The words "naked" and "magicians" used in the same sentence is likely to conjure up a multitude of imaginative guesses in one's head.
Christopher Wayne, one half of the Australian magician duo, says he and co-star Mike Tyler deliver whatever naughty mental images may be running wild -- and then some.
"There's not much difference between myth and reality. We're doing exactly what it says on the cover," Wayne teased during a Feb. 15 phone interview.
Wayne and Tyler perform tonight bring their tour to the State Theatre in Easton. The former promises a magic show truly unlike any other.
"We take magic to a place it's never been before," he said. "For this show, there really is nothing else like it on the planet. I like seeing people having, honestly, the time of their life."
Wayne said he and Tyler had separately been performing traditional, tux-and-tails magic shows for some time but eventually decided to team up and create the type of performance that combined humor with something a little cheekier.
The inspiration to strip down, literally and figuratively, was inspired, Wayne said, by the 2012 film Magic Mike -- which happened to be the nickname bestowed upon on Tyler.
"(The film) came out and we were like, 'Jesus, no one's done this.' It's all in, for lack of a better description," Wayne said.
However, Wayne said it quickly became clear that pulling off such a spectacle mean learning new tricks of the trade -- tricks typically used by those in another, more risqué, profession. "The two biggest fears in the world are public speaking and showing up naked to work. We combined the two in one moment," he said, with laughter. "We weren't strippers, we were magicians that had to learn to do all that on stage."
The two friends spent roughly a year writing and perfecting the show. Forming The Naked Magicians, Wayne added, has been a life-changing experience. "I'm real proud of it and humbled by it," Wayne said. "We get to introduce people to magic whom might not have ever gone to a magic show."
Wayne likened the show to that of being a skydiver in that you either jump or don't. Wayne said watching their routine evolve has been an upward journey.
"We jumped and thankfully the show worked, it worked really well. The moment we took our clothes off, we went 'Wow, this is special'," he said. "I know I've watched Mike became an absolute comedy powerhouse. Audiences throw stuff at us every night. Mike can tackle anything. It's made us better comedy magicians."
As for encounters with enthusiastic female fans, Wayne played coy when asked if their were any interactions that stand out among the rest. "That answer is best left up to people's imagination," he said.
"Because of (the show), I get to travel the world with my best friend and there's nothing much better than that. My favorite thing to hear, and we hear it all the time, is 'I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.' That, and (asking for) phone numbers."
The Naked Magicians perform 7:30 tonight at the State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton. Tickets cost $35 and $25; VIP ticket package also available. For mature audiences only.