☆☆☆☆☆

Ever the street performer, Charlie Caper knows how to get his audience hooked quickly. At the reviewed show of his street magic spectacular Magical, Caper was repeatedly interrupted by a Furby he’d brought along from his other show as a flyering aid. Caught without a screwdriver, he proceeded to hack in to the Furby on his computer to get it to stop talking. While that didn’t end up being the most impressive part of the show, it was an incredible first impression, getting the audience on his side pretty much instantly.

Caper’s street magic skills are unmatched. He even performs coin magic with a very large coin for good visibility, making sure that the whole audience can see the effect. While street performance audiences might wander away halfway through, that’s slightly more difficult from the basement of an Edinburgh venue, and Caper structures his show with build and motifs to reward the audience for their fidelity. His bowtie is a perfect example. It might disappear and reappear at random moments—even those who have seen Caper before and therefore expect this running gag may struggle to spot it going—and Caper makes sure to include miniature bowties on various props.

Audience participation is always a chaos factor, and magicians often get the best and the worst of it. Caper was lucky at the reviewed show to get an adorable young boy as a participant for his cup and balls routine. The magician-participant relationship started strong, with Caper jokingly suggesting a few obvious misdirection tactics, and the participant yelling cheerfully for the whole audience to hear, “you can’t trick me!” Naturally Caper proceeded to blow his tiny mind, and the minds of a good few older members of the audience along with it. The participant’s full-body expressions of amazement were visible from the back of the large room.

No Caper show would feel complete without at least one robot. The Magical audience is treated to several, including getting a glimpse of a larger one that features prominently in his other show. Caper has produced many robots over the years, and the audience is treated to a routine from a returning favorite, Caper’s mini-me who performs magic with him. Caper’s little assistant is always a highlight.

Magical is both a perfect exemplar of street magic and a wholesome treatise on living life more magically. Caper closes on an inspiring note, encouraging the audience to romanticize life even when it doesn’t perfectly resemble a fairy tale. Caper’s Magical is a reset and reminder of exactly how good magic can be in the right hands.