SIEGFRIED AND JOY: LAS VEGAS IN EDINBURGH

☆☆☆

Acclaimed magic double act Siegfried and Joy have made their long-awaited return to the Fringe this year, with their Las Vegas in Edinburgh show. Their local fans may remember their sold out Fringe debut three years ago. This year they are once again sold out, but in a much larger venue. Eager attendees in the lengthy queue to get inside could be heard comparing the Siegfried and Joy queue to a Ryanair boarding queue, there were so many people it was difficult to imagine them all fitting in the venue. But everyone managed to pile in, and Siegfried and Joy kept them all thoroughly entertained for the hour.

Siegfried and Joy have a distinctly silly style and tone that has garnered them their following. Much of the show comprises of magic-themed jokes and occasionally acrobatic dances, all covered in more glitter than it is possible to expect. This is what the audience is here for, perhaps even more than the magic, and Siegfried and Joy do not disappoint. The joke effect that they are most famous for online accurately sets the tone, and is given pride of place in their live performance.

For magic fans, the actual magic may feel slightly underwhelming. In amongst the jokes Siegfried and Joy do sprinkle in real tricks that are performed well, but, especially at an arts festival that attracts such creativity, some of their reveals can feel a bit redundant and even at times basic. It’s worth noting that the reviewed event was just an hour taken out of their proper theatre-length show; perhaps their full show is more well-rounded and polished and would come across differently. Nevertheless, there are magical highlights, most notably a card trick that uses an added element of wetness to make the reveal all the more impressive.

Siegfried and Joy’s use of audience participation is unusual and suitable for their style. While they invite audience members to join them onstage, they “speak for” the participant, which, aside from being hilarious, is a clever way to maintain their quick pace and ensure that the participant can be heard all the way through to the back of the audience. It’s participants as props more than as genuine participants, but it suits the tone of the show.

Las Vegas in Edinburgh may not be the most technically impressive magic show at this year’s Fringe, but it doesn’t have to be. Siegfried and Joy are delights to watch onstage, and their legions of fans are thrilled to witness them in action. They make a very real contribution to magic as an art form in their role as two of its most renowned ambassadors. The Edinburgh Fringe may not have given them the time to perform their full, polished show, but the people of Edinburgh will be grateful for the hour they get to spend with these wonderful performers.

TOM BRACE: THE TOM BRACE MAGIC HOUR

☆☆☆☆☆

Fringe regular Tom Brace has been performing for Edinburgh audiences for a whole ten years. This year, in his new show The Tom Brace Magic Hour, all he wants to do is invite his audience over to play some games. They’re magical games, and the relationship is still very much magician-participant— Brace is always in control—but the atmosphere feels slightly more laid back. Brace presents the show like a television program, complete with a commercial break, for an exciting spin on his daily game night.

Brace explains early on that he is resorting to inviting his audience to his game night due to his family getting tired of him using his mentalist abilities to always win. What might not be the best experience in a family game night makes for an entertaining magic show. Brace excels at presenting his effects in theme, and The Magic Hour is no different, each routine feels perfectly in place with its game-style framing. Every prop and reveal feels game related. Of the many highlights, a standout piece is his version of Scrabble, which gets several audience members involved in a way that is random but allows for the most enthusiastic to nab their time in the spotlight, and contains a couple strong, increasingly complex reveals.

Brace uses audience participation in the typical magician fashion, and gets a good proportion of the audience involved. He is not out to embarrass anyone, and the audience gets to know this fairly quickly, so he gets plenty who are enthusiastic to be onstage with him. While the theme is game night, it’s a magical game night, so Brace takes any difficult or potentially embarrassing tasks for himself and ensures that his participants can join in in comfort.

It wouldn’t be a family game night without some measure of chaos, and at the reviewed show Brace’s audience participants don’t disappoint. Brace is excellent at navigating the chaos to allow unexpectedly funny moments to shine without letting rogue audience members derail the magic. Of particular note was the relationship he built with one especially enthusiastic young participant, who had an innate performer’s instinct and desire to entertain the audience he found himself in front of. Brace made sure to corral those instincts without discouraging him, and even gave this young audience member a trusted, important role later in the show. Brace’s ability to balance encouraging a young person’s creativity with ensuring that it did not disrupt his own show is admirable, and had all the makings of a positive core memory for the child in question.

