☆☆☆

Craig Stephenson risks being easily dismissed as gimmicky by framing the majority of Magic, Mind Reading, and Telerabbitry around the conceit that a stuffed bunny toy is his performance partner.  However, he cleverly chose a very cute gimmick, so it pointing out is less of a criticism and more of an adorable fact.  Mr B is introduced at the very beginning of the show, and while he is sadly sat by the side of the stage for a fair amount of the middle (Stephenson explains part of this absence as Mr B being made nervous by the scarier tricks), he does play an important role in the final reveal.

Stephenson’s other gimmick is that he claims to be the only magician of the Fringe who will prove that he cannot do magic or read minds.  He does follow through on explaining some of the simpler processes behind the tricks, but anyone who has seen nearly any other magician will recognize this as a common tactic used to make the magician’s more complex tricks look all the more astonishing.  Stephenson does inevitably fall into this convention.  It works as it should, the following feats do indeed have more impact after his initial explanations, but this does make his initial claim sound pointless in hindsight.

This is especially the case as Stephenson’s magical abilities speak for themselves.   The majority of his effects emphasize mentalism over sleight of hand.  His mind reading using various written materials is solidly impressive, and his version of Russian roulette is scary enough even without the use of firearms.

Stephenson is a strong enough performer, especially as a family-oriented magician.  His use of a bunny toy prop seems to indicate that he has embraced this strength.  At the end of the show Stephenson mentions that while he does not read his reviews, Mr B the bunny does read them.  So, in that spirit… Great job, Mr B!  You deserve an extra carrot tonight!

More information on Craig Stephenson and his performance dates can be found here.