author: Hannah S

THE POLDARK SHOW: STAGE HYPNOTIST

☆☆☆☆

The beautiful venue choice and staging perfectly sets the scene for the style of The Poldark Show—Stage Hypnotist. The audience enters a church hall to find a velvet draped stage, and the sense of classy grandeur is a constant throughout the show. Hypnotist Poldark is clearly a master of the craft, balancing respect for his participants with showmanship and entertainment for the offstage members of the audience.

Poldark’s brand of hypnosis is notable at this Fringe for its calming, meditative qualities in a field that currently seems to favor sharp, loud noises as a methodology. The Poldark version is more pleasant on the audience ear, even providing a relaxing environment for those who did not put themselves forward to be hypnotized. No one method of hypnotism will work on everyone, but at the reviewed show Poldark had a very respectable success rate, that gave him ample supply of hypnotized individuals for his demonstrations.

There is a gently comedic element to The Poldark Show, in a respectful and family friendly way. The hypnotized participants are not asked to do anything embarrassing. His final hypnotic demonstration is less for comedic effect and more just for the wow factor. Even those who have seen a wide variety of other hypnotism shows are unlikely to have seen anything even remotely close to this. Poldark has a kind stage presence, and at the reviewed show some who did not manage to get hypnotized or were awoken from that state during the performance even played along just to try to help him out. However, ever the professional, Poldark spotted them quickly and found opportune moments to quickly ensure that they were okay and invite them to return to the rest of the audience.

The hypnotism takes the majority of the show’s run time, but Poldark does still take a moment to get the whole audience involved in a warm up imaginative exercise. It may start similar to an exercise often used in this kind of show, but once again Poldark demonstrates his unusual take on stage hypnotism—it’s actually a completely different exercise to what the audience probably anticipates.

The Poldark Show is without a doubt the place to be this Fringe for a pleasant hypnotic experience, whether as an onstage participant or a curious onlooker. Unfortunately the reviewed show was the final one of this Fringe, but Poldark will be heading out on tour, and will hopefully return to Edinburgh someday. Fans of being hypnotized or watching hypnotism are advised to look him up.

DEE CHRISTOPHER: THE PSYCHIC VAMPIRE

☆☆☆

Scottish vampire hunters have it easy. Dee Christopher openly advertises himself as The Psychic Vampire for any who are so inclined to seek out—during the Fringe, he even has a regular time slot and location where they can find him. Luckily Christopher wouldn’t need to use his vampiric powers to protect himself, as anyone who finds themselves in his show will not fail to be charmed by his hilarious performance.

Christopher structures his show around stories about his long life as a vampire, with each story containing his encounters with magical or mystical events (or, memorably, what sounded like a fairly standard whisky tasting competition—a different kind of magic) that lead in to his display of a magical routine. These stories and Christopher’s dry comedy are a highlight. He’s a gifted speaker and makes great use of vampire pop culture references to keep the audience entertained. Even magic aside, Christopher could undoubtedly find work simply appearing as a vampire at events.

The magical portion of the performance is a bit more mixed. The effects are perfectly vampire themed across the board, and Christopher’s vampire-specific flourishes to build to his reveals are excellent. However, at the reviewed show there were a couple tricks that, while they didn’t go wrong, felt like they could have been performed with more polish. The reveal of a dangerous bag variation fell a bit flat when Christopher struggled to remove a prop from its bag. Similarly, he performed a fun vampire take on Russian roulette only to undercut his reveal by spending a suspiciously long time with the final prop hidden behind his open suitcase before allowing the audience to examine it. There were also plenty of tricks that went well, but the risk of crafting a themed show that’s lighter on magic to make room for storytelling is that the performance of each trick has a proportionally higher effect on the overall impact of the show. Christopher’s theme is a strong point and a draw; regardless of how the magic goes the audience was visibly enjoying the performance.

Audience members get involved in a variety of ways, whether just from their seats or whether they join Christopher onstage. At the reviewed show a highly giggly group comprised the majority of the onstage participants, with Christopher cleverly making use of their energy to enhance the performance rather than risking them disrupting him from their seats. They appeared thrilled to approach Christopher and experience the magic firsthand. Those with an above average fear of needles may be best advised to avoid participating in The Psychic Vampire, but other than that Christopher provides an exciting participant experience.

