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The Invention of Magic isn’t really a magic show. It’s more properly a lecture on psychology and magical history, albeit distinctly from the perspective of a magician, Richard Wiseman. Wiseman even has a slideshow of psychological illusions and history to accompany the lecture. It’s perfect for those who miss the fun bits of school, learning from engaging lecturers, without having to suffer through the assignments and exams that are a necessary evil of structured academia.

The structure of discussing history or science before performing a magic trick will be familiar to magic fans. The discussion is usually a fairly perfunctory element of the performance that feels more like an exercise in building anticipation than a genuine attempt to educate. Wiseman has created a similar model, but with the emphasis switched. There is education ahead of magic, but the educational component is the important bit, and the magic is more of an illustration than the primary draw.

Given that, the audience is for the most part talked to rather than interacted with. The one primary moment of audience participation involves the entire audience in the same trick, which makes it an especially interesting variation on a classic. It’s one with a long set up, rumored to have made Churchill himself late for work, and involving the whole audience keeps everyone engaged for what is ultimately a great reveal.

Fans of magic will enjoy learning more about the history of the practice. Wiseman mainly discusses an inventor of magic called Paul Curry, which, even to many unwitting fans of his work, may be an unknown name. Wiseman reveals that many popular effects and puzzles are descended from Curry’s work. Curry was evidentially an influential figure in magical history and it’s great to see Wiseman putting in the effort to keep him alive in popular memory.

In case prospective audiences needed yet another reason to attend The Invention of Magic, Wiseman is performing on the PBH Free Fringe, as a means of raising money for that organization. Often described as the fringe of the Fringe, the PBH is the only venue that is both free for artists and audiences, single-handedly working to keep the arts accessible to everyone in Edinburgh. In the spirit of Curry creating magic that would go on to amaze future audiences he would never get to meet, Wiseman is working to preserve the future of accessible art for the next generation.