☆☆

South presents soft, intimate array of close up tricks to an audience that is able to gather as closely as prevailing pandemic norms allow. The magic used consists of several classic tricks that may be fairly familiar to magic fans in the audience.  South works his way through several card, coin, and hoop tricks, all performed well.  A fun variation sees him perform a trick using the ubiquitous PBH Free Fringe program guide.  This essential guide to every Fringe schedule is much thinner this year than usual, perhaps making it easier to give it the centre-stage treatment that it gets at this point in South’s show. 

There is no issue in South’s performance of his magic, but the show feels a bit stilted with inconsistent transitions.  After some of his tricks the audience feels like they are just watching South tidy away his props before he takes out the next one and continues to perform.  Having a more consistent stream of patter or integrating the necessary transition points in to the act may help the show flow more smoothly. 

Given the reduced audience sizes of this pandemic Fringe, South is able to include the majority of his audience in the magic.  Participants don’t even have to get up on stage, as South is able to include them where they are sitting.  South is friendly and respectful with everyone who he includes in his show. 

In Close Up Conjuring South does exactly what it says in the title.  It’s a pretty standard, boilerplate show from a performer who has the magical skill to perform convincingly to an audience sat very close to him.  This is a solid show for those looking for an afternoon of magic. 

More information on Simon South and his performance dates can be found here.

☆☆☆☆☆

The first nightmare of David Alnwick’s Nightmare Magic is trying to get a ticket – he is still part of the PBH Free Fringe, but is so popular that placeholder tickets are given out an hour before the start time in an attempt to reduce his usual hours-long queues.  This has effectively shifted the massive queuing to an hour earlier, and turned it in to more of a scrum in the bar area of his venue.  This publication has said it before and it bears repeating, Alnwick is wildly, ridiculously popular.  Nightmare Magic is framed as a demonstration of his mysterious objects’ powers, but what it really demonstrates beyond doubt is that Alnwick more than earns his reputation with every show that he performs at the Fringe. 

Alnwick goes light on the actual magic here.  Nightmare Magic is as much a one man play as it is a magic show, and he easily holds his audience’s attention without it.  As much as Alnwick establishes that he doesn’t need magic to be an effective performer, being a magician he did of course create a show that uses magic to bring his stories to life.  His variety of mentalist and sleight of hand tricks are performed perfectly.  Between the perfection of his execution and the well thought out props, the magic blends seamlessly into the plot of the show. 

The show is scary, especially for the easily frightened like this reviewer.  Alnwick’s participants are not spared from the frights, but it is nothing out of the ordinary for show billed as a horror story.  For those who might be worried, it’s more of a creeping sensation of impending doom than anything like jump scares.  You might want a comforting cup of tea and an episode of your favorite sitcom before bed. 

Alnwick has reached a point in his career where he could coast on the formidable skill set that earned him his reputation and probably still cause daily stampedes for a spot in his shows.  But Nightmare Magic shows that he has instead chosen to innovate, pushing his own boundaries and the boundaries of magic as a genre.  In watching a range of magic shows it is often evident that Alnwick in particular is a source of inspiration for many young Fringe magicians, so it’s especially nice to see him modeling a wide range of approaches to magic across his portfolio of shows.  This year the cult leader has gone a little bit mad, and is more interested in discovering his audience member’s names than hearing them chant his own.  Next year could be anything, but knowing Alnwick it will at the very least be well worth a watch.

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

☆☆☆

Surprise plot twists and big reveals can make for exciting entertainment, but sometimes it’s nice to go in to a show knowing what to expect and having those expectations perfectly matched.  Simon South’s Mid Fringe Miracles is that kind of magic show.  There’s no theme, philosophizing, or plotline to unify the magic, but it’s done well, and South is an engaging entertainer to watch onstage. 

South utilizes a range of magic tricks that tend toward the classical.  There is even a multitude of brightly colored scarves – spot on for a perfect caricature of a magician.  A brief bout of mind reading touches on the lack of women in magic, an important point in this often homogenous industry, but does not dwell on it.  A highlight is a very pretty effect involving smoke, fire, and a couple of glasses.  South here shows a modern creativity in prop choice, using an e-cigarette to create the smoke. 

This odd Fringe has often resulted in unusually reduced audiences, and South unfortunately fell victim to this circumstance.  However, he made the most of those who were there.  A couple of individual disruptions, including one poor soul who came in expecting a rapper and left when he realized he was at a magic show, failed to derail South’s performance, as South cheerfully commented on the interruption and returned to his act.  The smaller audience size means that absolutely everyone participates, creating an intimate communal atmosphere. 

Mid Fringe Miracles is just about as quintessentially magic as it can get.  Trick follows trick and South guides us through them with an unendingly chipper flow of jokes and stories.  It’s the comfort food of magic shows, and in a year of so many real life plot twists and unexpected changes maybe this is exactly what magic fans will want. 

More information on Simon South and his performance dates can be found here.