mentalism

REUBEN MORELAND: ABRACADABRA, B*TCH!

☆☆☆☆

It’s a satisfying moment in a book or movie when one of the characters says the title of the work in conversation. Audiences at magic shows don’t often get that particular moment of minor joy. Reuben Moreland, however, does things differently, leaping to the stage yelling, “Abracadabra, B*tch!” to kick off his highly energetic show. It’s a delightfully and consistently silly show, and a genuine pleasure to watch.

The magic that Moreland performs is remarkably well styled to his stage presence. If it could be said that there is a theme or story to the show, it’s relatively minimal—a running joke is used as a structure around which Moreland organizes the bulk of the content. This suits the type of comedy magic that he performs. It’s the personalization of the magic that is most impressive. Even the most ardent magic fan will take a moment to discern the bones of a familiar trick disguised so completely by the trappings of his performance.

Moreland set the tone early, with a series of magic tricks and jokes illustrating a hopefully completely imaginary disaster of a first date. This gets all the stereotypical props and classic self-deprecating magician humor out of the way early for those who turned up to see a magic show expecting such things. Later highlights include a signed card trick, featuring a reveal that Moreland had set up pretty much from the start of the show. This interweaving of effects and reveals is in itself a highlight. The attention to detail and exact timing pays off in the audience experience.

Like many magic shows, Abracadabra, B*tch! relies heavily on audience participation. Moreland does occasionally ask a bit more of his participants than most. At the reviewed show there was one significant participant who was chosen by Moreland apparently at random. Luckily Moreland appears to have mastered the most crucial mentalist trick any magician must learn: how to intuit, from the stage, which member of the audience will have fun playing along with his act. While Moreland’s choice to pick this particular participant at random was the right decision for his narrative, at other moments he opened the stage to volunteers, many of whom were eager to join in the fun.

At one point in the show, Moreland jokingly questions, “What kind of a person would actually buy a ticket to see a show called “Abracadabra, B*tch!”? The answer is, exactly the kind of person who would most enjoy the show. It’s very well named to let potential audiences know what they’re getting themselves in for when they purchase their ticket. For those to whom the title appeals, the silliness will be a delight.

LUKA: MAGNUM OPUS

☆☆☆☆

Magnum Opus is many things, but a show for introverts it is not. Magician Luka, either though good fortune or force of personality, commands an audience of participants eager and willing to engage in every trick of magic and of witticism that he has to offer.

There are three parts to Magnum Opus, depending on how much you should be looking to pay for your magical diversion of the night. For the full experience, you get a half hour close-up magic show, followed by two hours with which to eat your three-course dinner upstairs at the Social American Tavern, and finally the main event of an hour long mentalist experience. If you’re looking to be a bit more budget friendly, you can skip the first two parts, but we cannot in good conscience imply they are missable.

The close up magic show provides audiences with their first experience of Luka’s very dry, sarcastic millennial humor. While this may not be for everyone – indeed over the course of the show reviewed it seemed to take some audience members a moment to catch up- it is generally well received. In terms of the magic, it is clear Luka is a master of technical skill. His sleight of hand is flawless, always a feat made more impressive in intimate settings where audience members are mere inches away, squinting intently at hands and pockets. Due to the smaller number of attendees, Luka can make each of his card and coin tricks far more personal than you would suspect, engaging in direct conversation to weave his effects within.

As this is a magic review and not a culinary one, we will not linger over the meal bridging the gap between magic shows, other than to say Social American Tavern provides a well matched ambiance to the mood of an evening of magical performance, delicious food, and magic-themed cocktails.

The main event, the mentalism performance, truly showcases Luka’s particular brand of showmanship. His takes on classic mentalism effects bewilder the audience and are somewhat made bawdy by Luka’s banter.  Definitely not a magic show to be bringing kids to, but that seems to be the point. Due to his chosen methodology of selecting participants, which comes with an unusual twist, it is likely that every performance will be notably unique in the communal atmosphere of the attendees. Sure, all will likely see a nail gun, balloons, books and rings do things we never thought they could. But Luka provides his audience with the opportunity to even steal the show somewhat, making everyone leave feeling like they’ve met their fellow audience members for far more than 60 minutes.

