stage magic

TOMAS MCCABE: HOW TO READ MINDS

☆☆☆☆

Whether due to the late timeslot on a Friday evening, the gentle Irish accent, Tomas McCabe’s invitation to learn secret knowledge in How to Read Minds, or the appeal and reputation of the performer himself, McCabe was able to gather a huge crowd on the day that his Fringe show was reviewed. A popular regular, McCabe’s audiences have evidentially not been diminished by the overall slowdown of this post-pandemic Fringe. He demonstrated exactly how he earned this renown over the course of his hourlong show.

The flipside of this success is that McCabe was at times faced with a merry mob of chatty revelers rather than a nicely attentive audience. He dealt with this as well as could reasonably be expected of him, by ignoring the interruptions other than to drown them out by pushing on with his show. Luckily thanks to his projection coupled with his tech assistant’s help those who wished to follow along were perfectly able to. Said tech assistant incidentally also emerged over the course of the hour as the current most eligible bachelor of this year’s Fringe. Ladies, contact McCabe for his number.

McCabe demonstrated his mind reading techniques on both the audience as a whole and on a select few individuals who were invited up to the stage. Each method was equally impressive in its own right. A highlight involved the use of audience members’ anonymized secret confessions to aid in the demonstration. McCabe teased his audience, but from a place of nonjudgement. The purpose of the exercise, aside from learning techniques to help trick people in to thinking you could read their mind, was to create a space for everyone to freely express their errors in judgement without undue negative reaction. The teasing tone was dependent on the subject matter, when McCabe came across a confession that a member of his audience was planning on coming out to his parents the next day McCabe was quick to wish him luck with the conversation. The only trick that McCabe missed was due to an inebriated would-be participant forgetting her role, which he laughed off without embarrassing her.

McCabe is one of the more popular Fringe magicians and earns it all the more with every show. For a fun bit of mentalism, Fringe audiences cannot go wrong with McCabe.

More information on Tomas McCabe and his performance dates can be found here.

GRIFFIN AND JONES: IDIOT MAGICIANS

☆☆☆☆

The 2021 Fringe didn’t feel like a real Fringe, which at the time was easily attributed to the reduced size, prevalence of masks, and test and trace isolation guidelines. In hindsight, however, it may have just been the absence of Griffin and Jones. Whether through their slapdash magic or iconic 1AM cabaret, these two are innate to the spirit of the Fringe, and it is a joy to see them back. Idiot Magicians is the perfect title for their show, and they do not disappoint, either with the magic or the exemplary displays of lighthearted idiocy.

Griffin and Jones involve a variety of original props in their show, from a mind reading melon to a jar of jellybeans. While their tricks often follow classic patterns, the manner in which they are presented are wholly their own. It can be hard to review a show without spoiling it for readers, but it is difficult to imagine that Griffin and Jones would object to their future audiences hearing about the live dolphins that star in the second half of their show. While animal use in magic shows has a dubious past, Griffin and Jones assure their audience that the dolphins are well cared for. Bar staff at their venue have been heard to tell that if the dolphins choose not to perform Griffin and Jones replace their routine with a magical take on a striptease, described as weird but definitely magical and surprisingly sexy.

Audience participants are similarly well treated. Members of the audience may briefly feel the mock ire of Griffin and Jones on dropping a treasured prop, but all is rapidly assured to be in good fun. The pair respond well to unexpected hiccups in their audience members. At the reviewed show a participant forgot the card that she had chosen—surely a relatable moment for all who have participated in that capacity—and Griffin and Jones help her out without undercutting their reveal.

In a world that often feels like it’s hurtling toward a smorgasbord of potential future apocalypses while simultaneously feeling stuck in time or even pulled backwards by the machinations of political elites, perhaps a little Idiot Magic is exactly what is needed. Griffin and Jones teach their audience to find joy in the little idiocies of their magic, and to spread this idiocy and joy in their own lives.

More information on Griffin and Jones and their performance dates can be found here.

AVA BEAUX: WHICH WITCH

☆☆☆☆☆

Ava Beaux makes a name for herself as a rare female magician, or “magish”, as she prefers to be called. For reference for those who may be unfamiliar with the gender balance of magishes, out of a total of over fifty magic show listings in this year’s Fringe just two feature a female magish. Percentage-wise this year is sadly probably one of the better ones, post-pandemic overall numbers are down and regardless of the total number of shows usually only two or three feature women as magishes. If memory serves Ava Beaux herself was the only female magish at last year’s Fringe, participating virtually over youtube. That being said, while she mentions this in Which Witch, this is not the point of the show nor why it is worth watching.

Which Witch creates two characters out of the one performer, Ava and Beaux, and features their struggle for control. Ava is the one who is recognizable as a conventional magish, while Beaux likes to wear extravagant hats and has trouble communicating with the default world. In both personas Ava/Beaux performs excellent magic. Appropriately, Beaux has a weirder take on tricks, which was wonderful to see—although it is perhaps worth noting that ethical vegans may prefer not to be Beaux’s audience participant. Ava/Beaux relies primarily on sleight of hand, but it was Ava’s mind reading trick that got the biggest reaction on the evening of this review.

