☆☆☆☆☆

Ben Hart and his shows are a staple of the Edinburgh Fringe magic scene. At some point you would expect that surely a performer cannot only have hits, no misses. But in Hart’s latest offering, Jadoo, we are yet again awestruck by his capacity to entertain and enthrall.

It is unfair to criticize a magician at the Edinburgh Fringe too harshly for a challenging venue situation, knowing what we all do about the difficulty of turning a normal, historic city into a living breathing theatre with every random building and business a stage. But we cannot go the other way around and not commend a magician for creating perfection in their experience starting from even the room their audience sits within. Assembly George Square Garden’s Palais du Variete has reappeared in this location for many Augusts, but if we were not aware of that we would believe it had been built from the ground up wholly for Hart’s use. It is hard to imagine a better ambiance to sink into than this smoky, mirrored, almost entirely in-the-round venue. The mystery evoked by one’s surroundings here are an unmatchable fit for the seductively spectacular story Hart tells in Jadoo.

Hart hearkens back to his interactions with India and Indian magic, both from experiences travelling there and from familial connections. Any magic aficionado is aware of the impact historical Indian street magicians have had on what we consider to be classical magic staples. At times the origins of these effects are uncertain, in question whether they are legitimate immigrations to “Western” awareness or made up by Golden Age magicians in an effort to appeal to the mysteriousness of the colonized ‘other’. That being said, magicians like Hart with actual roots in this country are well positioned to reframe and reclaim these effects and mold their own, highly personal stories around them.

Hart tells stunningly beautiful stories through stunningly beautiful sleights. From transforming a simple cloth into airborne moths, shocking the audience with his capacity for pain, and performing the impossible with something as simple as sand, Hart captivates the audience with his skill and storytelling. To again mention the physical surroundings, it is a choice of surprising bravery to have a magician perform in a room literally ringed with mirrors. If at times this boldness betrays him, it is to no real detriment to the overall show, for the force of his personability keeps his audience thoroughly on his side and hypnotized by the magic unfolding in front of them.

If one is looking for their last theatrical and magical experiences as the Fringe wanes to an end, Ben Hart’s Jadoo is an absolutely unmissable one.