Magnum Opus is a well curated dinner theatre experience. If you are looking for a lively, engaging night out (and you have a slightly dirty sense of humor), look no further. Luka leads his crowd through a delightful experience of all different types of magical diversions.

JAMES PHELAN: THE DREAMER – LIVE

☆☆☆☆☆

This year, James Phelan joins the extra daring magicians who have set their shows on round stages. As The Dreamer skews more toward mentalism and hypnotism, it may be a more achievable aesthetic decision than for a physical magic based show, but still demonstrates a deserved confidence in his skills. That being said, Phelan notably spends a relatively low proportion of his time actually on the stage. He instead fills his time pacing through the audience, trawling for participants to join the show and getting to know everyone who catches his eye. It’s a personal show, and in keeping with that theme, Phelan takes the time to get to know some of the members of his audience personally. However, curiosity about Phelan’s personal life is not the primary draw. His mentalist and hypnotist routines are interesting to watch and engagingly performed.

Straight from the start Phelan gets everyone involved in the magic, with a opening filmed mentalist effect that works on everyone who takes part. Phelan’s attractive and widespread advertising lured in audience members to the reviewed show who had not been to a magic show in their lives, and for them in particular, seeing the universal effect of this particular trick was absolutely mind blowing. Phelan also gets the whole audience involved in his hypnotism warm up exercises, which provide audience-wide entertainment regardless of whether those audience members ultimately participate in the hypnosis.

Both due to Phelan’s friendly performance persona and habit of centering the performance away from the stage, despite the sizable venue The Dreamer is not an intimidating show to participate in. The more involved participation points are in the hypnotism section of the show, and these are on an opt-in basis due to the nature of hypnotism as a practice. Audience members can be confident that if Phelan selects them at random they will not be asked to do anything too confusing to help him demonstrate his skills.

The foundation for The Dreamer is in Phelan’s parents’ IVF journey, in the early days of that science—appropriately enough for a magician, Phelan’s very existence is due to an impossibility becoming possible. While it is not an uncommon message for a magic show, Phelan thus has a personal stake in The Dreamer’s messaging that everyone watching it should follow their dreams regardless of how impossible they might seem. If it weren’t for his parents’ pursuit of their “impossible” dream, he would never exist to create the moments that bring his audiences together in the first place. Phelan’s effective use of hypnosis in particular drives the point home, playing with audience expectations of the movability of mental barriers.

Phelan makes great use of his status as both a magician and real life magic trick for his parents in the performance of The Dreamer. He’s the perfect performer to celebrate the achievability of the impossible. The focus is decidedly on the mind, this is not the right show to go to “see” magic on the stage, but for those who are interested in feeling it, and watching others feel its effects, The Dreamer is the place to be.

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

1 HOUR OF INSANE MAGIC AFTER DARK

☆☆☆☆

Billed as the adult version of the performers’ popular afternoon family show, 1 Hour of Insane Magic After Dark is proving equally popular with Fringe audiences. A significant part of the appeal is undoubtedly the opportunity to watch three beloved local showman let their dirty mouths run wild for an hour, but there is also plenty of perfectly performed magic and a couple of guest cabaret spots for variety.

The insane magicians take turns showcasing their tricks solo and in various configurations with each other.  Stunt magician Luke Osey performs the weirdest trick to open the show. It’s not so much a magic trick as it is an odd ability that he has cultivated for reasons known only to himself. Osey does frame his performance with magical jokes, giving it the aura of a trick, and employs a camera to ensure that everyone in the audience can see the action regardless of where they’re sitting.

Resident insane mentalist Cameron Gibson has been described on social media as an international sex symbol, and if anyone in the After Dark audience doesn’t agree with that the moment he steps in front of them in that magic outfit of his, they will have come around after watching him take control of everyone’s minds on stage throughout the evening. Gibson successfully reads audience minds in various configurations using “two truths and a lie” prompts, a clever use of time to allow successive reveals to build in impact.