The Tom Brace Magic Hour is part television show, part family game night, and all good fun. Brace celebrates his longevity at the Fringe with a party as much as a spectacle. The show is family friendly and Brace is great with kids, but as the audience left at the end, attendees of all ages and enthusiasm levels for magic could be heard exclaiming their wonder and delight with his performance. Brace has a demonstrably universal appeal, and his magic game night is one not to miss.

JAMES PHELAN: SHOWMAN

☆☆☆☆

When assessing Fringe shows, it’s not always fair to judge the quality of the venue, with such a variety of possibilities and with performers not always having perfect control over which they are allocated to. However, it is impossible to deny the powerful effect of setting, for good or ill, on any performance experience. Entering James Phelan’s tent for Showman, the most obvious first impression is that not only does he have a beautiful venue, but his set design is gorgeously put together to make the absolute most of it. Phelan lets his audience in early to enjoy the ambiance and pre-show live music, a relaxing contrast to the usual Fringe rush to get seated as quickly as possible. Once he takes to the stage, that calming trend continues.

Phelan demonstrates his mentalist abilities in a variety of ways, but his specialty here is hypnotism, and this is where he spends the majority of the show—perhaps more than usual at the reviewed show. The entire audience might get involved at first, in a series of activities that prove both interesting and relaxing, before Phelan chooses those who stand out to join him for a deeper hypnotic experience. Phelan manages to demonstrate an astonishing range of hypnotic and mentalist effects, in a way that gets many un-hypnotized members of the audience involved from their seats.

If Phelan is known for any one thing as much as hypnotism, it’s his excellence in dealing with the audience, as a collective but most especially as individuals. Phelan manages to make friends with a solid proportion of them at the reviewed show. His carefully casual attitude makes those who join him onstage feel welcome, without ever doubting that he is the one in control. He is such a welcoming host that at the reviewed show one of his participants took off her shoes to allow her to more easily accomplish her tasks, even leaning on Phelan to do so—far from a common occurrence at a magic show, or even a hypnotism show. While this behavior is not encouraged, the fact that it happened exemplifies the audience’s immediate trust in and affection for Phelan as soon as they meet him.

The theme of Showman might be the contrast between fragility and permanence, but, even with his mentalist powers, Phelan may not have been able to predict just how well the reviewed show would emphasize this. Whether his participants were unexpectedly leaning on him to remove their shoes or generally struggling with their role in the show, Phelan experienced a remarkable range of ways that audience participants can inadvertently attempt to derail a magic show, through no fault of his own. The audience was left with no doubt that he uses genuine participants without relying on stooges. What began as a magic show temporarily transitioned into a masterclass in participant management, as Phelan masterfully ensured that he got what he needed from his audience with the calm demeanor of a gracefully gliding swan that was undoubtedly paddling beneath the surface with increasing urgency. This became, as well, an active demonstration of Phelan’s ability to transform the fragile relationship between audience participants and his show into a permanent reminder of the power and at times sheer force of will that makes a true Showman. The strength of Phelan’s theme was clearly developed through the ordinary course of his show as well, he certainly didn’t “need” the audience’s help, but the events of the reviewed show ended up handing him an unexpected way to underline his point.

Phelan will guarantee that his audience gets the full experience of Showman, of that they can be certain. At the reviewed show he risked the notorious wrath of his venue management by running well over his allocated time to ensure that he could complete his show in spite of participant-related delays. This commitment to his audience’s experience is undoubtedly at least one of the reasons why Phelan is regularly selling out this Fringe. Prospective audiences had better act fast if they want to catch him in his beautiful tent.

