that tonight he is going to unlock our imaginations and open up our minds.

Storytelling is the backbone of Silven’s show. Audience participation is essential to what he does, and it is his skill as a laidback storyteller that relaxes us and welcomes us into his world as willing participants. Dressed in a stylish...