magic

KANE & ABEL: TWIN FEATS

☆☆☆☆

Kane & Abel’s Twin Feats has been a constant of the Edinburgh Fringe magic scene for, as is revealed in this year’s show, ten years. They have evidently built up a solid fanbase and reputation, with a strong crowd at the reviewed show on a midweek afternoon. While the theme remains constant, they do switch up the routines and effects, and this year’s is an especially strong lineup.

Of the magic performed, one of the clear highlights is their finale piece. It would be a shame to spoil it, but it’s a really fun take on a classic, with Kane & Abel leaning in to their stage characters while also delivering a truly impressive illusion, taking full advantage of having two performers in the act to perform something that wouldn’t even be feasible for their many solo colleagues. There are plenty of other great moments leading up to that, particularly the card magic. Kane & Abel perform an interesting twin-themed card routine. This is followed by card demonstrations that may not be card tricks in the traditional sense but feel more drawn from magic’s circus heritage, using cards to display both strength and balance in novel ways.

Audience participation is fairly frequent, without asking the participants to do any tasks that they would not expect to undertake at a magic show. Kane & Abel are both kind and welcoming when the audience joins in on their act. A participatory highlight is a mathematical and mind reading effect involving several audience members from their seats. The selection and involvement of the participants is unusual and fun, just the right amount of over-the-top to be both funny and respectful.

Twin Feats is a very strong show from two very experienced Fringe performers. It’s unusual, impressive, and of course magical. Kane & Abel did a fantastic job this year, this one is not to be missed for both their long term and new fans.

DAVE REUBENS: THE MAGIC GAME

☆☆

Magic shows are often interactive, and Dave Reubens takes this a step further with his new venture The Magic Game. Part magic show, part game show, there are plenty of areas to get involved in the act. The concept is good, and Reubens manages the various moving pieces of a hybrid show largely with a practiced ease. While there is certainly room for finesse Reubens ensures that everyone involved has a great time.

The magic is a mixed bag, but at points in the show it’s incorporated in particularly fun ways. Reubens’ use of an advertisement break with magical demonstration of the goods on offer is reminiscent of one of the better and more magical MCU properties, with the concept made his own. At the reviewed show unfortunately this did not all go to plan due to some mislaid props, which Reubens hopefully found for future audiences. Some of the effects were treated more as magic-themed jokes, with a presentation that felt deliberately sloppy to allow for comedic flashing.

Advertising a magic game show takes care of one of the pitfalls of a standard magic show—the entire audience, by and large, arrived eager and happy to participate. The game show elements were especially popular, Reubens had no problem getting enthusiastic participants to join him onstage. The participants were treated well, and were allowed to consult their team even while they were the ones who had to deliver the final response, making it a low stress environment.

At the reviewed show there was a slight disconnect in the tone versus the way participants were invited up. Much of the humor, including the playfully flashed magic, felt geared toward the younger age range of children. However, the opportunities for participation seemed distinctly oriented toward older audiences; two children participated in the first game show segment, and after that Reubens specifically requested adults. Aligning the age appeal might help the show feel more cohesive and find the right fans.

Reubens has put together an awfully fun experience in The Magic Game. While it may be a bit confused as to which age range it is best suited for at the moment, it’s a solid concept led by a great host. Hopefully it will find its people.

STUART LIGHTBODY: THE MAGIC EYE

☆☆☆☆☆

Edinburgh’s newest cult leader Stuart Lightbody is very popular. At the reviewed show and/or recruitment event The Magic Eye, the room was completely full, with people even standing at the back for the entire hour to witness the magic and join up. Lightbody may not have the power of some of the better known cult leaders, but he’s almost certainly more entertaining.

Like any good cult leader, Lightbody displays an increasingly dramatic series of miracles before he asks the audience to pledge their loyalty. Lightbody’s card tricks are always a highlight, with his quick hands and impressive shuffles. Here he puts many of the most impressive of these tricks in the hands of his audience, both making the reveals all the more impressive and binding his new acolytes in the ritual of his magic. While Lightbody is always the leader, the Magic Eye is an empowering organization, and Lightbody celebrates the magic that the audience performs under his stewardship.

As both a magic show and a cult induction there is naturally a significant amount of audience participation in The Magic Eye. Lightbody’s dominant yet welcoming presence makes this a fun event to take part in. Many audience participants are just called upon to examine or choose props and then hold them for Lightbody to work his magic on. The few with more involved roles get clear instructions from Lightbody and are rewarded for their work with the experience of magic happening in their hands or right in front of them.

Lightbody’s commitment to the cult bit is truly impressive. He manages to fold all the usual Fringe bits in to the theme, from crowd control to requesting word of mouth recommendations, and even to the obligatory PBH Free Fringe bucket speech. The tricks and stunts are perfectly performed, as is his custom, and also here perfectly aligned with his goal of Edinburgh-wide domination. Meeting in the basement of a takeaway on a busy road adds to the ambiance as well, the hustle and bustle that filters in to the room provides contrast to the religious concentration of the audience as they watch Lightbody work.