ANDREW MCKINLAY: CLASSIFIED

☆☆

In a colorful central venue, Andrew McKinlay can be found performing his mentalist show Classified… or at least, that’s his cover for recruiting for the mysterious Bureau, one audience at a time. McKinlay takes his audiences through a series of tests to judge their suitability to join up. While the show is not not flawless and McKinlay seems to struggle at times to connect with his audience, it’s an entertaining time.

McKinlay has made an effort to theme his effects for a recruitment drive, and by and large he’s done a good job. Perhaps, in this case, slightly too good of a job, as his reveals may come to feel a bit same-y. To a skeptic this is arguably a feature of magic in general, but many Fringe magicians add in enough creativity and variety of effects to keep their shows interesting. The effects employed are all mentalist in nature, so perhaps particularly suited to fans of that genre of magic.

With a relatively small venue and recruitment theme, McKinlay is able to include pretty much the entire audience in his act at the reviewed show. Results are complimentary, with McKinlay ensuring that everyone passes the tests and is judged suitable for The Bureau. McKinlay is a friendly presence, and makes participation feel more like the most chill job interview ever than like joining a magician onstage.

McKinlay struggles slightly with timing and connection with the audience throughout the show. He has a tendency to draw out the setup, slowly showing the audience nearly all the cards or pages in a notebook where it might feel slicker to just show a few as a representative sample. The connection with the audience may be more a problem with the audience at the reviewed show, which was slightly combative, than with McKinlay himself. After the show McKinlay could be seen chatting to tables of strangers at his venue with more charm and charisma than he displayed during the show. While it’s unfortunate that McKinlay wasn’t able to recover this show’s audience, he is clearly able to win over others.

The reviewed show of Classified may have been a mixed experience, but McKinlay is clearly a competent performer and his concept for the show has an interesting potential. Mentalism enthusiasts, and those who would like to join The Bureau, may enjoy it.

DAVID ALNWICK: MAGICIAN. NOT CREEPY.

☆☆☆☆

Music fans might have Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour, a wildly popular performer showing off her longevity and creativity in a massive three hour spectacle. David Alnwick is the Fringe magic equivalent of Taylor Swift. Alnwick’s informal Eras Tour might be modular in nature, with at least three hours’ worth of shows throughout every day of the Fringe, but if anything that makes it more accessible. While his most ardent fans have been known to follow him around for the day, those with less time to devote to him daily have the whole month to catch all his shows. Magician. Not Creepy. is Alnwick’s second regular show of the day. Here Alnwick demonstrates a range of the magic that earned him his renown, with a nod to the venue, which had historically hosted his creepier content.

In Magician. Not Creepy. Alnwick draws from several of his eras as a magician. One of the many things that Alnwick is known for is his card tricks, and he performs several of his regular favorites. These are a highlight, managing to be impressive and entertaining even for those who have seen them before. Magic fans may particularly appreciate the skill required to perform a well known card trick using a fairly tight jean pocket rather than the roomier suit jacket pocket that magicians tend to favor. Alnwick has perfect mastery over his deck and is not afraid to let his audience get close to him. He also performs some of his less regular and even new content, a real treat for long time fans in particular.

Alnwick might occasionally lightly tease his audience as a whole, but he is very welcoming to his participants. Once a member of the audience joins him onstage, they are transformed into a cherished member of the act, and Alnwick makes sure they know it. Alnwick primarily chooses his participants at random, based on instincts honed with over a decade of Fringe performances, and these prove unerringly accurate. For his more involved roles he gives the individual he lands on a clear out if they don’t want to participate, but at the reviewed show none took it—he is very beloved in Edinburgh.

Alnwick’s fans will know that of all the things he’s known for, the big overarching one is being perfect. Or, for those who believe that true perfection is not possible despite Alnwick regularly demonstrating evidence to the contrary, being so consistently close that he comes across as perfect anyway. At the reviewed show the one noticeable error was Alnwick opening a deck of cards too enthusiastically and throwing them all over the floor, but even this felt like a tribute to his earlier, messier shows that regularly ended with the stage covered in abandoned cards and other magical detritus.

