☆☆☆☆☆

Fringe newcomers Jacob Greenwald, Dan Winter, and Charlie Phillips, are together The Duo: A Three Person Magic Show. If the show title indicates that it will be a wacky experience, the three person duo over-delivers. With the scripted conversations between the three performers that reveal plot, background, and character, it feels a little more like a piece of theater than the average Fringe magic show, but the focus on and quantity of magic reminds the audience of the genre they’re at. The Duo delivers on all fronts, with excellence in magic and a genuinely engaging character-driven story with a conclusion that feels as much like a play as it does like a magic show.

All three members of the duo perform their magic perfectly, as and when required. An early highlight is a card adding trick that most magic fans will think they have seen before, with a twist that may seem simple in its description but that sets Greenwald apart and keeps audiences guessing. If some of the other tricks might seem more familiar, the creative and stylish performance nevertheless ensures that the audience has a new appreciation for them.

Greenwald, Winter, and Phillips use most of the audience as participants over the course of the show, an unusually high proportion of participation even by magic standards. Luckily they are welcoming to their participants, and instruct them clearly as to how to complete their roles in the show with minimal error. The magicians have that professional eye for selecting audience members who can handle the attention for more involved roles, and stick to simpler, seat-based participation for the rest.

As much as The Duo is a magic show and kind of a play, it’s also at least as much about comedy. All three performers have flawless comic timing, whether in their performance with each other on stage or in their interactions with the audience, both as individuals and a collective. And while all three undoubtedly have incredible stage chemistry, they use their performative chemistry hilariously to develop their characters and keep the audience laughing.

The Duo: A Three Person Magic Show is the type of outstanding show that isn’t just incredibly worthwhile for its own sake, but also unavoidably will raise their audiences’ expectations for every magic show they see after it. It’s a difficult one to discuss with anyone who hasn’t seen it, as it seems a shame to reveal much detail when every moment is so well thought through for the impact that it will have on the audience as they watch it, and the careful build toward the final moments. This is a true gem of a show, and will undoubtedly sell out the run as its Edinburgh reputation grows. It’s well worth getting in while you can.