Cults may have a bad reputation, but that’s just from people who haven’t yet seen and joined Lightbody’s Magic Eye. It’s the only cult worth joining, and Lightbody’s magic is always worth seeing too.

THE GRUMPY MAGICIANS PRESENT: WHAT’S THE CATCH?

☆☆☆

At the Fringe choosing a show can feel like having to choose between optimism that seems unrealistic in the context of current events, or a wallowing pessimism that makes the real world seem even darker than it needs to. The Grumpy Magicians are a great option off antidote to that dichotomy, with a performative low-level approachable grumpiness, not for any grand reason but simply for the sake of grumpiness itself. What’s the Catch? brings their trademark grump back for another year of magical entertainment.

Fringe regulars, The Grumpy Magicians have evidently earned a following, and pulled in a sizable audience at the reviewed weekday afternoon show. They manage to get a decent proportion of the audience involved in the show. Between their curmudgeonly yet personable stage presence and the sheer volume of participation, taking part is a very laid-back experience. As this is a family friendly show and they did have a few enthusiastic children in at the reviewed show, it might have been nice if they had some child-friendly participation moments, but they were kindly in letting the kids know that they were too small to get onstage. However, they did a great job of picking the kids’ responsible adults, and several of the younger audience members got to see magical mementos up close after their adult participated in a trick.

The magic performed may lean heavily toward the classics, but there are some fun themed moments and a few that take great advantage of having two magicians onstage. Magic fans may particularly appreciate the sassy commentary of newer magic that is popular amongst the younger magicians at the Fringe. While there may be the odd moment where the sleight of hand feels slightly less slick than Fringe audiences might expect, the issues are minimal relative to the enjoyment of watching the performance. They perform several card tricks, and often use larger cards for easy visibility from all corners of the room.

The Grumpy Magicians Present: What’s the Catch? feels like a real labor of love from two performers who, despite the grumpiness, seem to enjoy their jobs more than any other performers at the Fringe. They are a refreshingly unusual act by Fringe magic standards. Their magic may not be the most mind-blowing available this month, but they are always a pleasure to watch.

SAM KING: TRICKS & STUFF

☆☆☆☆

As a new performer to the Edinburgh Fringe and tucked away in a beautiful new PBH venue, Sam King might struggle slightly to attract a crowd on a sunny Thursday early evening for Tricks & Stuff. The people who do turn up quickly discover that it’s everyone else’s loss for missing it. One of the nice elements of the Fringe is that you might see a show and think, “surely that’s the weirdest thing here”, only to see something else that’s even stranger the next day. It’s difficult to imagine what could be weirder than Tricks & Stuff.

Without spoiling the strange surprises that King reveals throughout his show, it’s worth noting that the “& Stuff” in the title is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Sure, there are tricks, but they are primarily in service of the one-man play that King has concocted for his act. Those who saw the top hat on the flyer and expected a standard magic show may be disappointed. However, those who are willing to strap in for the ride get treated to a delightfully absurd experience. It’s appropriate for a magic show that the publicity and the actual show feels like a bit of a bait-and-switch: that’s just the first trick.

Depending on the size of the audience, most people may be called upon to take part in the show. On days with lighter numbers, some audience members may be called upon a few times. King is self-aware in his absurdity, while he himself says and does a lot of things that may be unexpected for a magician, everything he asks of his audience is expected and easily explained. At the reviewed show King even managed to get one of his younger audience members involved in an age-appropriate way, even though his show is really more designed for older children and adults.

The magic itself is all performed well. At the reviewed show King even performed an effect without the initial prop, which actually worked for him given the absurdist nature of his act. His take on a mentalist card trick is particularly fun. Plenty of magicians use their mouths for a varied reveal, but none the same way as King. This is well themed and placed toward the start of the show to gently indicate to the audience that it’s about to get a whole lot weirder shortly after.

The absurd humor and odd energy of King’s Tricks & Stuff make it an excellent addition to this year’s Fringe. While the plot elements may be very slightly confusing to follow, even allowing for the occasional interruption of the reviewed show, it still works because King knows he’s doing an absurdist show and makes sure the audience knows that he knows. King certainly has a creative approach to performing magic and is worth the time to watch.

CHARLIE CAPER: MAGICAL

☆☆☆☆☆

Ever the street performer, Charlie Caper knows how to get his audience hooked quickly. At the reviewed show of his street magic spectacular Magical, Caper was repeatedly interrupted by a Furby he’d brought along from his other show as a flyering aid. Caught without a screwdriver, he proceeded to hack in to the Furby on his computer to get it to stop talking. While that didn’t end up being the most impressive part of the show, it was an incredible first impression, getting the audience on his side pretty much instantly.

