CHRIS COOK: HEIST

☆☆☆☆☆

Watching magician Chris Cook stroll around his stage at the Voodoo Rooms, strum on his guitar and make sarcastic little asides to the audience, you would be forgiven for thinking “oh, so this is his screw around show.” After all, Cook is upfront about having another show, at a non-Free Fringe venue, that he not only put on last year as well but has been touing in the meantime. It’s fair for him to balance that out with a less high pressure, less intense show. Well, maybe Heist is Chris Cook’s screw around show. But for this infuriatingly skillful magician, even his screwing around culminates in a clever, dramatic, and really damn enjoyable performance.

The premise of Heist is that we are going to accomplish one together. Cook collects ideas from the audience about what tropes are necessary in any form of heist based fiction (or fact), like a goal, a crew, etc. He receives some entertaining joke answers, but for the most part the audience understands the mission, and Cook easily guides them where not. He then matches different magic tricks to the different suggestions, effortlessly creating the structure not only of a successful heist, but of a well developed and engrossing magic show.

Among the tricks Cook integrates in Heist are some briliantly dexterous sleight of hand pickpocketing, card tricks (would it be a magic show without one?), and mentalism effects. There isn’t an inherant consistency with the type of tricks used, but they are adeptly integrated into the theme of a heist. Not only that, but where the underlying methodologies may not be original, the way Cook presents his tricks makes it seem like they are. This show will be enjoyable to anyone and everyone, but in particular if you have seen a lot of magic shows, Cook’s unusual presentation is a breath of fresh air.

The most powerful skill Cook brings to the stage is not his well crafted premises or even his flawless technique. It is his easy, perfect connection to his audience. It’s hard to pin down exactly what Cook is doing that gives him such likable stage presense. Likely part self aware mockery, part confidence, but mostly just that he seems like he is having so much fun on stage, and you in the audience desperately want to be along for the ride. Heist is a delightful and diverting hour of undeniably masterous magic.

AVA BEAUX: THE WITCHING HOUR

☆☆☆

What is a Witching Hour? Traditionally in folklore, a ‘witching hour’ is a particular hour of the night when superatural activity is at its height, at its freest, typically midnight or 3am. However, a ‘Witching Hour’ is an Edinburgh Fringe show by magician Ava Beaux, held at the much more socially acceptable hour of 4ish pm. Beaux is the titular witch, and the hour is her time to show us an enjoyable series of magic tricks.

Beaux’s witch character is a delightful oddity. She has really come into her own in the role, confidently trilling about the stage with soft, creepy laughter and bantering easily with the audience. Her chosen props mesh well with the bizzare character, including in particular a zip lining egg. Beaux covers a wide rage of traditional magic effects, from cardistry, rope tricks, linked rings, and more. For the most part these effects are done aptly, although there are a few unfortunate flashes.

Also curious is the plotting of the performance. Beaux is of course free to design whatever type of magic show she feels called to put on, but people who have seen her multiple years in a row may be expecting a more cohesive theme from her, and be a bit confused when faced with more of a variety show. Even without her historical context, the variety show itself lacks consistency, going from fun flashy little tricks, to a solemn silent rings performance, to a part where she literally just reads a Poe story to the audience with no magic performed whatsoever. While this is a callback to one her earliest performances, at that time the whole show was themed after Poe and thus fit in. Here it just seems like a somewhat lazy inclusion. This does all make sense towards the end of the performance, where Beaux mentions that she is focusing on developing a more structured, theatrical show for next year’s Fringe. Unfortunately, it seems that this year’s offering was sacrificed to that purpose.

Nevertheless, Beaux is as charming a performer as ever, and even her less developed work is an entertaining experience for attendees. There’s just something undeniable about this weird witch that makes you want to spend the hour with her.

UNDERGROUND MAGIC

☆☆☆☆

For most of the year it may be Edinburgh’s favorite fortnightly night out, but for the duration of the Fringe, Underground Magic, like many Edinburgh locals, is working extra hard. Every single night the Fringe crowd is welcomed to the Liquid Rooms for a night of magic (underground) featuring a regularly rotating lineup. The reviewed lineup was composed of Cameron Gibson, Max Fulham, Andy Boyd, and Elliot Bibby, hosted by one of the founders of Underground Magic, Luke Osey.

