☆☆☆☆

The show is called Cards on the Table. Upon entering the theatre, the audience sees a mostly empty table with a few books, a lamp, and a deck of playing cards. The first thing that magician Andrew Frost says as he steps on stage is, “I hope you like card tricks”. Anyone who chose to come to this show hoping for anything other than card tricks will be disappointed, and that would be on them.

What follows is, as promised, a full hour of card magic. Frost covers the expected types of tricks in this sub-genre, from fancy shuffling through to trick dealing and card finding. With a whole hour devoted to card magic, Frost is able to delve a little deeper and take common tricks that are recognizable to magic fans that extra step further that more generalist magicians wouldn’t often make time for, especially at a festival like the Fringe with its oft-proscribed time limits.

The unifying feature is Frost’s exceptional skill at card magic and his clear passion for this particular type of magic. If anyone is considering getting in to performing magic (or reviewing it) this is the perfect show to see for an example of what card magic should ideally look like. It’s a classic of magic for a reason, and seeing Frost is a reminder for all who need it of just how impressive card magic can look.  There’s no other theme but the cards and the variety of ways that they can be manipulated, which is all that is needed for Frost’s purposes.

Even at the sold out show that was reviewed, Frost got a decent proportion of the audience onstage for various tasks. Frost is an approachable performer and makes his participants feel welcome. He’s especially helpful in explaining card terminology and even in helping his audience with the most difficult bit of audience participation in a magic trick, remembering which symbol is spades and which is clubs. It’s self serving in that it enables his own show to go more smoothly, but the audience also comes away feeling like they have learned something new and that they can be that tiny bit more comfortable participating in future magic shows.

Cards on the Table is a must see for fans of card magic. Even fans of magic in general who have found card magic underwhelming in the past may gain an appreciation for it in Frost’s hands. Come prepared to be amazed by the entertainment value of the often seen but often under-appreciated type of magic.

More information about Cards on the Table and its performances can be found here.