Caper’s street magic skills are unmatched. He even performs coin magic with a very large coin for good visibility, making sure that the whole audience can see the effect. While street performance audiences might wander away halfway through, that’s slightly more difficult from the basement of an Edinburgh venue, and Caper structures his show with build and motifs to reward the audience for their fidelity. His bowtie is a perfect example. It might disappear and reappear at random moments—even those who have seen Caper before and therefore expect this running gag may struggle to spot it going—and Caper makes sure to include miniature bowties on various props.

Audience participation is always a chaos factor, and magicians often get the best and the worst of it. Caper was lucky at the reviewed show to get an adorable young boy as a participant for his cup and balls routine. The magician-participant relationship started strong, with Caper jokingly suggesting a few obvious misdirection tactics, and the participant yelling cheerfully for the whole audience to hear, “you can’t trick me!” Naturally Caper proceeded to blow his tiny mind, and the minds of a good few older members of the audience along with it. The participant’s full-body expressions of amazement were visible from the back of the large room.

No Caper show would feel complete without at least one robot. The Magical audience is treated to several, including getting a glimpse of a larger one that features prominently in his other show. Caper has produced many robots over the years, and the audience is treated to a routine from a returning favorite, Caper’s mini-me who performs magic with him. Caper’s little assistant is always a highlight.

Magical is both a perfect exemplar of street magic and a wholesome treatise on living life more magically. Caper closes on an inspiring note, encouraging the audience to romanticize life even when it doesn’t perfectly resemble a fairy tale. Caper’s Magical is a reset and reminder of exactly how good magic can be in the right hands.

DAVID ALNWICK: OBJECTIVELY THE BEST MAGICIAN

☆☆☆☆☆

Ask David Alnwick to describe himself, and for at least this Fringe he’ll say Objectively the Best Magician. “What can’t I do”, he exclaims after a particularly impressive (to himself) trick. The ego may in fact be justified. The trick is also genuinely impressive to people who aren’t Alnwick. Alnwick doesn’t try to convince the audience that he is Objectively the Best Magician, he knows who he is and inhabits that role completely, delivering a perfectly scripted, plotted, and performed comedy magic show.

The overwhelming impression that the audience gets from Objectively the Best Magician, aside from the magic, is the energy. Alnwick works hard with his three daily Fringe shows plus a roaming secret show, but the audience can’t tell from the high energy he exudes in this first one of the afternoon. That’s what the audience talks about as they leave the show. It’s not because the magic is underwhelming in any way—it’s perfect, but Edinburgh audiences have come to expect that—it’s that this Fringe veteran on his 15th year has perfected the vibe of his show to such an extent.

Alnwick does of course back up his reputation with perfectly performed magic. His card magic is always a highlight. Alnwick loses and finds several audience cards in increasingly impressive ways, showing off his fancy shuffling skills along the way. He also demonstrates a textbook mentalist escalation series of effects over the course of the show, culminating in a visually exciting reveal that proves his absolute mastery over everything that happens in his show.

A kind performer, Alnwick uses plenty of audience participants and treats them well. He’ll only make a slight bit of fun of his participants if they deserve it. At the reviewed show, a mid-show participant was slightly reluctant to take part, but was egged on and teased by her friends. Alnwick made a point to get said friends involved later in the show, not for anything extensive but for enough that the initial participant got back at them.  If his participants are kind to him, Alnwick will have their back. 

Whether or not Alnwick is truly Objectively the Best Magician is for every magic fan to decide for themselves. But he’s certainly a Fringe institution, particularly for his iconic brand of high energy comedy magic. Anyone who would seek to challenge his claim had better check out this show first.

CAMPBELL GLAZIER: TRICKSTER

☆☆☆☆

With a mid-evening time slot at a slightly less well known venue, a weekday performance of Campbell Glazier’s Trickster can be a fairly intimate experience. Such things happen at the busy Fringe. Luckily, Glazier is a skilled performer, and the audience size feels deliberate. Those who attend get the impression that Glazier would always make the audience size feel deliberate, whether it was just one person or hundreds.

Trickster focuses on card magic. There are interludes into a few other types to mix things up, but card magic seems to be Glazier’s specialty. It’s certainly very slick. Helpfully for those who go to magic shows to try to catch out the magician, the audience sits around Glazier’s table right up close to the action. Glazier even explains the tricks if the audience wants to learn how to do them. Less helpfully for those trying to catch him out, Glazier is very good at his job, and successfully hides his methods right up until he chooses whether or not to reveal them. A highlight is a series of card finding tricks that conclude in a dramatic shower of playing cards. The messy conclusion is worth it for the impressive result.

