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If the prospect of a magic survival guide doesn’t much interest you, don’t worry. Magician Dave Reubens doesn’t seem to be interested in it either. Reubens’ current Edinburgh Fringe offering is a chaotic mix of random tricks strung together, proclaimed to be a magic show but poorly accomplished and half (if that) heartedly presented.

The premise of this show is that life is hard, and it would be much easier if there was a magic survival guide (his tricks) to help one get through it. The connections between the tricks and this premise are tenuous at best, and completely nonnsensical at worst. Apparently literal highway robbery and the existence of space are problems we face reguarly in life? This reviewer doesn’t know, but truly doesn’t think Reubens does either.

Due to the lack of commitment to the bit as far as the theme goes, one can surmise that the tricks picked for this show were actually chosen on the basis on being the ones that Reubens is the best at. However, this is unfortunate if true, as he is not even very skillful at these. He presents a mix of standard magical tricks, integrating rope tricks, torn and restored newspaper, and a Rubix cube among then. Through several tricks there is some obvious flashing of items the audience is not supposed to be seeing, and his palming is overt. At one especially notable moment, Reubens gleefully exclaims about the emptyness of a prop…. only for a substantial amount of liquid to pour out in front of everybody and form a puddle on the stage.

Tech issues are generally forgiven by critics during the Fringe, due to the unorthodox venues and limited opportunities for enough on site rehearsal. That being said, Reubens’ tech issue at the show reviewed should have been an easy one to catch ahead of beginning, and even had he not, a professional magican should be better able to roll with issues instead of letting them start his show off on the wrong foot so blatantly. This mishap may be the cause of Reubens’ nervous energy, but we cannot reliably assert that this isn’t just his natural state.

In an effort to convince the audience that he is doing a better job than actuality, Reubens overexplains his tricks to make the seem more impressive, and cheers more loudly for himself than all his audience is doing combined. The desperation is offputting to say the least, with the crowd reception starting lukewam at best and getting colder every minute. At one point, Reubens receives literally zero participation interest for the easiest, least intimidating participation opportunity and has to resort to picking people instead after an extended awkward silence.

Every trick at Magical Survival Guide can be seen done more successfully and entertainingly by one of the dozens of other magicians at the Edinburgh Fringe, and it is our advice that readers take that oppportunity. Reubens does not seem like a bad or mean guy, and he clearly loves magic. His story of his inspiration is certainly touching, particularly for viewers who have experienced parental loss. However, his show requires some significant work in both planning and practice before we can reccommend.