Whether they know him by reputation or from his previous work, no one could possibly leave Magician. Not Creepy. at all disappointed. It’s a worthy stop for anyone from his biggest fans to those looking for a magic show to tick the genre off their Fringe list. Unlike Swift, Alnwick doesn’t make a big production out of regularly performing daily for three to four hours, it’s simply how he shows up for his fans, himself, and his art every year. Here, at the midpoint of his day, he is flawless as ever.

MAX DAVIDSON: STRANGERS

☆☆☆

Max Davidson doesn’t even need to be onstage to get his audience to do what he wants. His new Fringe show Strangers opens with instructions for his first participant, who is whoever is first to self-select from the audience, before Davidson even introduces himself. At the reviewed show the potential awkward silence had no time to develop before someone leapt to the stage. Davidson is clearly attracting an enthusiastic audience, and his trust in them is both heartwarming and justified.

Davidson’s theme for his magic is memory. A popular genre of tricks, most magic fans will have seen a magician perform one of two of the effects that he uses, but rarely all of them at once. Notably, during one routine Davidson openly and lightheartedly admits that his goal is to gaslight his participant. Many, perhaps most, magicians will attempt to gaslight some or all of their audience during their shows, the best so successfully that, aside from the tacit consent of purchasing a ticket for a magic show, it passes unnoticed by the audience. Few have the honesty and talent to admit to it ahead of time and still pull it off.

The vast majority of the tricks used may be familiar to magic fans, but Davidson puts them together in routines that, by virtue of their creative combinations, feel fresh and interesting. A highlight sees him read a piece of information from a random participant’s mind that hasn’t been written down or mentioned in any way ahead of time, for a particularly impressive reveal. While at the reviewed show not everything goes perfectly to plan, Davidson pivots excellently to keep the energy up and the magic flowing.

Despite admitting to attempted gaslighting, Davidson comes across as warm and welcoming to those who participate in his magic—the honesty is perhaps beneficial here. Davidson pulls from volunteers for his more involved participation moments, and at the reviewed show there is no shortage. The appreciation he expresses to each participant who joins him leaves the rest of the audience increasingly happy to take a turn onstage as the show goes on.

Davidson’s premise is that the audience might arrive Strangers to him, but by the time they leave he will know everything he needs to to read their minds. By the time they see his impressive finale, the audience may very well agree. His audiences will be pleased to no longer consider Davidson a stranger.

JACK KENYON: TABLE FOR TWO

☆☆☆☆

The Fringe is a busy time of year. It’s been described as the Olympics for culture critics, and it’s even busier for artists advertising, developing, and performing their work for the entire month. It can be difficult to find time for personal life. Jack Kenyon has found a solution. In Table for Two, Kenyon takes one audience member per show on a practice date, to help him recover from a rough breakup and prepare to re-enter the dating world. It’s a cute premise, and at the reviewed show Kenyon manages to have a good date.

Slightly hilariously for a show with this premise, the magic is explicitly themed on Kenyon attempting to fix the aspects of his character that his ex cited as reasons for ending their relationship. Of course in real life regularly referencing your ex’s complaints about you on a date is poor behavior, but in this magic show it provides a useful framework—and, as this is just a practice date, Kenyon has the excuse that he’s getting this unproductive date behavior out of his system. An early highlight is Kenyon demonstrating his newfound romanticism with a card trick, which is sweet, meaningful, and magical, perfectly setting the scene for the rest of the show.

The perspective that this show takes towards its own premise and conclusion feels very innocent, like the fluffiest of romcoms. Unlike many magicians who are eager to point out, often in the closing moments of the show, that they were in perfect control of everything that happened at all times, Kenyon often presents his magic almost as if it were real. A matching trick is, in Table for Two, an indication that Kenyon and his mock date have perfect chemistry, not framed as a demonstration of Kenyon’s abilities. It’s a different attitude towards magic than is usually seen at the Fringe, setting Kenyon apart, and it works perfectly for the style of show that he is performing.

As indicated in the advertising for Table for Two, there is one audience participation role that is especially involved, that of the audience member selected for the date. This participant is selected at random, but in a way that is easy to opt out of for those who would prefer not to be onstage for the majority of the show. Other participation roles are fairly minimal, easily executed by the individuals chosen.

