Arron Jones

00:30 CABARET O’CLOCK: MAGIC VS BURLESQUE

☆☆☆☆

Anyone at the Fringe who is even remotely a fan of magic or burlesque will almost certainly be very familiar with the iconic Voodoo Rooms ballroom. But none will have seen a show as perfectly suited to the space as 00:30 Cabaret O’Clock: Magic vs Burlesque, featuring real-life cabaret power couple, magician Arron Jones and burlesque dancer Fou Fou Kaboom. It may be presented as a showdown between magic and burlesque, or “tits versus tricks”, but there are no real losers in an audience that gets to watch these two fantastic performers work the stage for an entire hour.

Jones is a familiar face for magic fans, known for his wonderfully weird, creative takes on the very concept of how to perform a magic show. At Magic vs Burlesque he only has two chances to make an impression, but with a couple of crowd pleasers he does Team Tricks proud. His first trick is the highlight, a tried and tested favorite card trick that he often performs in variety lineups. He manages to get the whole audience involved and excited in a way that is rarely seen in a card trick. It’s the perfect example of the approach to magic that sets Jones apart, and is why he has found such a successful niche with his performance style.

Kaboom will similarly be a familiar face for many Fringe regulars, primarily due to her popularity on the many late-night cabaret variety shows that regularly run at the Voodoo Rooms. For the fans she has cultivated through this work, the most satisfying part of Magic vs Burlesque is seeing this incredible performer get the focused attention and literal spotlight that she’s always deserved. The second of her two performances in Magic vs Burlesque is a highlight, showcasing the expertise, creativity, and playful humor that Kaboom is known for. This publication might be contractually obligated to consider itself Team Tricks, but it’s worth mentioning that Kaboom’s second choreography isn’t just a highlight of the show, it’s a highlight of this year’s Fringe. For anyone with any level of interest in burlesque and/or dance, it makes the whole show feel instantly worthwhile—even if, somehow, it hadn’t already. 

Magic and burlesque each have their own particular approaches to audience participation, and both are at play in this show. Jones and Kaboom are both respectfully playful with their participants. The entire audience also gets involved in the competition between magic and burlesque. Jones and Kaboom split the audience between themselves at the start, and representatives from each side face off in a series of games, as well as coming together to participate as a whole. Both performers expertly select their champions, with priority given to the numerous excited volunteers.

Magic vs Burlesque is the perfect way to end a day at the Fringe. The real life love story between Jones and Kaboom makes this lightly combative event feel wholesome. It’s notable and adorably impressive that their chemistry is so evident in their limited, fairly structured time together onstage. Their physical and verbal affection has the confident understatement of a couple seemingly very secure in their relationship, which doesn’t just bode extremely well for their upcoming marriage, but also makes their shared stage feel like a safe space for a little loving rivalry. Whether audience members come in biased toward tits or toward tricks, they will leave with a new appreciation for both. 

ARRON JONES: #1 GREATEST HIT ROCK’N’ROLL MAGIC SHOW

☆☆☆☆☆

Every so often, even the greats get it wrong. Arron Jones was unfortunate enough to fall victim to a rare blunder when he took to the Britain’s Got Talent stage, and in his new Fringe show #1 Greatest Hit Rock’n’Roll Magic Show he’s showing everyone at the biggest arts festival in the world just how easily he would have won the day if he had stayed on BGT. Jones’s inventive magic is always popular, and Greatest Hit is no exception, with a completely full audience at the reviewed sunny Sunday show.

Jones earns the title of the Rockstar Magician by creating a genre-bending show that is a perfect mix of music and magic. It’s accessible enough that even those whose preferences lean heavily towards just one of those genres will have plenty to enjoy. The attention to detail is flawless. Everything in this show is glittery and/or covered in animal print for a cohesive visual experience, including Jones himself, who is easily the best dressed magician at the Fringe. The use of the video screen in the venue enhances the act as well, whether in introducing the show or simply displaying Jones himself gyrating across the screen.

It’s a visually very flashy show, and luckily there is substantive magic to back it up. Jones’s attempts to create a chart-topping magic trick leads him down a winding path, and the audience is along for the ride, with Jones demonstrating a series of effects in his signature Rock’n’Roll meets wholesomely British style. A dramatic card finding routine is an early crowd pleaser, featuring the catchiest reveal ever performed.

There is naturally an element of audience participation, although as this show mixes both magic and music performance elements it’s not as significant as magic fans may expect. Those who do join look generally quite pleased to get a closer look at the excitingly dressed Jones, and they don’t have to worry about attracting much more attention than they would from the audience, with Jones attracting so much attention himself. At the reviewed show Jones also had to deal with some unplanned participation in the form of an audience member’s phone ringing, which he dealt with handily and hilariously. If anyone else had forgotten to put their phones on silent before this incident, they probably did immediately after.