Osey is an able host, getting the audience excited and performing bits of magic in between the featured performers. The reviewed show was a treat for his longtime fans, featuring everything from a certain favorite prop that is reminiscent of his “assistant” in his solo show last year to a newer circus trick that few, if any, will have seen him perform before. It’s this newer trick that proves a highlight of the evening, as Osey got several members of the audience involved in helping him successfully complete it.

Osey’s first guest is his co-founder of Underground Magic, Edinburgh’s own Cameron Gibson. Gibson performed a crowd-pleasing favorite, his take on the cup and ball trick. It may be described as the oldest trick in magic, but in Gibson’s talented hands it still has the power to amaze and entertain modern audiences. Even those who have seen this performed by others would enjoy Gibson’s neo-classically clean interpretation.

The next in the line-up is Fulham, Underground Magic’s diversity hire. Underground Magic regularly includes non-magician variety acts as a little bonus for its audience. Fulham might be a ventriloquist, to this untrained eye probably the best ventriloquist in the world, but he still gets in on the magic fun, performing both a puppet act and a puppet-assisted magic trick.

Third in the lineup is Fringe favorite Boyd, who has the skills of just about an entire circus. Boyd demonstrated a fraction of the range of his skills, which are still plenty to keep the audience going. He had the dubious honor of performing the grossest trick of the evening, which truly has to be seen to be believed.

Underground Magic might be founded and run by Osey and Gibson, but they’re not just a double act, they’re two thirds of Edinburgh’s premier platonic power throuple Insane Magic. The audience at this reviewed show were lucky enough to also get to see the third member, Bibby, headline the evening. Bibby lived up to his reputation with a ridiculously exciting card trick reveal with a real emphasis on the “reveal”. 

The lineup of Underground Magic might change every night, but the reviewed show is evidence of the high caliber of talent that they are able to attract. For Fringe audiences, it’s a taster of the different magic and variety shows on offer. For Edinburgh locals, it’s also a reminder of how lucky we are to live in this city, with these two incredible magicians who take the time to curate a varied, exciting lineup of performers for us twice a month every single month. Either way, it’s the perfect inclusion to a Fringe night out.

COLIN TIE: THE BEST COMEDY & MAGIC SHOW YOU’LL SEE IN THE NEXT 45 MINUTES (PROBABLY)

☆☆

Colin Tie knows how to set realistic, achievable goals. His Fringe show The Best Comedy & Magic Show You’ll See in the Next 45 Minutes (Probably) gives the audience the right idea of what to expect from the start. Tie’s sarcastic humor is a constant throughout the show. He’s certainly popular, especially with young families. The reviewed show was completely full, and even had latecomers standing in the back and at the sides once the seats filled up. While the magic he performed feels fairly basic by Fringe standards, and the show itself feels at times tonally confused, Tie has put together a solidly family friendly set that he performs well.

The Best Comedy & Magic Show is less focused on thematic cohesiveness and instead is composed of a series of magic routines that are perhaps simply Tie’s favorites. While these may be familiar to magic fans, and not always performed quite as neatly as Fringe magic regulars are used to, Tie’s young audience members certainly enjoyed them. An early highlight was Tie’s foam balls routine, which the young participant was visibly thrilled to see happen in his own hands.

Tie makes a real effort to involve as many of the children in the audience in the magic as possible. He is great at stage managing his younger participants, and gracefully allowing them to take the spotlight when they are unexpectedly funnier than him. Where adult participants are required Tie is clear about his needs and makes sure he gets folks onstage who can adequately assist in the task of the moment.

The majority of the show might be in Tie’s sarcastic comedy style, but he makes a few digressions that seem out of place. Some, like a rant against smartphones and tablets that has no apparent connection to the trick that he’s performing, feel like an attempt at comedy that just didn’t land with the majority of the audience at the reviewed show. Others, like his final monologue, feel like the bones of a second show peeking through, slightly more serious and perhaps more structured. It may be a mixed impression, but overall Tie’s approach builds interest for seeing what he might do next.

The Best Comedy & Magic Show You’ll See in the Next 45 Minutes (Probably) may not be the most consistent show, or the neatest magic of the Fringe, but Tie’s personable approach to magic does a lot to make it feel worthwhile. It’s particularly notable as a prospect for families with young children, as an accessible option that only requires a queue rather than a ticket. The children in particular will appreciate Tie’s magical performance.

