3 Stars

YVAN ZIM: TANGLED D’ILLUSIONS

☆☆☆

A talented French-Irish edfringe newcomer, Yvan Zim presents his Tangled D’Illusions show in a pleasantly central basement bar. He’s a skilled magician and presents new interpretations of many classics. If there’s no real theme, most of the audience is too awestruck to notice.

There are many highlights in the magic that Zim performs. If rope tricks are often considered less inherently interesting, Zim’s incorporation of his software development background and inclusion of other props makes his a bit more fun. The audience participatory element is especially well handled, he gently teases and encourages those who help him trim his rope. An effect involving eggs also gets a lot of the audience involved from their seats, although ethical vegans may want to avoid lending Zim any possessions. And anyone who has ever been vaguely disappointed by the lack of violence usually involved when magicians “cut” a deck of cards will be overjoyed by how Zim concludes his show.

Some of Zim’s tricks could be benefitted by a bit more care going in to maintaining the illusion of magic. There’s the occasional point where Zim appears to be examining chosen audience cards before he places them back in the deck, or where he seems to be tipping himself off to the location of his special item within supposedly randomized envelopes. It’s not every trick, and his skills are still impressive enough, but it’s something that might be worth working on.

A lunchtime show at a venue that evidentially does not have an age restriction, Zim has plenty of young children in the audience. He’s great at getting them involved on their terms, choosing children to join him onstage who actively volunteer. A young participant for a card trick at the reviewed show was adorably enthusiastic. Zim had her climb up on a stool (after getting her grown ups’ permission) so she was about the same height as him. They had a great rapport as she helped him shuffle the deck and find her friend’s card.

Tangled D’Illusions is a pleasant way to spend an hour. It’s not especially designed for kids but is definitely family friendly, and Zim himself is great with all ages of participants. As part of the Laughing Horse festival it’s easy to turn up without a ticket, a great option for those who find themselves looking for entertainment around lunchtime.

JEZO’S CAR-CRASH MAGIC SHOW

☆☆☆

A new entry in the family friendly Fringe schedule, JezO presents a car crash of a magic show in the best possible way. It’s a well-controlled disaster with plenty of explosions, tons of puns, and more car fresheners than anyone would expect to see at a magic show. The magic itself is not a disaster; the full effect of the show is really solid fun, especially for young children.

JezO invites many participants to join him onstage, and is very complimentary of all of them, but is especially great with the young children. At the reviewed show two little ones volunteered to join JezO onstage. A shy young girl who joined him for a restorative effect adorably seemed to come out of her shell the longer she spent with him onstage. JezO also dealt with a nine year old boy who initially seemed very chill but revealed a cheeky streak once he’d gotten a taste of the spotlight, and JezO celebrated his enthusiasm without undercutting his own magical reveal.

All participants, and most of the audience, received gifts from JezO, primarily stickers and especially car air fresheners. If the audience members play their cards right, they can walk away with essentially a lifetime supply of car air fresheners, great value in a Fringe where ticket prices are always on the increase.

The child-friendly magic tricks abound in the Car-Crash Magic Show. A highlight includes JezO’s creative take on dove magic. Animal rights activists need not fear, no real doves are harmed, but the prop is used in inventive and highly visual ways that keep both kids and their grownups entertained. There is an explosion, but it comes with warning and is not loud enough to cause hearing damage in the enclosed venue.

JezO’s Car-Crash Magic Show is a worthwhile addition to any family’s Fringe roster. At the reviewed show he even attracted a notable number of adults without kids—it’s an entertaining show and evidently word has spread. From the best kinds of bad jokes, to silly takes on magic, to a hilarious abundance of car air fresheners, there are numerous reasons to spend an hour in JezO’s hilarious company.

MAGICIAN TWINPOSSIBLE

☆☆☆

Despite the classic Edinburgh Fringe rainy weather on the reviewed date of Twinpossible, Kane and Abel managed to pull a large crowd at their Voodoo Rooms venue. They present varied takes on their favorite theme each Fringe. As twins and a double act, the jokes and patterns are right there, and they seize each and every one of them.

