QPAC

This summer, four trailblazing illusionists will unleash a mind-blowing spectacle: Now You See Me Live. Inspired by Lionsgate’s global hit Now You See Me film franchise and brought to life by the producers of the record-breaking phenomenon The Illusionists, the cutting-edge production will take up residence in Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC) Concert Hall from 8 to 18 January 2026.

A world-class magic ensemble – inspired by the film’s characters, the “Four Horsemen” – will stun audiences in a showcase of unmatched synergy. Assembling from around the globe, they bring an unbelievable arsenal of solo skills, shocking twists and grand feats of illusion to this Australian premiere season. The Australian tour will open at the Sydney Opera House before making its way to QPAC and then to Crown Perth.

Redefining the expectations of stage magic, the “Four Horsemen” are: 

• Adam Trent (USA) – Harnessing the power of technology and deceptive sleight of hand, Trent has become a modern magical force by translating his skills from stage to screen to social media.  
• Pablo Cánovas (Spain) – An international prodigy, Cánovas’ spellbinding mastery earned him the titles of “Golden Magician”, “Magician D’Or”, and “Heir of Illusion”.
• Andrew Basso (Italy) – A true daredevil known for his death-defying acts, Basso became the first and youngest Italian to win the World Escape Championship.
• Gabriella Lester (Canada) – At just 22, the quick-witted Lester is the youngest and only female Horseman, who mastered Houdini’s upside down straight-jacket escape when she was only 14.

Combined, the quartet have performed in thousands of shows in hundreds of cities – including sell-out residencies on Broadway and in Las Vegas – and have left spellbound audiences questioning the realms of possibility in their wake. 

QPAC Chief Executive Rachel Healy said, “The next summer blockbuster is breaking out of the cinema and onto the stage when Now You See Me Live appears in QPAC’s Concert Hall in January. With the awe-inspiring cast and creative teams behind it, this is guaranteed to be a breathtaking event where you won’t want to miss a trick.”

Simon Painter, Creative Producer said, “Now You See Me Live pushes the boundaries of stage magic to the absolute edge, making the impossible possible in front of your very eyes. Together we’ve created a show with truly mind-blowing artistry at epic scale and we can’t wait for audiences to experience the magic – live!”

Lionsgate's President, Global Products & Experiences, Jenefer Brown said, “Fans are mesmerised by the showmanship, spectacle, and skill of the Four Horsemen in the Now You See Me movies, and we are thrilled for audiences to experience the magic of the franchise live on stage.”

Lionsgate’s $670 million Now You See Me franchise includes two hit film installments, with a third—from director Ruben Fleischer and a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, based on a story by Eric Warren Singer—coming to theaters this November. Now You See Me Live is based on characters that were created by Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt.

Now You See Me Live is brought to the stage by Simon Painter (Co-Creator, Executive Producer), Adam Trent (Co-Creator), Tim Lawson (Executive Producer), Ash Jacks (McCready) (Creative Director, Staging Director), Kirsty White (Creative Director), and Enzo Weyne (Illusion Director). Now You See Me Live is based on characters that were created by Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt.

Tim Lawson & Simon Painter
Tim and Simon have created, produced and presented some of the world’s best-selling shows in over 450 cities in 45 countries, smashing box office records across Australia, on Broadway, London and beyond. Now You See Me Live marks their 12th summer show at the venue, their first being Le Grand Cirque which sold over 40,000 in 10 days, followed by Ariel Dreams and Cirque Adrenaline.

They then created what became the world’s most successful group magic show, The Illusionists and its spin offs The Illusionists 2.0, The Illusionists 1903 – The Golden Age of Magic and The Magic of Christmas. These shows broke box office records around the world including The Palace, Marquis and Neil Simon theatres on Broadway and The Shaftesbury Theatre in London. Other shows include Le Noir, The Unbelievables, Cirque Paris, Cirque Stratosphere and Circus 1903 – a show that boasted life sized elephants created by the puppeteers from War Horse that enjoyed several sold out seasons on London’s West End as well as a Las Vegas residency.