Table for Two might be more of a magical experience than a magic show for the participant Kenyon takes on his nightly date, but it’s entertaining for those enjoying it as a show from the audience seats as well. Kenyon’s livestream set up ensures that the effects that happen on the restaurant table are visible to everyone watching. Whether audience members bought their tickets because they liked the look of Kenyon’s face on his poster and wanted to try their luck at a date, or just to see an unusual magic show, they will be happy that they attended.

KEANU HO: EASTERN ILLUSIONS REIMAGINED

☆☆☆☆

The impact of Chinese culture on the international conception and performance of magic is undeniable, perhaps most obviously in the ubiquity of the classic linking rings effect. However, while Edinburgh increasingly sees magic from a variety of international performers, China’s magical heritage is most often illustrated to Fringegoers by magicians with no personal connection to it. Luckily, this gap in the Fringe magic program has been filled this year by Keanu Ho, who has brought his Eastern Illusions Reimagined from Hong Kong. Ho updates tradition to perform a set that feels both modern and imbued with his own personality, while also acting as a means of cultural expression and exchange.

Eastern Illusions Reimagined is part of the Fringe’s Chinese Culture Week, and perhaps the emphasis on explaining Chinese magical heritage is in part due to this brief, but Ho expresses what feels like a real and deserved pride in that heritage. The linking rings, commonly described as Chinese linking rings, are of course given a prominent role in his opening act. At other points, Ho’s own personality shines through especially clearly. His card routine is a highlight of creative presentation. Describing it as a “card routine” doesn’t do justice to the experience of watching it; Ho turns a trick that many magic fans might have seen before into a moment that is exceptionally fun and exciting to see.

In between the magic, Ho is approachable and informal, chatting with his tech support and the Chinese Culture Week staff. It does, at times, feel less like a magic show and more like Ho is hosting a gathering of friends, introducing his new friends in the audience to his older friends who are involved in the production. There is of course plenty of magic presented, but these interludes highlight Ho’s hospitality as he invites the audience to witness and take part in his routines.

By magic show standards Eastern Illusions Reimagined is relatively light on audience participation. Most of the audience are able to join in from their seats, examining the props that Ho brings for them to examine. For the one more involved role, Ho was able to select the most enthusiastic audience member to participate, and she was clearly overjoyed to be able to experience the magic from a closer perspective. It’s worth noting that the Chinese Culture Week staff who sat in on the reviewed performance helped Ho curate his hospitable atmosphere, most notably in helping this participant get photos and videos of her time onstage.

Eastern Illusions Reimagined is a well crafted, well performed show, both as a piece of cultural exchange and as a magic show in its own right. Ho is an excellent performer who seems born for the stage. At the reviewed show Ho surprisingly revealed that he was mostly retired from performing magic prior to preparing for this Fringe run, and instead works as an educator and mentor to children in Hong Kong. His audience will undoubtedly hope that he continues to create and perform magic, they will be keen to see more from this engaging, exciting performer.

ELLIOT BIBBY: ABRACADADA

☆☆☆☆

In the opening moments of Abracadada, a family friendly show that attracts all ages, Elliot Bibby explicitly welcomes adults with kids to enter and exit the show as often as needed to cater to the little ones. He’s family friendly on both an artistic level and on a human level. The show itself is themed on childhood, from Bibby’s own childhood experiences through to his current experience as a father of two.

As the show progresses, it becomes clear that his opening remarks weren’t just empty words. Beyond the magic, the real factor that sets Bibby apart is in how he interacts with his audience. At the reviewed show Bibby had two very enthusiastic young siblings in his front row, heckling him in that adorable but still potentially disruptive way that kids do. Bibby made sure to get them both involved at appropriate points in the show. His navigation of their interruptions revealed not just the unflappably professional demeanor that has made him such an in demand magician, but also a keen sense of the potential rivalries of sibling politics, which he navigated flawlessly in his responses to them.