Kane and Abel are great entertainers, but on occasion fumbled some of their classic magic effects. They opened with a side-by-side card trick using the same participant that went off without a hitch but were slightly clumsy in their performance of the in-between magic to fill the set-up time. This set the tone for the show -they’re not perfect but there’s usually at least one good reveal. 

Both twins are friendly with the audience, acknowledging that participating in their show is a little bit stressful but making their participants feel welcome. They make a point to indicate the “final participant” so everyone knows when they can relax and stop avoiding eye contact with them. Kane and Abel are kind to the crowd. At the end of a classic trick involving an egg they hand the remains to a random individual as a gift. Body builders looking for some crunchy protein may want to keep an eye out for this moment. They are also not above a thirst trap—magic fans who are so inclined can look forward to at least one of them removing their trousers during the course of the show. Twinpossible truly contains something for everyone. 


There’s a subset of magic shows that are especially predictable. The audience knows they’ll be amazed and witness impossibilities, but they know exactly what those will be—the card will be found and the rings will join together. Kane and Abel lean in this experience with their twin theme, they make all the references to twin relationships and idiosyncrasies that the audience would expect. It’s a safe, comfortable way to experience magic. There’s plenty to challenge as well as amaze at the Fringe, but maybe sometimes on a rainy Sunday afternoon safety and comfort is exactly what Edinburgh audiences want.

SEANCE LIVE

☆☆☆

The newest entry in the time-honoured tradition of magicians debunking the methods of false spiritualists is Séance Live by Sam Lupton. In this interactive show, Lupton showcases staples of mediumship, but all with the caveat of his own disbelief and in the stated interest of encouraging skepticism among attendees.

Lupton is a charming and compelling performer, and it would be easy to believe that had he chosen to peruse mediumship as a career, he would have no shortage of devotees. He divides his show into two parts, one composed primarily of hot and cold reading audience members, and one more focused on spirit phenomena like slate writing and pendulum dowsing.

Lupton is conscientious enough to assure participants, in the first half of the show, that he has had no legitimate contact with loved ones on the ’other side’. In some ways, his ethical standards here are to his detriment. Professional fake mediums are often extremely creative and invasive in their zeal to uncover personal information on audience members that they can use for their readings. Likely due to the absence of this, Lupton’s ‘hits’ of information on audience members are sporadic and somewhat underwhelming. He does use the excuse of this being an educational experience, but that falls a bit flat considering what he is theoretically trying to achieve. If it is shocking perceptiveness that causes people to fall victim to fake mediums, a show debunking it should be able to reach equal levels of this otherworldly-but-not-really skill.

As mentioned, stage magicians criticizing the methodology of fake spiritualists is no new practice. It has gone on essentially as long as the two groups have coexisted. However, one thing magicians typically do not mention is that this debunking was done not just out of a sense of justice for the general public or a fight in the battle to be the most honest liar. It was also because magicians and mediums often do use the same tricks, and through this, mediums posed a risk to magicians’ control over their secrets.

This begets the unfortunately innate weakness in Lupton’s show – as a working magician, there is only so far he can lead the viewer without giving away useful skills he and other magicians use in their careers. He wholeheartedly states his own disbelief in the supernatural, and indeed presents this entire show in the theme of disproving the beliefs of others. However, many phenomena within the show are left underexplained or unexplained for the purposes of dramatic appeal.

Séance Live is a fun and intriguing way of engaging in the concept and methodology of fake mediumship. While it may not change your belief one way or another, it is a worthwhile experience and a great way to learn more about the history of spiritualism.

ALEX KOUVATAS: MOVIE MAGIC

☆☆☆

Burritos, milkshakes, and magic are an unfortunately unusual combination. Each one of them is great on its own, but together? Unbeatable! The only place to experience this incredible trinity at the Fringe this year is at Alex Kouvatas’s show Movie Magic, in the basement of Burrito’n’Shake, handily located on a key tourist thoroughfare.

