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It must be acknowledged that there is absolutely an innate appeal to spending an hour looking at a man in a kilt. Cameron Young, a Scottish magician who titled and themed his show The Scottish Magician seems to understand the allure. His show contains plenty of magic and plenty of celebration of Scottish culture—exactly as promised.

The celebration of Scotland starts immediately, with an audience participant invited to take part in a trick in exchange for the chance to win a classic Scottish snack. Young is kind to his participants, frequently offering rewards in the form of magical mementos as thanks for taking part in the show. He gets increasing numbers of volunteers as the audience catches on to this and everyone decides that they want a physical reminder of the magic.

While much of the magic included is familiar favorites, Young also includes some fun reinterpretations that make the classics feel fresh. Of particular note is his take on a ring effect, which involves an exciting series of revelations. It is, however, a mixed result, as this effect specifically is one of the ones that is unfortunately easy to catch out from the first few rows, even when the audience is not trying to break the spell of the magic. Young is much more successful at concealing the sleights of the classic tricks, perhaps indicating that this one simply requires a bit more practice. The audience is lucky to see his fresh new magic in progress.

The narrative around the tricks does feel at times a bit disjointed, with Young chatting at various points about his childhood adventures as a secret budding magician and then, at times, breaking into rhapsodic praise of Scotland—its food, drink, and celebrities. Aside from the kilt and the lovely accent, his enthusiasm in speaking on these varied topics does keep the audience’s attention. If it’s a slightly disjointed show thematically, it is nevertheless unfailingly entertaining.

It is hopefully not surprising to magic fans at the Edinburgh Fringe to hear that Young is not the only Scottish magician at the festival. He is, however, the only one who has themed his show on his love for his country. For mostly skillful magic, an enjoyable series of stories, a safe space to shout a bit about your love for Scotland, and of course a man in a kilt, The Scottish Magician is the show to see.

More information on The Scottish Magician and its performance dates can be found here.