Most of the tricks that Bibby performs might be familiar to magic fans, but they are well themed and perfectly performed. Those who have seen any particular trick and think they might know how it works won’t get confirmation from Bibby. A highlight draws inspiration from Bibby’s other Fringe venture, with a child-friendly makeover that results in one of the many particularly adorable audience participation moments of the show. His final reveal is also impressive, he may employ a classic magician closer but manages to use it in an unusually visual, thematic, and engaging way.

The Abracadada theme feels fairly light touch in that as much a description of Bibby’s life as a magician and father as it is a theme for the show, and is used to encompass incidents from his own childhood as well—not a critique so much as a comment on the type of show that Bibby is choosing to perform. That being said, the care and attention to detail in the props and presentation results in an especially cohesive show. Bibby is also in a position to uniquely embody his theme, showing off his dad skills as much as his magic skills in how he speaks to his audience.

As at the writing of this review, Bibby has been regularly selling out his Abracadada run and appears poised to continue to do so. It’s not just families with young kids in the audiences. Bibby is a Fringe regular, and particularly as this is his first solo show in a little while, it’s attracted his long time fans as well, who are committed to him regardless of the theme. Abracadada might be a different theme than they’re used to, but it is a beautiful little triumph of a show. Bibby’s old and new fans left his venue slightly more joyful for having experienced it.

KEVIN QUANTUM: INVISIBLE FORCE

☆☆☆

Fringe regular and favorite Kevin Quantum has clearly built a strong reputation, if the sold out Invisible Force on a Monday evening is anything to go by. He may be family friendly with the kind of arguably educational billing of being both a scientist and a magician that attracts young families, but it’s worth noting that the reviewed show had a decent mix of ages, with plenty of groups of adults of varied ages enjoying the show. Invisible Force is conceptually very interesting, and Quantum is an able and engaging performer.

As with many magic shows, Quantum invites many audience members to the stage. He is by and large a welcoming presence, rewarding most of his participants with biscuits. This is in keeping with the science theme; in the best, kindest way he is here reminiscent of a scientist training their beloved mice through a maze. Quantum’s long term fans may know that he loves a boogie, but it may be worthwhile for him to have a bit more respect for his participants who don’t. At the reviewed show watching him pressure his first participant of the evening into dancing was uncomfortable viewing. The moment could have at least been tied in thematically with a discussion of the invisible forces at play in a dynamic of unequal power, but the opportunity was missed.

There are a few other missed thematic moments in the show, which feels like a shame for such an interesting concept. The thematic elements of some routines feel fairly straightforward, so it feels reasonable that they are performed without explicit elaboration, like a participant’s emotional connection to a lost object leading it back to her, or a participant’s demonstrable connection with Quantum allowing them to subconsciously coordinate certain factors. On the other hand, Quantum’s magical illustration of quantum physics could do with a touch more tie-in, to allow those in the audience coming in with less physics knowledge to fully appreciate the parallel. Quantum is known for bringing an entirely new concept-driven show to every Fringe, which is certainly admirable in its own right, but the reviewed Invisible Forces may leave some audience members hoping that someday he returns to the concept introduced here with further insight and elaboration. 

As a magician-science hybrid, Quantum makes great use of the props of both his passions in the effects that he performs, often leading to visually spectacular results. A highlight is his use of a glittering chain that behaves in a beautiful, fascinatingly unexpected way. Quantum’s own driving force is, as he describes it, enabling his audience to experience wonder, and he is adept at using both science and magic to achieve this.

Quantum is a regular and strong performer, and his many fans certainly won’t leave Invisible Forces disappointed. Some may find it the most interesting work he’s brought to the Fringe in recent years. However, it does feel like the concept work of the show could be slightly augmented to give it a more cohesive feel, plus the reviewed show had a participant issue that, to be fair to Quantum, may have been a one-off. Quantum is always one to watch, and if anything, the ambition evident in the structuring of Invisible Forces is a fascinating glimpse into what makes Quantum himself tick— a sub-theme of the show. It will almost definitely leave audiences curious and excited to see what he comes up with next year.