However, aside from providing a frankly iconic combination of refreshments, Kouvatas’s venue did not do him any favors. Staff crossed the stage with some regularity and the music from the restaurant was audible in the performance space. Such are often the trials of the newer PBH venues. The space has a great potential, and hopefully with a bit more experience of the benefits of hosting they will treat their performers with more respect.

Kouvatas was nevertheless unstoppable. Some of the more notable aspects of his performance actually did not include magic tricks. In the show reviewed he performed at times in two languages, neither of them his native language, to ensure that Italian-speaking members of the audience were included as well as the English-speaking majority. He went out of his way to get them involved in ways that were accessible to them. Kouvatas included all of the audience in his show. A participant in the show reviewed was especially enamored of his prop banana, reported to be “pleasingly soft and fun to play with”. While her delight with and repeated caressing of his banana did briefly distract Kouvatas, and indeed the entire audience, this only increased the audience’s engagement.

The magic was well performed and themed to the movies. Kouvatas brought along a special movie card deck, so audience members could choose the movies he themes his tricks on. A moment that feels especially on brand for a magician is when he uses a card trick to try to get one of his participants to fall in love with him. While the participant at the reviewed show did not leave her partner for him, it was a fun romcom take on the effect. That being said, if Kouvatas’s magic could use any advice, it might be on the timing. There was the occasional moment, for example with is escapology trick, where it felt like the timing wasn’t quite right—but this did not detract too much from the overall enjoyment of the audience.

His inclusivity of the whole audience sadly did not always have a positive effect. One participant got a little too enthusiastic and grabbed Kouvatas’s bottom to try to catch him out on a trick. He laughed it off, and even got the rest of the audience to laugh through the uncomfortable moment, an impressive testament to his professionalism despite overt and unacceptable (even if unmalicious) harassment.

While touching his bottom is not advised, Kouvatas’s delightful banana is freely given to a chosen participant, just one of the many reasons why Movie Magic is worth a visit. Kouvatas is an inventive and engaging performer who will get the whole audience involved in the show.

More information on Alex Kouvatas can be found here.

YOUNG AND MOXIE

☆☆☆

Putting on a show as a new magic duo and invoking the names of Penn and Teller in all your marketing is a bold move, even by magician standards. It’s impossible to imagine anyone living up to a straight comparison to the stage chemistry of one of the most famous magic partnerships alive. Nevertheless, seasoned magician Cameron Young and Moxie Jillette, daughter of the Penn half of the esteemed pair, make this attempt together as Young and Moxie.

Young and Moxie take an appropriately sneaky approach to getting around this potential issue. They take full advantage of Moxie’s famous parent in their marketing—which can’t be faulted, the Fringe is a notoriously brutal market and it’s entirely reasonable to take advantage of every angle one has to get an audience—but then are quick to frame it as more of a magical apprenticeship for the younger Moxie than a traditional partnership. And if it does feel a bit like a partnership of convenience, they do have a better stage chemistry than might be expected of a pair that did their rehearsing over Zoom.

Most of the stage time is given to Young, the teacher in this scenario, although in contrast to his regular Fringe solo shows his work is peppered with Moxie’s snarky commentary. Young’s tricks are performed with his usual precision. He warms up the crowd with his favorite, predictive magic, and gets everyone thinking through his selection process so the whole audience feels involved.

Maybe it’s just that Fringe audiences are more accustomed to Young’s approach, but Moxie’s take on both magic and performing feel especially exciting. Her version of a classic effect, performed in front of the audience but really just for one person, breathes new life into a tired prop. Her running commentary on Young and his magic is hilarious and apt; her insightful perspective on magic makes the entire production that little bit more interesting. If magic shows had live commentators like sporting matches Moxie would be a perfect fit for the role. While she’s great when speaking to others, whether exchanging banter with Young or vibing with her audience participants, like many younger magicians Moxie comes across as slightly nervous in her monologues. The prevalence of this shortcoming amongst younger magicians would indicate that it is best remedied by the experience that she is currently building.