Sleight of hand artist Elliot Bibby performs a classic of card magic using his tongue, in fitting with the After Dark theme. At the reviewed show Bibby made particular friends with one of his primary audience participants, even sharing a beer. That participant was so impressed by the magic he got to see up close that after the card was located he bowed down to Bibby, in awe of Bibby’s magical skills.

The guest spots at the reviewed show went to the Edinburgh-famous Performing Nerd Tom Crosbie, and an Australian contortionist who performs as Sassy Limbs. They are a fantastic confirmation that the Insane Magicians are able to attract the best of the cabaret performers to join them onstage. While Crosbie is the more magic-adjacent, the contrast between the two of them and with the Insane Magicians themselves works perfectly in the fabric of the show.

Unfortunately the reviewed show came to an end with a lack of a bang. The Insane Magicians had planned to end the evening with a dangerous stunt that their fans may remember from last year, but an issue with the props made it too dangerous to perform. It was a surprisingly wholesome twist ending. In the capitalist nightmare of modern society the old adage that “the show must go on” is often cited to encourage dangerous behavior, but Insane Magic is about the bond between the performers as much as it is about the tricks themselves, and it’s lovely to see Gibson and Bibby correctly choose to value Osey’s safety over an exciting ending for their show. Those who remember last year’s Insane Magic can attest that when it is able to be executed it’s a very cool stunt to see, and it’s comforting to know that when we do see it, it’s being performed as safely as possible. 

With a little bit of everything and a lot of magic, 1 Hour of Insane Magic After Dark is both the perfect start to a night out and the perfect end to a day at the Fringe. It’s tempting to return multiple times to enjoy the boys and their guest stars. Regardless of how the show ends, they will ensure that everyone in the audience has an insane evening.

CHRIS COOK: THE ART OF TAKING PART

☆☆☆☆☆

Last year, Chris Cook celebrated ten years of performing at the Fringe. This year, promotion for his new show The Art of Taking Part sounds almost like an abdication of his role as a magician, giving the show over to the audience to provide entertainment for each other. In practice this is not the case. The audience does not need to fear that they are being put on the spot to create the show for their peers, Cook’s guiding hand ensures that the show stays magically on course.

On the rainy weekday evening that this show was reviewed, the fact that Cook managed to get any audience at all was very impressive. Those that were there were the ones who really wanted to experience the show, which was actually perfect for the type of performance that it is. Every participant that Cook brought to the stage was enthusiastic in taking on their roles. There is an element of random selection as well, and for two of the elements requiring a very minor bit of physical skill Cook had the misfortune of selecting one of the most physically incapable people in the room, possibly in the world—this reviewer. Even then, Cook managed to keep the show on track with kindness and professionalism.

To celebrate The Art of Taking Part, Cook regularly rewards his participants for joining him on stage. This is not achieved just through physical gifts, although those do appear on occasion, but Cook also places emphasis on tricks that happen in his participants’ hands, or that center the participant as the one taking credit for the magic part of the segment. One trick in particular sees a volunteer member of the audience take over the role of the central performer, and at the reviewed show she really got in to it, fully appreciating her share of the spotlight. Nevertheless it is clear that Cook is pulling the magical strings, there are plenty of skilled reveals over the course of the show.

Over the course of the show, The Art of Taking Part is revealed to be as much a manifesto on the nature of magic as an art form as it is the title of the show—the necessity of interaction with the audience is one of the key aspects of magic that sets it apart from most other performance arts. Cook devotes his show in part to celebrating this feature of magic, which gives the performer a unique ability to connect directly with members of the audience on a personal level. Arguably this facet is the crucial factor that has enabled Cook to create ten years of Fringe shows that are slowly but surely making the world a better place. At the same time, it’s a deeply silly show that gives the audience a chance to embrace the fun of magic, often in their own hands.

Cook’s habitual emphasis on guiding his audience toward self improvement is still very much present this year; regular fans will not be disappointed. For the perfect blend of seriousness and silliness The Art of Taking Part is the place to be.