The Psychic Vampire is one of the especially well themed shows of the Fringe. Magic fans will enjoy seeing such creative presentations of the effects performed. With such a gift for theme and storytelling, Christopher would undoubtedly be even better at a festival that allows for shows of longer than an hour. While some of the magic itself may benefit from a bit of work, whether through practice or reworking, Christopher is such an entertaining performer that his show flies by as though he has enchanted time with his vampiric super-speed.

RICHARD WISEMAN: THE INVENTION OF MAGIC

☆☆☆☆

The Invention of Magic isn’t really a magic show. It’s more properly a lecture on psychology and magical history, albeit distinctly from the perspective of a magician, Richard Wiseman. Wiseman even has a slideshow of psychological illusions and history to accompany the lecture. It’s perfect for those who miss the fun bits of school, learning from engaging lecturers, without having to suffer through the assignments and exams that are a necessary evil of structured academia.

The structure of discussing history or science before performing a magic trick will be familiar to magic fans. The discussion is usually a fairly perfunctory element of the performance that feels more like an exercise in building anticipation than a genuine attempt to educate. Wiseman has created a similar model, but with the emphasis switched. There is education ahead of magic, but the educational component is the important bit, and the magic is more of an illustration than the primary draw.

Given that, the audience is for the most part talked to rather than interacted with. The one primary moment of audience participation involves the entire audience in the same trick, which makes it an especially interesting variation on a classic. It’s one with a long set up, rumored to have made Churchill himself late for work, and involving the whole audience keeps everyone engaged for what is ultimately a great reveal.

Fans of magic will enjoy learning more about the history of the practice. Wiseman mainly discusses an inventor of magic called Paul Curry, which, even to many unwitting fans of his work, may be an unknown name. Wiseman reveals that many popular effects and puzzles are descended from Curry’s work. Curry was evidentially an influential figure in magical history and it’s great to see Wiseman putting in the effort to keep him alive in popular memory.

In case prospective audiences needed yet another reason to attend The Invention of Magic, Wiseman is performing on the PBH Free Fringe, as a means of raising money for that organization. Often described as the fringe of the Fringe, the PBH is the only venue that is both free for artists and audiences, single-handedly working to keep the arts accessible to everyone in Edinburgh. In the spirit of Curry creating magic that would go on to amaze future audiences he would never get to meet, Wiseman is working to preserve the future of accessible art for the next generation.

ADULTS ONLY MAGIC SHOW

☆☆☆☆

There are a lot of reasons that audience members might find themselves in the Adults Only Magic Show. There is of course the obvious: dicks. And, perhaps surprisingly: well themed and executed magic tricks, and a wholesome friendship between two performers, magicians Sam Hume and Justin Williams, who have been working together for a decade. The high energy Adults Only Magic Show delivers on all fronts.

Fringe magic fans may be most used to shows with just one magician, maybe two if they’re lucky. The Adults Only Magic Show has not just two magicians but an extra two performers, emcee/glamorous assistant Magnus “Danger” Magnus, and the sexiest assistant in the history of sexy assistants, a topless man called Richard Sullivan. While Hume and Williams are undoubtedly the stars of the show, their auxiliary performers are on hand to hype up the crowd, help out with props, and contribute to the general nudity of the evening.

It’s easy to look at the marketing for this show and assume that the emphasis will be entirely on the sex appeal of the performers, but the magic is very present and very well done. Magicians tend to perform their reveals with their own distinct flourish, but few reveal quite as much as Hume and Williams in the name of a good trick. Hume also makes time for the performance of the first card trick that Williams ever saw him perform. In amongst the nudity is a level of sweetness that can only come from two close friends who are palpably enthusiastic about making magic together.

Hume and Williams take the bribery route to getting their audience participants enthusiastic to join them onstage, with drinks tickets and even at times actual drinks. The worst audience participants may have to go through is some temporary light stress and respectfully aggressive flirting. It’s clear that Hume and Williams keep an eye on each individual’s boundaries and limit their interactions depending on the personality and preferences of who they get onstage.