Glazier is notable for including a live rabbit in his show. It’s a fun play on the magician’s assistant trope without veering into animal cruelty. The rabbit is hilarious and Glazier’s interactions with it and an extra element of humor and charm to the show.

In such a small setting, audience participation is both especially inescapable and especially chill. Glazier makes his way around the audience a couple of times to select cards and complete other tasks to help him show off his tricks. He is notable for his excellent rapport with everyone in his audience. It’s worth noting that at the reviewed show at least one member of the audience was a friend of his, but your reviewer can confirm that at least one was not, and Glazier had an easy, natural charm with all.

It’s rare to get such a close up experience of card magic at the Fringe, especially at a PBH venue. Finding Trickster feels like finding a hidden gem. Glazier manages to make card magic exceptionally funny, this may just be the most you laugh in a card magic show. It’s perfectly timed and placed for Leith-based commuters to stop in on their way home for a laugh and some wonder. Trickster is well worth the time.

TIM LICATA: ABSOLUTELY MAGIC!

☆☆☆

Edinburgh regular Tim Licata can most often be found at his weekly engagement at The Joker and the Thief on Leith Walk. However, for the duration of the Fringe he is also more centrally located to put on a proper magic show, Absolutely Magic! right on Picardy Place. This is a fun range of magic and mentalism effects, from a fun and upbeat magician.

The magic may be recognizable but Licata’s performance of it is excellent. Even a fairly basic and well known effect like a rope trick is extra fun to watch in his hands. Licata excels and telling little stories as he performs, creating a narrative to enhance the physical magic that the audience watches him create. There’s a drama to the physicality of his performance as well—the rope trick may be a classic but rarely does a magician grapple with such a long length for the sake of this effect, Licata’s rope choreography elevates the trick.

At the reviewed show on a sunny midweek early evening, Licata still managed to pull in a large audience. A beloved local, his fanbase is evidently out in force to support and enjoy his Fringe run. It was a great ratio of audience for it to feel like Licata got a decent proportion involved while still allowing for shyer audience members to hide in the middles of the rows and backs of the audience if they so desired. That being said, participation was unintimidating and easy to undertake. One particular audience member was visibly keen to help out, and Licata made sure to let her have her desired moment in the spotlight.

Whereas Licata’s previous show leaned more heavily into storytelling, with magic designed to illustrate his story, this year’s is more formless. The theme is Licata performing great magic and creating a fun experience for his audience. It’s a great chance to see him perform longer-form pieces that might not suit the table magic that his fans are used to seeing him perform.

With a comfy venue and great energy, Absolutely Magic! is absolutely worth a visit. Licata consistently makes his audience laugh and gasp in almost equal measure. It’s impossible not to have a good time when Licata is performing.

CAVAN BOOTH: THE HONEST MAGICIAN

☆☆

For a career field of professional liars, magicians are not great at keeping secrets. Revealing bits of magic to make bigger reveals more impressive is a staple of the genre. Cavan Booth has even brought an entire show to the Fringe with the theme of revealing magical secrets, The Honest Magician. Booth’s emphasis on this one type of quasi-honest reveal makes for an interesting premise. Notably, he doesn’t venture far (if at all) beyond the quasi-reveals that are common amongst magicians. 

Booth uses a range of both mentalist and magic effects to make his point. While they may not be new to magic fans, they are performed well. An extended mind reading sequence to do with judging audience members’ truth telling and lying is especially fun to watch. The reviewed show had a great plot twist in this routine when Booth’s brother volunteered to join him onstage. While his brother was fairly clearly not giving him any hints, it seemed like a lovely supportive relationship, which is always nice to see at the Fringe.

Audience participation was a mixed bag. For some of the earlier effects, to demonstrate his point about the necessity of lying to performing magic, Booth performs a few tricks that are experienced as “magic” by the participants but not by the rest of the audiences. The method and purpose is clever, but it would be nice if Booth clued in the participants after making his point. Ideally participating in a magic show should enhance the experience for the participant, or at the very least be neutral—it’s not ideal when participating takes away an element of the experience of the show for someone. To be fair to Booth he seems to make a point of choosing participants for this section who seemed to have come to the show with a group, so their family and friends could tell them what happened after, but in a friendly town like Edinburgh where strangers tend to get chatty it’s a risky calculation.

Booth may have billed himself as honest but he’s still a magician, and luckily for the audience members who want to experience magic, there are some secrets that he keeps, and some that he reveals because the secret is itself an impressive feat. His demonstration of how to solve a Rubik’s cube in what looks like a few seconds is one such moment. The audience watched Booth carefully make a few turns to make the cube look well mixed, but even so watching him solve it in a throw demonstrates dexterity and dedicated practice.

The Honest Magician may not be flawless yet, but it’s an interesting premise from a clearly thoughtful performer. Booth does a good job telling the audience how his perspective is unique, but showing them this perspective through the magic is still a work in progress.