In 2019 their company was acquired by Cirque du Soleil, where Simon continued to serve as the company’s President and Chief Executive Producer and produced America’s Got Talent Live and created Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple, which has been lauded as the new gold standard for Las Vegas shows. During that time Tim produced Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Disney’s The Castle, a 20,000 sqm music experience celebrating the Disney songbook, set around a life size Disney Castle.

This year they launched their latest show, Cirque Alice which will return to Australia this summer as part of its international tour, and together they are producing the highly anticipated world premiere stage production of George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones in London next year.

Lionsgate Global Products & Experiences
Lionsgate Global Products & Experiences is a division within Lionsgate (NYSE: LION), one of the world’s leading standalone, pure play, publicly-traded content companies. By leveraging the studios’ world-class portfolio of film and television brands and franchises, the division drives incremental revenue and builds consumer engagement via live shows and experiences, location-based entertainment destinations, games, physical and digital merchandise, and select strategic partnerships and investments.

The group has announced multiple stage productions (Dirty Dancing, La La Land, Wonder and Nashville for Broadway, and The Hunger Games for London), integrations with marquee games (Call of Duty, Dead By Daylight, Roblox, and Fortnite), and collaborations with best-in-class consumer products licensees (LEGO, American Classics, Hot Toys, Funko, and more). Attractions based on Lionsgate’s top franchises The Hunger Games, John Wick, SAW and other iconic IP can be found at theme parks and destinations in Asia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East, with the highly anticipated JOHN WICK EXPERIENCE now open in Las Vegas.

Boaz Yakin
Boaz Yakin is a screenwriter, director, and producer, who has decades of critical and commercial success across a wide array of genres. His career in the industry started at the age of 23 with his first screenplay, The Punisher (1989), an action-adventure film starring Dolph Lundgren. Boaz went on to pen the script for the action-adventure The Rookie (1990), starring Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen. Later, Boaz drew from his experiences growing up in New York's inner city for his next screenplay and directorial debut, Fresh (1994), earning him accolades at the Sundance Film Festival. A few years later, Boaz would go on to direct the major box office success and cultural icon for Disney, Remember The Titans (2000), starring Denzel Washington.

Subsequently he worked on studio films including the Brittany Murphy comedy Uptown Girls (2003), the video game action-adventure remake Prince of Persia (2010), and the family movie Max (2015). While helming studio projects, Boaz also continued working in the independent film space with projects like the romantic drama Death in Love (2009) – which he wrote and directed and Alma Ha’rel’s critically acclaimed documentary Bombay Beach (2011), which he executive produced. He has also developed and has written for the successful Now You See Me (2013) franchise, as well as executive produced Hostel (2006) & Hostel: Part 2 (2007).  Boaz wrote and directed the critically acclaimed romantic drama Aviva (2020), which was scheduled to premiere at SXSW. Boaz also wrote, produced and directed the independent feature Once Again For The Very First Time. A surreal, visually stylized hiphop fantasy blending dance, spoken-word poetry, trauma, memory and renewal. On the TV side, Boaz served as an EP on Lady in the Lake for Apple starring Natalie Portman with Alma Ha’rel directing. Boaz most recently co-wrote alongside Alma Har’el a feature adaptation of Walter Tevis’ Mockingbird for Searchlight.

Edward Ricourt 
Edward Ricourt, born and raised in Manhattan's Lower East Side, draws influence from this diverse community, his love of comic books, and an adventurous spirit that has taken him across the country and abroad. Ricourt's films include writing and creating the Now You See Me franchise, produced by Lionsgate Entertainment.

In TV, Ricourt won a Peabody Award as Consulting Producer for the Marvel/Netflix TV series, Jessica Jones. He also wrote for the Fox TV Series, Wayward Pines (#1 Network series of summer 2016). In 2018, Ricourt worked on Jordan Peele's reboot of Twilight Zone for CBS All-Access. Edward was also a writer/producer on Raising Dion for Netflix, produced by and starring Michael B. Jordan. The show was the #1 kid's show in over 40 countries.

Movie Maker magazine lists Edward in its 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Edward received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.