Some of my favorite magic shows in the past have straddled the line between the safe and unsafe spaces spoken of in this article, though I have to draw attention to the fact it was some time ago I used to watch them and any haziness of recollection is bound to be part of the woven magics and not a thing to do with my creaky, age addled memory.
I say straddled as, while the shows in question were a gothic carnival and sideshow themed tv production that touched on some of the old school screaming and gore ridden techniques mentioned in the article and at no time did they ever within the show acknowledge that the illusions presented were just a trick (via showing the alive and whole assistant post sawing, for example).
Nevertheless you watched with the firm knowledge (albeit implied) that this wouldn't be passed for tv if the crew were dumping the corpses of assistants and, on occasion, the headline magician.
Then of course, there's the illegal cloning or diabolical resurrection rituals they'd have to be going through to get the cast ready for the next show...
I can imagine quite easily how many earlier audiences would have been less questioning of the unsafe space in which the magic takes place, but of course that would rely on the magician and team being complicit in the facade presented.
A little like wrestling and kayfabe in a loose sense.
Perhaps it's a little of the cynicism of the modern audience, combined with the number of loose lipped magicians over the years who have left magic with the implicit caveat that it is, after all, just a trick.
Magicians take you back to the safe space out of courtesy but even if they chose not to, I think we're canny enough to find our own way there.
I kinda like it when a magician does do that.
For those of us who enjoy it, we're allowed to pretend for a little while at least that we are indeed in that slightly more murky unsafe space where old magic used to dwell.