More information on The Art of Taking Part and its performance dates can be found here.

TOMAS MCCABE: 1 MURDER: THE MIND READING LAWYER

☆☆☆☆

Of all the jobs that would be easier for someone who can read minds, barrister must be right up there. Real life future barrister Tomas McCabe has combined his profession of the near future with his current job as a mentalist in 1 Murder: The Mind Reading Lawyer. Between the numerical name to push himself to the front of the Fringe program, the fun theme, and his adorable parents on hand to enthusiastically flyer for him across the streets of Edinburgh, McCabe appears to be having a very successful Fringe. Historically he’s often had a late night free Fringe spot, garnering a huge audience of largely drunk people, but this year he has maintained that success at a ticketed slot in the late afternoon, selling out his venue even on the weekday of this review.

The murder trial framing is a fun structure on which McCabe hangs his mentalist demonstrations. It is, however, primarily in place for structural purposes. This is a mentalism show and not the place to find an accurate reconstruction of a murder trial—hopefully to no surprise, given the clarity of the marketing material—but McCabe does take the time to ensure his audience knows that his show is not intended as an educational experience. Some in the audience may learn the British word for a trial lawyer, “barrister”, but that is the beginning and end of the informational portion of the show.

McCabe’s mind reading is accurate as ever. One of his recurring favorites is to have his audience write down anonymous confessions that he then reads from the minds of audience volunteers to ensure that the anonymity of the original confessor is maintained. It feels appropriate that, of all the mentalists, it’s a lawyer who has managed to successfully integrate mentalist-participant confidentiality into the fabric of his act without undercutting his ability to show off his mind reading skills.

The audience participants themselves who are chosen are for the most part self-selecting volunteers. If McCabe chooses random participants for some tasks, it’s the ones that are the least time consuming or attention grabbing. One of the cutest moments of the show is when he selects one of his younger fans to preside over the performance as his judge. This youngster gets a special experience and positive attention that will no doubt be a lasting memory.

Toward the end of The Mind Reading Lawyer, McCabe reveals that now that he has completed his education he will shortly be taking his talents to a real life barrister role, in an actual courtroom. McCabe will no doubt prove popular with his clientele for his reassuringly unflappable presence and, of course, mentalist abilities.

More information on 1 Murder: The Mind Reading Lawyer and its performance dates can be found here.

COLIN CLOUD: CONSEQUENCES

☆☆☆☆☆

Colin Cloud is no stranger to the Edinburgh Fringe. His gigantic, sold out venue on a rainy Monday evening is a testament to the work he has put in to building his Scottish fanbase. These days he is usually based in the US, and recently became renowned for putting a small American town called Las Vegas on the map as a holiday destination when he opened his new headline show there. This year is also Cloud’s first full Fringe run since the pre-pandemic era, and to mark those special occasions his show Consequences is a mentalist retelling of how the consequences of various moments in his life have led to the moments that each audience spends in his company.

It’s easy to assume that a magician has full control over everything that happens in their theatre—which is not always the case, as much as they might pretend—but Cloud regularly caters to the skeptics in his audience by inviting outside input in to his shows. As the audience files in to Consequences each evening they find Cloud sitting onstage wearing a blindfold, with instructions on the screen behind him to ask their social media friends and followers for random words to be used to create one of the impossible moments later in the show. Cloud’s use of popular technology to make his magic seem even more impossible is one of his signatures, and always gets a great reaction from the audience.

As with many of his colleagues, Cloud’s road toward his career in magic began when he was a child, and the audience is treated to stories that provoke a range of emotions in the retelling. Each is accompanied by a mentalism effect to illustrate key themes in the story. Cloud is often described by both himself and others as the real life Sherlock Holmes, an apt comparison, and in Consequences his childhood love of mystery books is cited as one of the factors leading to his present reality. His mentalism is here framed as deductive reasoning, and of course, like magicians, the best mystery writers are masters of misdirection. Fellow fans of Conan Doyle will especially enjoy Cloud’s book trick, and trying to guess popular words from the famous stories while Cloud deduces them magically.