Young and Moxie is a worthwhile hour of a show, for both performers and even for the spark of their stage chemistry. However, both Young and Moxie simply radiate too much Main Character Energy, in the best possible way for two magicians, for their paired show to feel like a sufficient experience of either of them. While Young’s many fans can also catch him solo at the Voodoo Rooms this year, Moxie’s only available as part of the duo for now. After a glimpse at her unique approach Fringe audiences will surely be equally excited to catch her solo if and when she feels ready.

More information on Young and Moxie can be found here.

JAMIE LEONARD: FOCUS POCUS

☆☆☆

Jamie Leonard is a tough Fringe act to catch. Over the past couple of years he has put on mini runs (by Fringe standards) of just a day or two. Undoubtedly by the time this review is online he will have once again vanished for the year like the proverbial elephant. While the magic might not have been flawless, Leonard is a charming performer and well worth an hour of the audience’s time.

Focus Pocus included a good mix of magic styles, there was something for everyone over the course of an hour. As the audience members entered the venue Leonard asked them to write a random word on a blank card, and the purpose of this was left a mystery for the majority of the show to great effect, with the timing of the reveal calling back to one of his early tricks and ensuring a positive last impression. Not all of the tricks went so well to plan, but Leonard only ran in to a couple of issues and was quick to salvage what he could. Focus Pocus is decidedly comedy magic, and that attitude of not taking himself too seriously served Leonard well when things didn’t go as perfectly as he might have hoped.

In a small venue early in the afternoon, Leonard found few volunteer participants, but enough to not have to resort to picking people at random. He establishes a strong rapport early on, and is mindful of the variety of age ranges in his audience. When his participants pick a naughty number for him to use for one of his tricks, he comments on it directly enough to get a laugh from the adults but obliquely enough that he hopefully didn’t prompt any awkward questions from the younger children.

Appropriately for a comedy magician, Leonard is a funny guy, with great comic timing, especially when joking with his audience. If the magic isn’t perfect yet it seems reasonable to attribute that to his youth, he doesn’t mention his age but joking about homework certainly makes him sound on the younger side. But it’s his calm attitude towards mistakes and distractions that comes across as the best sign for the future of his performance career; the ability to not let setbacks derail a performance is perhaps the most important quality in any performer. Fringe audiences may have to wait until next year to catch a glimpse of Leonard’s magic, but they won’t be disappointed by his performance—regardless of whether or not the tricks go right.

More information about Jamie Leonard can be found here.

HECTOR MANCHA: THIS IS NOT MAGIC

☆☆☆

Hector Mancha transforms the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s stage over the course of This Is Not Magic. The space starts completely empty, giving no hint as to what is to come, but by the end is covered by a carpet of discarded cards and crisps in almost equal measure. This chaotic staging perfectly matches the organized chaos of the show. The premise is that Mancha will teach the audience magic, and he uses this to show just enough to increase the surprise of his reveals.

That being said, perhaps the most impressive aspect of the performance is how well Mancha incorporates various audience interruptions in to his act. Future audiences should be advised that if they sit in Mancha’s first row and take off their shoes they may receive a brief foot massage included in the price of their ticket—although they may also find their discarded shoes temporarily abducted. Less lucky audience members with a blocked noses do not need to worry about loudly blowing their nose during the performance, Mancha will incorporate the sound effect in to the show. These improvised moments bring Mancha’s show to life, making his audience feel fully incorporated in his act.

Those invited to join Mancha onstage are treated with equal friendliness. In the reviewed show Mancha bonds especially well with an Argentinian tourist who ends up helping out for a couple different tricks. In one sequence with her Mancha proves himself immune to the mild germaphobia that affects most of us post covid, eating discarded crisps off the floor of the stage that they have both been stepping on. An even riskier gambit involves relying on an audience member managing to video call a friend to participate—but Mancha gets his videochat in the end, for an especially exciting conclusion to his longest running effect.

Magically, Mancha mostly always fools his audience when he wants to. If a can of soda is occasionally spotted slightly earlier than it is revealed it hardly affects the overall effect of his performance. His most riveting piece is not magic in the usual sense but a shadow puppetry effect set to music, a highly unusual but hugely enjoyable inclusion in the show.