Those who are considering seeing Jones’s #1 Greatest Hit Rock’n’Roll Magic Show are probably already the intended target audience who would get the most enjoyment out of it; the experience of the show is what would be expected from the advertising. It’s a perfect blend of music and magic, delivered by the Fringe’s only rockstar magician. Come witness the superstar himself.

ARRON JONES: 1 HOUR STRAITJACKET ESCAPE MAGIC SHOW

☆☆☆☆

Arron Jones is back at it with the straitjacketed magic. With a lunchtime slot that puts it toward the beginning of the Fringe schedule, his 1 Hour Straitjacket Escape Magic Show is the most aggressively Fringe way to kick off the day. Jones does not take a full hour to escape from his straitjacket, instead performing the full hour of magic while trapped inside it. What follows is exceptional creativity, as Jones manages to perfectly execute a great variety of tricks with his hands literally tied behind his back.

The magic that Jones performs is largely recognizable to magic fans, which makes it even more interesting to see performed by a magician in a straitjacket. Card magic is of course a staple, and Jones manages to do a couple of tricks using these slippery little props. An early example features Jones nosing his way through the deck to find the chosen card, a visual that perfectly prepares the audience for the tone of the rest of the show. Jones’s brand of weirdness is self aware and the audience can see him consciously lean in to it, which makes even the extremes feel oddly relatable.

As Jones cannot use his hands for the duration of the show, audience participation is especially necessary. Creating the show feels like a collaborative, team building experience, with so much by necessity happening in the hands of the audience. Jones is the supportive team leader, guiding the hands of all who touch his props. At the reviewed show one participant slightly undercut his reveal by miscounting a deck of cards, an easy mistake to make with a set of props that has a habit of sticking together and moving erratically. Jones successfully pulled it back, with the participant’s help, making it clear that he had in fact gotten the trick correct.

Known as the Rockstar Magician in his other Fringe show, Jones’s love of music is evident in this show as well. He has a few bespoke tracks for various moments and tasks of the show that add a personalized flair to the proceedings. This straitjacket show is Jones’s nostalgic Fringe debut from a few years ago, and for those who caught that iteration, the “mix up the cups” song may have been stuck in their heads ever since. Jones dances along to each track, making every set up and reveal extra fun to watch.

1 Hour Straitjacket Magic Escape Show is one that every Fringe goer should see at least once. Jones’s style of showmanship is both unique and fun enough that it holds up well on a re-watch. It’s perfect for those who find themselves needing an early energy boost to get them through those mid-Fringe days.

ARRON JONES: ONE HOUR STRAIGHTJACKET ESCAPE MAGIC SHOW

☆☆☆☆

Arron Jones performs a few pieces of scary magic in his One Hour Straightjacket Escape Magic Show, but perhaps the scariest feature is how much of the show is left in the hands of his audience participants. This presents an interesting unstated theme. Like all magicians Jones presumably put a lot of effort in to creating this show, and from the start he places his trust in these strangers—albeit strangers who wandered in to the back of a pub just to see him—to carry out the bulk of the fulfillment of his creation. It’s a kind of wholesome, calculated laziness.

The only people who will be disappointed with this show will be those who genuinely wanted to watch a man struggle to escape a straightjacket for a full hour—while Jones does eventually make his way out, the majority of the hour is spent with him apparently content to be tied up. Those of us hoping for creatively themed magic under this unusual self-imposed restriction will have no complaints.

By and large Jones’s trust in his audience is justified. Anyone who has tried to talk someone else through a new task will know the sheer variety of unpredictable ways that people mess up at unfamiliar instructions, and Jones does indeed come up against this—early on in the reviewed show. He deals with this well enough, not breaking character, and the participant in question both has a good time and eventually figured out how to do the task requested of him.

A highlight is a card trick that culminates in an assisted striptease for an exciting reveal. The participant chosen for this looked thrilled to be helping him. Like most of us, she had been enjoying Jones’s custom music that accompanied a lot of his set up and transition times, and her visible enthusiasm made her a fantastic choice to share the stage with him.

The risk of going to a show titled as One Hour Straightjacket Escape Magic Show is that it turns in to a repetitive rehashing of the magician escaping from various binds. Jones does not fall in to this category, instead having put together one of the most creative of the magazine-style magic shows at this fringe. The straightjacket restricts his movements but he more than rises to the challenge. This is the magic show to see if you think you’ve seen it all.