Adults Only Magic Show may not be for everyone. The promotional material makes it clear that the show contains nudity and sexual humor, so hopefully those who aren’t interested in that will self select out of the audiences. There is an absolute appeal for those who are into men. And even for magic fans and magicians, it’s interesting to see a sexy take on magic performed with such clear passion for the magic itself. In addition to showing off their bodies, Hume and Williams will show their audience just how adaptable magic is as a performance art.

SIN CITY CIRCUS SISTERS

☆☆☆☆

Anyone who goes to Sin City Circus Sisters expecting a standard Fringe magic show will be disappointed in the best possible way. While there are enough magical elements for it to feel like it technically qualifies as a magic show, there is also a significant emphasis on circus-style stunts. They still look impossible, but instead of achieving that effect using magic, they’re actually doing it. Stacey Stardust takes care of most of the magic while Lygia Way does most of the stunts, and they each assist each other to help make the show so incredibly impressive.

The finale lurks onstage like a Chekov’s box and it’s no surprise that it’s a highlight. This style of big illusion work is not often seen at the Fringe. When it is, the implied allusions to a more traditional era of magic can feel misogynistic, unless the magicians take extra care to frame it an a progressive way, or have a male cast member in the traditional “magician’s assistant” role. Seeing an effect like this performed by two women isn’t usually an option, given the demographic tendencies of working magicians, and seeing it here feels very wholesome.

Given the style of Sin City Circus Sisters, specific audience members are not often called on to participate in the show. The odd task might be assigned to an audience member, but it will be simple and quickly dealt with. Stardust and Way keep all the attention on themselves, and as there are two of them they can take on a lot of the tasks often given to the audience. Magic fans may have seen jugglers in other acts coerce a stranger to lie on the floor so the juggler can juggle knives over their poor victim’s body, but here Stardust puts her body on the line for Way to juggle over. The stunts may at times be dangerous, but Stardust and Way never place the audience in harm’s way.

The presentation and outfits of the circus sisters are noticeably sexier than Fringe magic acts tend to be. Based on audience reaction at the reviewed performance, the surface level sexiness works as intended, but it also feels exaggerated in a cheeky, ironic nod to the history of women’s roles in magic acts. Maybe this is the sexy exorcism of voyeurism in magic that the art form requires to move forward. Or maybe, it’s just sexiness positivity. Either way, definitely a positive aspect of the show.

Sin City Circus Sisters is, above all, a lot of fun. Way and Stardust joke that they go well with alcohol to encourage drinks purchases at their PBH venue, but the audience doesn’t need to drink to enjoy the amazing levels of skill on display over the course of the show. If they don’t return to Edinburgh, they’re worth a ticket to Vegas.

LIAM A BLACK: THE MAGIC SHOW – THE RETURN OF THE GLITTERING PRICE OF MAGIC

☆

The prince returns to a cavernous warehouse underneath central Edinburgh in The Return of The Glittering Prince of Magic – Starring Liam A Black. If magicians use a traditionally glitzy assistant, said assistant is usually dressed in eye-catching sparkly outfits. Here Black is both the magician and the sparklingly dressed assistant. With not just one or two but several glittery coats, he certainly lives up to the “Glittering” description in his title.

The parade of beautiful coats is a highlight of the show. Black is a clothes horse for sparkly fashion. The changes are not exactly incorporated into the act, this is not a quick-change show. Instead, every few routines Black steps offstage to re-dress himself in the next item of clothing. Whoever creates these outfits for him deserves applause, they are magnificent.

Unfortunately, the clothes being a highlight is not the best sign for a magic show. Black does in fact do magic in between changing his outfits. Magic fans will find his tricks familiar. One slightly more unusual highlight is a juggling trick involving unusual balls, which, in the light of the venue, sparkle almost as much as Black’s outfits. However, by and large the magic feels significantly less inspired than the clothes. There is no theme except the glitter, and with the exception of that one mentioned juggling routine, even the glitter is limited to Black’s clothes. Black is not the best magician at the Fringe, despite his intentionally deceptively trimmed pull quote from an earlier review. His performance does, however, showcase quite well why he may have felt the need to subterfuge so desperately.

