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In a colorful central venue, Andrew McKinlay can be found performing his mentalist show Classified… or at least, that’s his cover for recruiting for the mysterious Bureau, one audience at a time. McKinlay takes his audiences through a series of tests to judge their suitability to join up. While the show is not not flawless and McKinlay seems to struggle at times to connect with his audience, it’s an entertaining time.

McKinlay has made an effort to theme his effects for a recruitment drive, and by and large he’s done a good job. Perhaps, in this case, slightly too good of a job, as his reveals may come to feel a bit same-y. To a skeptic this is arguably a feature of magic in general, but many Fringe magicians add in enough creativity and variety of effects to keep their shows interesting. The effects employed are all mentalist in nature, so perhaps particularly suited to fans of that genre of magic.

With a relatively small venue and recruitment theme, McKinlay is able to include pretty much the entire audience in his act at the reviewed show. Results are complimentary, with McKinlay ensuring that everyone passes the tests and is judged suitable for The Bureau. McKinlay is a friendly presence, and makes participation feel more like the most chill job interview ever than like joining a magician onstage.

McKinlay struggles slightly with timing and connection with the audience throughout the show. He has a tendency to draw out the setup, slowly showing the audience nearly all the cards or pages in a notebook where it might feel slicker to just show a few as a representative sample. The connection with the audience may be more a problem with the audience at the reviewed show, which was slightly combative, than with McKinlay himself. After the show McKinlay could be seen chatting to tables of strangers at his venue with more charm and charisma than he displayed during the show. While it’s unfortunate that McKinlay wasn’t able to recover this show’s audience, he is clearly able to win over others.

The reviewed show of Classified may have been a mixed experience, but McKinlay is clearly a competent performer and his concept for the show has an interesting potential. Mentalism enthusiasts, and those who would like to join The Bureau, may enjoy it.