Cloud gets a fair few members of the audience involved in his show, sometimes at random but often also by choice. He is kind to his participants and especially apologetic when, on occasion, he asks them to do a slightly more confusing task for the sake of the trick. With a venue large enough for balcony seating, those who wish to secure their safety from the stage are able to put an entire staircase between themselves and Cloud.

It won’t be news to fans of magic and mentalism in Edinburgh that Consequences is an excellent, must see show of this year’s Fringe. Cloud is the go-to for those who want to tick magic off their Fringe checklist without having to fear the risk of a poor quality performer, and he does not disappoint. Each year has added a ever growing depth and nuance to the structure and format of his shows, and Consequences is a welcome addition to that trend, with a blend of storytelling and Cloud’s classic comedy mentalism that feels distinctly unique. While each evening of Consequences offers a moment for the audience to reflect on the results of both Cloud’s and their own pasts, Cloud’s constant self improvement is a testament to the reality that dealing with the consequences of the past never stops, and the power of each individual to take advantage of that to undertake actions in their present to improve their future consequences. 

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

SURREAL: THE MIND-READING SHOW FROM BERLIN!

☆☆☆☆

Stepping in to Surreal: The Mind-Reading Show from Berlin! feels like stepping back in time.  We visit the era of mentalism presented as the junction of the scientific and the spiritual, embodied in a mythical, magical woman. Psychic Vivian and her partner in performance Roman Maria von Thurau take turns playing the role of the mentalist and the assistant. Decorative and magical in turn, their mentalism demonstrations are equal parts impressive and beautiful.

An early sequence sets the scene for the style of the show. Vivian is blindfolded on stage while Roman requests that members of the audience hold out objects for her to describe without seeing. Vivian successfully describes a varied range of such random objects, interspersed with a variety of fun facts that are so perfectly timed and perfectly amusing that the audience almost doesn’t care if they are genuinely true.

Roman, the mathematician of the pair, follows up with a pi-based routine that blends classic calculator based mentalism with what he describes as a pandemic boredom-induced knowledge of the digits of pi. Few performers can make a recitation of a random selection of the digits of pi fun to watch, but Roman manages it, with a final revelation that the audience won’t see coming.

The third star of Surreal is the beautifully realized animations interspersed amongst the magic, which were hand drawn by Vivian in preparation. Vivian accompanies her artwork with autobiographical self-mythologizing stories from hers and Roman’s life. It’s impossible to choose which is the highlight of the show, the artwork or the magic, and the audience is lucky to be treated to both.

At the reviewed show, Surreal was briefly interrupted by several small technical issues. Such are often the pitfalls of a review relatively early in the run. Vivian and Roman dealt with these with steadfast professionalism—future audiences can be confident that they will witness a beautiful show regardless of any such issues. Their vintage throwback style suited it; after all technology is known to behave erratically in the presence of psychic powers such as Vivian’s. The magic goes much more smoothly than the technology.

With its central location, post-workday time slot, and of course beautifully performed mentalism, Surreal will undoubtedly prove to be a hit this Fringe. Vivian and Roman’s vintage presentation of mentalist classics sets them apart from the crowd of magicians at this year’s festival. If Vivian and Roman are not ageless immortals who entertained eighteenth century nobility with their timeless performance style, the lineage from historic performances to theirs is especially clear to see, and renews magic fans’ appreciation for the heritage of magic as an art form. Fans of mentalism in its contemporary iteration in particular will be delighted by this stylish throwback.

More information on Surreal and its’ performance dates can be found here.

COLIN CLOUD: AFTER DARK

☆☆☆☆☆

Scotland’s number one export may be petroleum (which surprisingly surpasses the beverage category) but its number one boomerang export is apparently its mentalists. After Dark sees the return of Colin Cloud’s magnificent hair to the Edinburgh Fringe stage after four years away, and Edinburghers have given him a warm welcome- the reviewed show was to a packed audience that queued all the way around McEwan Hall.