HOUDINI SPEAKS TO THE LIVING

☆☆☆☆

The complicated relationship between magician Harry Houdini and author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a popular one for Edinbugh Fringe content. After all, Conan Doyle is from Edinburgh, and the Fringe attracts a large number of magicians who are interested in Houdini. What could be more apt? The twist on this particular show, however, is that the actor playing Houdini is also a professional magician himself, and integrates actual magic effects in Houdini’s quest to disprove Spiritualist tricks Conan Doyle has fallen for.

Houdini Speaks to the Living does not make mention of this (likely to keep their script timeless), but we are quickly approacing the 100 year annivesary of Houdini’s death. He passed on Halloween of 1926, and as the play makes clear though including the recording of his wife Bess, attempts were made for many years to communicate with him from beyond the grave through seances. While Houdini was open to the idea of communicating with the dead, due to his career he was more aware than anyone the tricks that were used to fake such content. This infuriated him, and he made it a personal mission to bring these con artists to justice. On the other hand, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a proud believer in the Spirituaist techniques, most certainly through the desire to communicate with his son who had been killed in World War 1. He insisted first that Houdini must be underestimating mediums, and when disproved on that front, then that Houdini must himself have mediumistic capabilities he was lying about.

Through conversation between Houdini as played by Patrick Terry and Conan Doyle as played by Robert Matney, we learn the preceding information and have a glimpse into an imagined showoff between the two, where Conan Doyle insists there are skills mediums have that Houdini is incapable of replicating through stage magic, and Houdini shuts down each of these suggestions one at a time by doing just that. Accordingly, the tricks performed are ones that a medium would attempt, so include slate writing, floating tables, and so on. As Houdini does each trick, he includes audience participation just like a “real” magic show, creating an immersive experience for the audience. Terry is a skilled magician and most certainly does justice to Houdini’s reputation.

This is not just a magic show, of course, but magic within a theatrical performance. While the magic tricks are a delightful inclusion and heighten the intensity of the showoff, the acting itself is absoluteley strong enough to stand on it’s own. Terry’s Houdini is shocking well aligned with what we know from recordings of Houdini’s unique manner of speaking and even way of holding himself. But in terms of pathos, Matney’s Conan Doyle steals the show. His pain when exploring his need to believe in Spiritualism is leigitmately moving, and may bring tears to some eyes.

Depending on the level of one’s interest in magic history, the story of Houdini and Conan Doyle may be very familar to you. But even if you know the story by heart, seeing it played out by Terry and Matney will steal your heart.

THE CULT OF ASTAROTH

☆☆☆

The Edinburgh Fringe can offer pretty much anything one might be interested in, but even so, you may be surprised to learn that this includes the opportunity to join a cult. In his show The Cult of Astaroth, magician and cultmaster Ash Pryce presents a compelling argument as to why we should all praise Astaroth.

Those familiar with ceremonial religion will be right at home in the little Banshee Labyrinth room where the cult has their inductions. The show begins with the procession of the elders, played by Liz Dooley and CC Massey, and of the cult’s leader, played by Pryce. Attendees are also presented with prayer books, filled with the various prayers that they will need to recite over the course of the evening. It is unlikely that Cult will attract an audience that is not receptive to playing along with some light fictional demon worship, but if one such person finds their way in, there is no penalty and no public shaming for not joining in prayer.

Through a series of parables with an acolyte of Astaroth, we learn the various tenants of the cult’s belief. What’s more, lest we forget, this show is the creation of of a professional magican, and for each tenant there is a corresponding ritual – which you may also recognize as a magic trick. If considered as a whole a magic show, the effects are in a small proportion to the narrative in general. But if seen as a theatrical performance, they exist to highlight appropriate points and make the experience feel that much more immersive and creative. The tricks are well performed and perfect thematic ties to the message of their respective rituals.

The acting over the course of the show can come across as a bit overly hammy, particularily by Pryce and Dooley, but the performance is so intentionally tounge in cheek that it doesn’t detract from the experience dreadfully. Again, this is a show that is reaching exactly the right audience. Anyone who chooses a demonic cult show at the Edinburgh Fringe is likely already someone up for expirimentality and campiness. If this audience expands, it may behoove the cast to sharpen the script and dramatics, but in its current phase of life the vibe is exactly right.

As we learn at the end of The Cult of Astaroth, the Five Wisdoms we have been taught come from theraputic tools that have been beneficial to Pryce over the course of his personal healing journey. Attendees of the performance receive a program of the show at the end that includes more detailed explanations of these tools and how one might utiilize them to their own psychological benefit. The care put into this project is clear, and this knowledge inspires audiences to return again to watch the entire performance over through a more enlightened lens. Praise Astaroth!