The aspects of the performance that make Mancha stand out—his inclusion of the full audience and his shadow puppetry—may not be traditionally magic effects (although audience management is an important element of all magic shows). These cement Mancha’s status as a unique performer well worth an hour of his audience’s time.

ALEX KOUVATAS: SOMETHING IS MISSING

☆☆☆

The 2021 Fringe didn’t feel like a real Fringe, and there is a noticeable trend of some performers re-doing their prior shows for those who missed them last year. Alex Kouvatas joins them with his 2021 debut, Something is Missing. If he is a bit less popular this year it is probably because he was so popular last year, Edinburghers and regular Fringe-goers will have already seen him, plus apparent venue troubles may have resulted in difficulty in finding him. However, for those who manage to seek him out it is worth the effort.

With a small audience at the reviewed show, Kouvatas was able to get everyone involved. The first participant in particular was especially excited to join him, waving to her friends and posing for their cameras. The effect that she was involved in is a highlight, showcasing Kouvatas’s excellent ability to weave his tricks in to stories—in this case a magical, non-threatening take on William Tell shooting an apple off of someone’s head. While there is less of a theme running through the show this year, which is missed, that storytelling remains a strong point.

With his venue change, and falling victim to the small audience plague that is running rampant throughout this year’s Fringe, one would think that Kouvatas had more than enough misfortune to deal with. However, unfortunately at the reviewed show he also had trouble with his table, which dramatically broke part of the way through the show. He managed to play this off admirably well—the audience seemed to half expect him to wave a plastic wand and the table would restore itself. However, it was just a misfortune. Aside from the incident itself the show did not appear to suffer for the lack of the table.

Despite the misfortune surrounding this year’s iteration of Something is Missing, Kouvatas’s passion and showmanship shine through. He has clearly been hard at work, he no longer has to refer to a script and has a more consistently strong transition between tricks. While the theme and ideas behind the prior iteration are missed, these may be a casualty of the troubles Kouvatas faced this year. The overall improvement in his performance is noticeable. The show reviewed was towards the end of this year’s Fringe, but hopefully he has better luck next year.  Kouvatas deserves to reach a wider audience.

JAMES PHELAN: THE GREATEST MAGICIAN

☆☆☆

Magicians like to give the impression that they control every last second of their shows, but the one thing that they can never fully control is their audience. On the day that The Greatest Magician was reviewed James Phelan spent a lot of his time playing whack-a-mole with unruly audience participants. His crowd control was a bit hit or miss, if he was a little sharp with the odd individual the audience as a whole generally felt that they deserved it, this did seem to affect the kind of people who volunteered to join him, which may have exacerbated the issue. Nevertheless, through all of this Phelan managed to keep the audience on his side and get through a series of impressive tricks.

The audience management was probably the more impressive feat. Phelan had audience participants misunderstanding his instructions, he invited up wannabe comedians… it was the full range of troublesome participants. While getting understandably a bit annoyed at first, by the end of the show he was handling this with grace. He allowed the self-appointed comedian to tell his joke, “I went in to a spaghetti restaurant and tried to steal some spaghetti, but there was a security guard and I couldn’t get pasta”, before inviting him to leave the stage. And he ran through as many participants as necessary for his initial card trick, patiently waiting to find enough participants sober enough to help him out—surprisingly a difficult task on a Friday afternoon (you can add in a joke about Scottish drinking culture if you’d like).

Magically, Phelan describes the inspiring influence of his uncle, Paul Daniels. His adorable childhood photos are a highlight regardless of whether or not the viewers previously knew of Daniels. Hearing about a magician’s childhood inspiration to perform magic is not unusual, but the way Phelan connects it to his tricks is especially satisfying. Phelan’s trick involving making his participants forget how to read is fun to watch.  However, after he follows it up with a story about performing this effect on a teacher who told him he would never make it as a magician the audience surely appreciates it even more. 

Whether or not Phelan is truly The Greatest Magician is up for the audience to decide, but he is definitely a resilient performer.  Managing to keep his show on track in spite of numerous attempts to derail it, however lightheartedly, can not be easy.  Phelan will impress his audience no matter how much they might try to resist.