☆☆☆☆☆

The Fringe’s favorite magic supergroup Insane Magic is back, with their tactically titled show 1 Hour of Insane Magic. The title might stay the same, but the content gets reworked each year, and this year really is bigger than ever. Cameron Gibson, Luke Osey, and Elliot Bibby might each get their turn in the spotlight, but the best parts of the show are the ones where they appear onstage together, and they know it, spending more time than ever together this year.

With each performer representing their specialty—mentalism, stunt magic, and sleight of hand—plus the big illusion work that the performers demonstrate together, Insane Magic has something for everyone. While it is first and foremost an entertaining experience for the average Fringe audience, it is also rapidly becoming an exemplar-level primer on excellently performed magic for enthusiasts. A particular highlight is their levitation act, which brings personality, originality, and levity to a classic effect.

With their huge venue that regularly sells out, Insane Magic’s challenges when it comes to audience management are a little bit different. Participants are chosen from volunteers, which is particularly helpful when they might find themselves in front of hundreds of people, a task that not all people would be up for. And just when the audience might think that Insane Magic has become the victim of its own success, with audiences so large that not everyone can see some of the physically smaller effects, they reveal a new livestream camera system that ensures that the action is visible to all. The camera work is skillfully done by Insane Magic’s assistant, Laura Susana Tapia, who isn’t just the assistant for one of the biggest illusions but also assists in general throughout the show. That being said, as discussed below, the Insane Magicians also take a turn at some of the classically assistant roles, and can also be seen assisting each other throughout the show.

As Insane Magic progresses, one of the first things the audience may come to realize is that Osey, Bibby, and Gibson are all unapologetically nerds. If the magic itself wasn’t enough of an indication, their commitment to demonstrating certain effects with painstaking historical accuracy drives the point home. The audience also quickly realizes that they are equally unapologetically feminist, as they take the time to reframe the acts and labels of magical history to bring awareness to the historically under-recognized role of women in magic and ensure that they don’t make the same mistakes in their own work. These two factors combine wonderfully in what must be the best and nerdiest dance interlude in magic show history. Bibby, Gibson, and Osey may have mentioned lasers in their promotional materials, but the audience will still be unprepared for just how much fun this segment of the show is in reality. It exemplifies the factors that have made them so successful: visual, magical, and fun in equal measures, with their trademark dash of silliness. 

Insane Magic is truly a worldwide phenomenon. Their recent venture to the Adelaide Fringe saw them not only selling out shows half a world away from their home country, but also managing to become the third favorite Adelaide Fringe show in the audience review rankings. Their many fans know why. The magic is creative and perfectly performed, and their stage chemistry and kindness radiate through every point of the act. Popular Fringe acts do occasionally feel overhyped, but despite its reputation, Insane Magic feels, if anything, under-hyped. Magic tricks can be described and even replicated, but the wholesome energy that the performers manage to imbue in every moment of every show has to be experienced. Insane Magic regularly sells out their entire run and is on track to do so again, so anyone hoping to see it would do well to book their tickets quickly.