☆☆☆☆

As a new performer to the Edinburgh Fringe and tucked away in a beautiful new PBH venue, Sam King might struggle slightly to attract a crowd on a sunny Thursday early evening for Tricks & Stuff. The people who do turn up quickly discover that it’s everyone else’s loss for missing it. One of the nice elements of the Fringe is that you might see a show and think, “surely that’s the weirdest thing here”, only to see something else that’s even stranger the next day. It’s difficult to imagine what could be weirder than Tricks & Stuff.

Without spoiling the strange surprises that King reveals throughout his show, it’s worth noting that the “& Stuff” in the title is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Sure, there are tricks, but they are primarily in service of the one-man play that King has concocted for his act. Those who saw the top hat on the flyer and expected a standard magic show may be disappointed. However, those who are willing to strap in for the ride get treated to a delightfully absurd experience. It’s appropriate for a magic show that the publicity and the actual show feels like a bit of a bait-and-switch: that’s just the first trick.

Depending on the size of the audience, most people may be called upon to take part in the show. On days with lighter numbers, some audience members may be called upon a few times. King is self-aware in his absurdity, while he himself says and does a lot of things that may be unexpected for a magician, everything he asks of his audience is expected and easily explained. At the reviewed show King even managed to get one of his younger audience members involved in an age-appropriate way, even though his show is really more designed for older children and adults.

The magic itself is all performed well. At the reviewed show King even performed an effect without the initial prop, which actually worked for him given the absurdist nature of his act. His take on a mentalist card trick is particularly fun. Plenty of magicians use their mouths for a varied reveal, but none the same way as King. This is well themed and placed toward the start of the show to gently indicate to the audience that it’s about to get a whole lot weirder shortly after.

The absurd humor and odd energy of King’s Tricks & Stuff make it an excellent addition to this year’s Fringe. While the plot elements may be very slightly confusing to follow, even allowing for the occasional interruption of the reviewed show, it still works because King knows he’s doing an absurdist show and makes sure the audience knows that he knows. King certainly has a creative approach to performing magic and is worth the time to watch.