Many might remember Cloud’s incredibly extra approach to showcasing his mentalism abilities, and they will not be disappointed by this show. It’s a common final reveal for a magician to have a prediction to read out at the end of the show that demonstrates that they knew everything was going to happen, and Cloud is no different—except that he wrote and posted his predictions to a member of the audience several months prior to the show, and had that audience member bring the envelope up on stage at the start of the show. It was like a scene out of a Doctor Who finale, which was undoubtedly intentional. Cloud also demonstrates what is either a very impressive ability to know what is on IMDb pages, or a very sad but still kind of impressive encyclopedic knowledge of the whole of IMDb, in a mentalism feat that gets the whole audience involved in the fact checking.

This year Cloud has a new message, a new way to add meaning to his magic, by drawing on his own journey toward mental wellbeing. Cloud illustrates how random chance can feel like a guiding force toward the future during times of distress, using an origami fortune teller much like many would have used as schoolchildren to read audience members’ minds.  This feels like classic Cloud work. To visualize a personal low point, he switches gears into the kind of stunt work that his fans may be less used to seeing him perform. The stunt he performs usually comes across as kind of gross, but here, accompanied by the retelling of his story, it feels oddly wholesome and uplifting—it’s the overcoming of the physical danger that’s emphasized, more than the introduction of it. The story of his past is of overcoming that physical harm by lucky chance, but the danger presented onstage is overcome by choice, with the skill and practice of his profession.  Cloud demonstrates his personal growth even in the retelling of a personal low. 

After Dark may be initially presented as the return of the king, and that’s very much the case. However, he’s a changed king, and here he shares the life lessons he’s learned with all the ability and flair that made him renowned in the first place. Edinburgh welcomes his return to the point that his huge venue may very well be sold out for the rest of his run, but those lucky folks who have bought tickets can be sure they won’t regret it.  Cloud once again sets the standard for excellence in mentalism at the Fringe. 

KEVIN QUANTUM: MOMENTUM

☆☆☆☆

Crowd pleaser Kevin Quantum is back, this Fringe down one healthy leg. Quantum injured his Achilles’ tendon shortly before the Fringe, but in true performer style is nonetheless onstage every afternoon this month, in a big plastic boot and zippered trousers so he can show it off. He has titled and themed his show on Momentum this year, both in terms of science and the course of life itself. It’s fittingly enough considering that he is visibly pushing himself forward at every show, maintaining the momentum of his career and art form in spite of his injury.

Momentum is a family show, and Quantum makes sure to get the younger audience members involved as often as is appropriate—even if that means asking children to volunteer the grown up they’re with to join Quantum onstage. However, Quantum gets as many children as possible involved in the actual magic, even running through the audience on his injured leg to perform pieces of close up magic to various children in their seats. A live stream makes sure that the entire audience is involved, but the chosen children get a special experience.

Unfortunately Quantum had a few angle issues with his live stream at the reviewed performance, both in the crowd sequence and a later bit themed on the Bermuda Triangle. It’s a tricky business performing for both the audience at large and maintaining the participant experience, and while at times Quantum deliberately plays on this to great effect, there are other instances where a prop appears slightly early, or a word card is seen from the wrong angle, that look a little less than perfect. However, it’s a nitpick in an overall entertaining show. The overwhelming majority of Quantum’s magic goes perfectly to plan.

Quantum’s background is in physics, and it’s his fascination with the patterns of a Newton’s Cradle that bookends the show. Magicians often end their performance with a dangerous stunt, and Quantum’s involves a giant flaming Newton’s Cradle. It’s a beautiful piece of equipment even regardless of the stunt, the flaming cannon balls are gorgeously hypnotic. The fact that Quantum manages to pull off the stunt with an injured foot is even more impressive.

Quantum is one of the established big names in all-ages magic at the Fringe, and he proves his reputation every year. Momentum looks like it’s going to be another in his long list of sellout Fringe shows, and deservedly so. Momentum is a solid hour of amazement.