KANE AND ABEL: TWIN FEATS

☆☆☆☆

It’s so stupid. It’s such dumb humour. But you know what? Even if against your will, even kicking and screaming, twin magicians Kane and Abel will successfully have you buying in to their delightfully silly magic show Twin Feats. This show is an absurdly high energy from beginning to end, and as ridiculous as it may seem, it will fully charm you all the same.

Kane and Abel definitely cultivate an intentionally goofy shtick for their performer personas, and are consistent with it throughout every show. Therefore, while the purported theme of Twin Feats is them finding the balance of individuality with their twin relationship, and this storyline ties their tricks together, the real theme is them lunging for the cheap laugh at every opportunity. It cannot be more true here though that you have to be pretty smart to look so dumb. These personas are perfectly calibrated to keep everyone laughing and to play off each other impeccably (though they certainly should be able to by this point!)

More importantly, as silly as they act, Kane and Abel are incredibly accomplished and precise performers. At the performance reviewed, this reviewer was seated in the perfect location to catch any possible mishap. Even situated so, even with the knowledge of precisely what to look out for, only one glimpse into the sleight of hand secrets was seen throughout the show, and this would have not been visible to 99% of the audience. What’s more, even where Kane and Abel use the general ideas of familiar tricks – including card tricks and calculator mentalism, they are dressed up in so much original presentation that is artfully dialed into their unique vibe so to seem wholly new.

Kane and Abel’s show Twin Feats is a fantastic example of comedy magic that even the most cynical audience member will have no choice but to fall for.

JAMIE LEONARD: BLINK OF AN EYE

☆☆☆

If you are chronically online, you may be aware of the audio meme that goes: “Want a beer?” “He’s 4!” “I don’t know, what am I supposed to do with him!?” Jamie Leonard is of course not 4, but he is just 18, a fact that will be shocking to anyone who experiences his confident and mature mastery over the stage. He’s 18! What are we supposed to do with him, review him fairly to the same standard of long time adult magicians? That’s apparently all we can do.

Leonard is up front about his age, making multiple references to his recent stint in, well, school, throughout the show. He also is in one of the exact life stages that his chosen theme is more directly relevant to, where the cusp of adulthood that you are falling over reveals that many things that came before it can and will be over in the blink of an eye. This truth is prominent to anyone at a transitional phase of life, so even those in his audience who are long past their school days can and do find it relatable. The magic tricks that he picks are lightly tied into this theme, and are not necessarily anything profoundly original, mostly a selection featuring card and math based tricks. However, his bright presentations keep them feeling fairly fresh, and he performs each and every one to near technical perfection.

When including audience participants in his effects, Leonard finds an excellent balance in being charmingly open and easy with little kids, and gently razzing the adults. He guides everyone clearly and keeps instructions simple, while making the experience enjoyable for all.

Even if you cannot relate to the underlying theme, Leonard has an infectious energy and affable enthuiasm that keep the audience feeling upbeat and engaged. At some points he is literally dancing and prancing around the stage, showing the confidence you might expect only from a much more seasoned performer. The only showmanship facet that really seems to need more experince is enunciation, as occasionally Leonard seems to get a little overexcited and fails to speak clearly. However, these moments are limited.

Jamie Leonard’s Blink of an Eye is an excellent work of a magic show, and his sold out rooms indicate that he is rapidly finding the success he has earned. If this is the level he is capable of performing at as a teenager, his competion should be quaking in their boots at the prospect of what he will be bringing within the next five or ten years.

DAVE REUBENS: MAGIC SURVIVAL GUIDE

☆

If the prospect of a magic survival guide doesn’t much interest you, don’t worry. Magician Dave Reubens doesn’t seem to be interested in it either. Reubens’ current Edinburgh Fringe offering is a chaotic mix of random tricks strung together, proclaimed to be a magic show but poorly accomplished and half (if that) heartedly presented.

The premise of this show is that life is hard, and it would be much easier if there was a magic survival guide (his tricks) to help one get through it. The connections between the tricks and this premise are tenuous at best, and completely nonnsensical at worst. Apparently literal highway robbery and the existence of space are problems we face reguarly in life? This reviewer doesn’t know, but truly doesn’t think Reubens does either.