Fashion fans may find The Return of the Glittering Prince of Magic worthwhile, but even fans on glitter may find themselves wanting more from Black. The magic sadly lacks the sparkle of the clothes. As a show to have onstage in the background while having a drink it could be worse, but it also could be better. Even Black himself seems disinterested in the magic he performs, leaving the audience struggling to care.

CHRIS FLEMING: MILLENNIAL MAGICIAN

☆☆☆☆

Chris Fleming’s Millennial Magician features several PowerPoints and quasi-educational content about what makes a millennial a millennial. Some of this will be genuinely educational, even for millennials.  In particular younger millennials who did not grow up in the UK may learn a few new cultural references, although there are absolutely universal cross-cultural elements of the millennial experience that are celebrated. However the majority of Millennial Magician is devoted to the second half of the title, and the magic that Fleming performs is consistently fun and consistently perfect.

One of the highlights of Millennial Magician is Fleming’s magical take on beer pong. Like so much in a magic show, this may have been at least in part due to the audience participant chosen at the reviewed show. Fleming had a magician’s trick method to introduce to speed the game along, but the participant he chose immediately revealed himself to be a champion beer pong player, sinking shots with apparent ease. Fleming didn’t allow this to disrupt the magic but took a moment to celebrate the physical talent of his participant. The reveal was nevertheless impressive, perhaps all the more so for coming on the heels of this unexpected display of talent. It’s also a genuinely inventive take on a couple of standard magic tricks joined together in a creative way, appealing to the magic fans in the audience in search of novelty.

Like the champion beer pong player, Fleming’s audience participants look to be having a universally great time. At the reviewed show participants were willing to trust Fleming with their phones (which to a millennial is perhaps an even bigger deal than trusting him with their life), join him for an impromptu dance break, and drink his mysterious liquids to verify his magical talents. Fleming is an approachable performer and the audience enjoys taking part in his magic.

Millennial Magician is a strong Fringe debut and an all around great way to spend an hour in the afternoon. Fleming’s fun personality and interesting takes on magic will make the time fly by. Anyone who manages to snag a spot in his show this year will leave curious to see what else he can come up with, and hoping that he finds his way back to future Edinburgh Fringes.

More information on Millennial Magician and its performance dates can be found here.

STUART LIGHTBODY: THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN HANDS

☆☆☆☆☆

Stuart Lightbody may come from South Africa, but the story that he tells in The Man with the Golden Hands is recognizable to people of many nationalities: the United States government clutching at straws to gain advantage over its Cold War enemies. Any degree of knowledge of this crazy time in history will make everything that Lightbody says in his show sound feasible, regardless of specific knowledge or ignorance of the matters in question.

Specifically, Lightbody has framed his show as a discussion of the CIA’s use of misdirection techniques during the Cold War. It makes sense on the surface, and it allows him to demonstrate a wide range of skills. Lightbody runs through the range but excels at sleight of hand in particular. Watching him shuffle his cards is genuinely ridiculously impressive, he has such perfect control over his deck it’s like he has 52 extra hands. His card finding trick is perhaps too much fun for even a card trick, with an ending that no one will anticipate. It’s both a classic and completely fresh at the same time, in a way that perfectly dovetails in with his spy theme. It’s well worth the hour even if the rest of the show doesn’t appeal just to watch Lightbody’s card and coin tricks.

The participants in The Man with the Golden Hands by and large look to be having a great time on stage with Lightbody. For tricks like his card routine, the participants have a front row view and are extra flabbergasted by his reveal. In one memorable trick, Lightbody asks for participants first from the extroverts in the audience and then from the introverts. This is clever as well as kind, and in fitting with the theme. The extroverts have the extra moments onstage to bask in the attention, while the introverts are literally instructed to hide behind an extrovert—likely exactly what they would feel inclined to do anyway.

The theme is consistent and constant throughout the hour. Lightbody has put together a show that is both cohesive and highly entertaining. It’s a masterpiece that has deservedly won awards at international Fringes, and is deservedly popular here in Edinburgh. The Man with the Golden Hands isn’t just a magic show, and Lightbody doesn’t just show the audience how spies use misdirection but even teaches the audience how to use those skills themselves. Does that appeal to you? If so, make sure to catch the show before the end of the Fringe. Don’t worry, Lightbody isn’t looking for you.