Due to the lack of commitment to the bit as far as the theme goes, one can surmise that the tricks picked for this show were actually chosen on the basis on being the ones that Reubens is the best at. However, this is unfortunate if true, as he is not even very skillful at these. He presents a mix of standard magical tricks, integrating rope tricks, torn and restored newspaper, and a Rubix cube among then. Through several tricks there is some obvious flashing of items the audience is not supposed to be seeing, and his palming is overt. At one especially notable moment, Reubens gleefully exclaims about the emptyness of a prop…. only for a substantial amount of liquid to pour out in front of everybody and form a puddle on the stage.

Tech issues are generally forgiven by critics during the Fringe, due to the unorthodox venues and limited opportunities for enough on site rehearsal. That being said, Reubens’ tech issue at the show reviewed should have been an easy one to catch ahead of beginning, and even had he not, a professional magican should be better able to roll with issues instead of letting them start his show off on the wrong foot so blatantly. This mishap may be the cause of Reubens’ nervous energy, but we cannot reliably assert that this isn’t just his natural state.

In an effort to convince the audience that he is doing a better job than actuality, Reubens overexplains his tricks to make the seem more impressive, and cheers more loudly for himself than all his audience is doing combined. The desperation is offputting to say the least, with the crowd reception starting lukewam at best and getting colder every minute. At one point, Reubens receives literally zero participation interest for the easiest, least intimidating participation opportunity and has to resort to picking people instead after an extended awkward silence.

Every trick at Magical Survival Guide can be seen done more successfully and entertainingly by one of the dozens of other magicians at the Edinburgh Fringe, and it is our advice that readers take that oppportunity. Reubens does not seem like a bad or mean guy, and he clearly loves magic. His story of his inspiration is certainly touching, particularly for viewers who have experienced parental loss. However, his show requires some significant work in both planning and practice before we can reccommend.

CHRIS COOK: FAKE

☆☆☆☆☆

Who is going to believe a magician? Everything they do and say is fake, after all. Well, audiences of Chris Cook’s Fake need not fear, we did some fact checking, and the story he weaves has truth to it. How much, only Cook could say. It’s up to you if you believe him, and it’s also up to you if it matters. At one point of Fake, Cook quotes Kipling’s “it’s pretty, but is it Art?”. While this line could inspire an enire Fringe worth of shows and never come to any conclusion about the parameters in which we can define art, here at World Magic Review we just go ahead and executively decide that magic shows are indeed art. And Cook’s Fake is not only pretty, not only art, but is in fact a triumph of magical storytelling.

The storyline of Fake is to follow the history of early 20th century art forger Han van Meegeren, who found success forging works of art masters, most notably Vermeer. Within this story, the audience of Fake not only learns a little something about art history, but experiences skillful magic along the way. The test of a solid narrative magic show is how each element would hold up if the other was eliminated. Without magic, Fake is a TED Talk about van Meegeren and the William Ellsworth Robinson, a magician who used falsehood not only in his act but as part of his entire public persona. Cook’s delivery just on these historical truths is strong enough that yes, it could stand as an entirely magicless show.

Then on the other side, without the history of these figures, Cook would be forced to be successful on the strength of his adeptability in creative magic effects and skillful sleight of hand, something attendees of his past shows will know he is more than capable of. During Fake, Cook incorporates a brief linking rings trick, then quickly segues it into something much more personal and compelling to the audience. Later, he successfully performs a memorable bullet catch (believe us, this is exactly what happens. Chris Cook catches a bullet live inside an Edinburgh venue. The participant can even show you the bullet!)

While both the storytelling and the magic of Fake are independantly strong enough to be successful even were they alone, the marriage of the two facets together are the true hallmark of a Cook performance. Cook not only shows off his almost annoying skill at sleight of hand, but he is first in class at making the audience care. And not only care for frivolous, ‘fake’ reasons that only stand up to scrutiny within the confines of his venue, but for actual reasons that we can connect to at personal and visceral levels, whether we were a participant in a trick or just a viewer.

Speaking of participation, this aspect is at a lower level than many magic show or even at Cook’s own historical leve. However, he maintains his ability to interact with his audience in a genuinely respectful way, only targeting people who are comfortable being involved, and only showing them encouragement and support as they step out of their comfort zones to join him.

Fake is not just a magic show but an exploration of magic as an artform. Along the way, attendees get to see some legitimately impressive magic tricks and learn a bit about the art world and Cook’s investigation of it – captivating, engrossing, and maybe just a little fake.