More information on The Man With the Golden Hands and its performance dates can be found here.

DAVID ALNWICK: NECROMANCER: THE VHS GAME

☆☆☆☆☆

David Alnwick might have gained renown as a magician, but this year, of his four Fringe shows (three daily, still impressive) only half are traditional magic shows. Fans from previous years may remember the lighthearted style of Comedian Magician, the intimate close up of David Alnwick’s Secret Magic Show, and the spooky magical theatre of Dracula. Necromancer is best classed as a magic show only because there isn’t a genre option for “live action video game”. Alnwick, or as he is for the hour, The Necromancer, does use magic to make his game work, and the integration of the tricks into the show is exceptional.

When the audience does it right Necromancer both starts and ends in their own hands. The first throwback of the show is the paper tickets given out as placeholders by Banshee Labyrinth, which have QR codes that can be scanned while queuing for a good seat. The pre-show interaction perfectly sets the scene, and the post-show follow up is the perfect ending.

Once the audience enters the lair of the Necromancer a series of magic tricks are presented as games for either specific participants or the entire audience at once to take part in. These are perfectly chosen from Alnwick’s vast repertoire of magic. Participants are not given especially challenging tasks. Even a mind reading effect requiring the participants to reveal a truth about themselves along with several false statements is done with cards containing the truths and falsehoods to choose from, so no one has to think on the spot. With a relatively niche theme in the context of Fringe magic, the majority of the audience at the reviewed show were especially enthusiastic about participating. When one randomly selected participants revealed that she was only attending as a companion to one of Alnwick’s fans, Alnwick was quick to invite his fan to participate in her stead.

The Necromancer plays to win over those who enter his domain, but will he prevail? A game against the darker half of a master magician is surely more rigged than even the sketchiest casino. For years Alnwick has won over the hearts of Edinburgh with his magic, and this year his alter ego seeks to add its souls to the collection. The Necromancer is scary, not for the easily frightened, but the perfect show for fans of horror, video games, and creative magic.

More information on The Necromancer and its performance dates can be found here.

SAM HURST: MAGIC! MAYHEM! MEMES!

☆☆

The nostalgia hits as soon as the audience steps in to the venue for Sam Hurst’s Magic Mayhem and Memes! show, to music classics that every millennial will recognize. The nostalgia doesn’t ever stop, with song references and memes of varying vintages. It’s certainly accessible even for the younger end of millennial, and probably even gen Z if they have spent enough time on the internet. If the Meme/millennial theme isn’t always a constant in the show, the fun is, and the time flies by.

The reviewed show was not without its challenges. Chief among these was a little French boy who tested Hurst’s skills with audience participants. Hurst had evidentially planned an early segment to cater to his younger viewers, always a nice thing to see in a magic show, but with younger viewers comes greater chaos. Hurst managed to muddle through with a mixture of simple French, miming, and the universal language of magic.  Additionally, Hurst experienced issues with the technology components of his show initially failing to perform their duties.  His good humor despite these setbacks made the audience feel safe in his hands.

Unfortunately the magic itself was at times noticeably imperfect as well. Hurst could have performed the red balls tricks with a bit more finesse, and a noticeably discolored thumb in full view right at the end slightly undercut the final reveal. However, it’s clear that Hurst is a skilled magician, his version of the classic cup and balls trick was flawless, even to audience members who have seen it countless times before. If the audience and technical issues at the reviewed show might have thrown him off slightly, hopefully future shows will be smoother sailing.

Magic Mayhem and Memes! can be confirmed to contain all three of those elements in significant quantities. It feels like the adult version of a children’s birthday party. The silliness is infectious and Hurst’s humor keeps the whole audience laughing. If it isn’t always perfect it’s difficult to care too much. Millennials have gone through a lot worse than an imperfect magic show. Hurst won’t fix that but he will temporarily distract us from it—about all that can be reasonably expected from a magician. This is the show to nourish the inner child of every millennial.