Ava and Beaux each charm the audience in their own way. Ava has her hilarious stream of stories that keep the audience laughing while marveling at her tricks, while Beaux’s unfettered delight at finding herself in the audience’s presence immediately wins us over, in spite of the warnings. Neither one makes her audience participants feel unsafe in her presence; while Beaux is less predictable any potential for destruction is focused on her own props.

The finale of the show is visually gorgeous, it is worth sitting through the show even if you hate magic for the chance to see the last few minutes. The theme of finding the power to take control of your own healing from trauma caused by others is unexpectedly heartfelt, and appropriately timed for a world where both global events and political elites cause suffering that is often impossible for any ordinary individual to stop—but we can take control of our narrative.

Ava Beaux’s longer term fans may have a different appreciation for Which Witch. She has always been a storyteller, but here we see her put down literary inspiration and step in to her own story. It has been a privilege to watch her grow in to her talents and hone her skills. Those finding Ava Beaux for the first time this year may have to settle for a perfect, stunning magic show, but surely everyone who sees her will be excited to see what she does next.

More information on Ava Beaux and her performance dates can be found here.

PETE HEAT: BLIMEY

☆☆☆☆

Pete Heat’s name is especially appropriate for the day that his Fringe show Blimey was reviewed. August has been unusually warm, and another mini heat wave this week saw Gilded Balloon staff warning audience members about the heat in Heat’s room and handing out cups of water along the queue. It was indeed especially hot, even for a Fringe venue, but with the fans kept running and Heat adjusting his volume to compensate the show was able to go on.

The majority of the run time of the show was not taken up by magic, Heat mentions toying with the idea of turning to stand up comedy full time and it’s evident that he would have no trouble generating material. This does not come across as a flaw. The full effect of his comedy and the sprinkling of magic does not fail to entertain. While most of the creativity of the show is focused on the trappings around the magic—Heat’s delightful stories and inventive comedy props—the magic that he does, which includes both sleight of hand and mentalism, feels freshened by Heat’s performance.

In a crowded little room with a nearly sold out show it was difficult for Heat to get too much in to his audience, but he ensures that everyone can get involved from their seats. Despite the full room, with his height and proximity to the seats Heat is able to ensure that his magic is visible to the entire audience. A few individuals were invited to join Heat on stage to witness his magic up close, and seemed suitably impressed by the experience.

One point in Heat’s monologuing that may come across as odd to the Edinburgh magic fan is that it is not possible to use magic as a form of self-expression the way you could with other art forms. Contrary to this assertion, Heat is currently sharing the metaphoric stage of the Fringe with several masters of such emotive magic. It feels incorrect to point out this shortcoming in magic as a genre without acknowledging that there are a significant number who buck the trend, or joining them as an example of the range of possible magical performance. With his creativity and skill this absolutely feels like a feasible route for Heat if it’s a direction that he is interested in going in.

Heat’s blend of stand up and magic makes for an exceptional hour regardless of the weather. The audience is left wanting more, more stories, more magic, more of Heat’s show, a sure sign that Blimey is worth a visit.

More information on Pete Heat and his performance dates can be found here.

DOM CHAMBERS: FAKE WIZARD

☆☆☆

Magicians will say all kinds of things to get members of their audience to join them on stage. “It’ll be fun”, “I’ll give you a present”, “Everyone will cheer for you”, “I won’t hurt you”. Dom Chambers has perhaps the most successful approach yet seen at this year’s Fringe, in his Edinburgh debut Fake Wizard. Early in the show he lays out a row of beers and invites whoever gets there first to take one to enjoy while watching the rest of his show, queueing a brief race and at least a few people already predisposed to like him after having only spent a few short minutes in his presence. This sets the tone for the rest of the show—Chambers has own cheeky takes on all the magic he performs.

Throughout the show Chambers manages to maintain his good relationship with the audience. He gets willing volunteers to hand him their valuables, and although magic audiences are trained to expect this to result in some temporary distress before the relief of the reveal he does leave them hanging for a while. Nevertheless the individual in question is willing to trust Chambers repeatedly over the course of the show.

In the reviewed showing Chambers also dealt with an unusual heckler, a baby, who was remarkably well behaved for the majority of the show but did make their complaints heard at the odd interval. Chambers included this youngest of his fans in the act, and while the baby may not have noticed this was surely a relief to its adult guardians, as well as to the whole rest of the audience. It’s easier to relax in to the enjoyment of the show with a magician who seems to have an even temperament.

In Chambers’s display of Fake Wizard-ry the underlying structure of the tricks may feel familiar, but he dresses each one up to suit his playful personality. And for his final effect, whether you love it or it makes you a little uncomfortable, you won’t see any other magician do it this Fringe. Chambers certainly shows the kind of creative thinking that garners a fanbase.

More information on Dom Chambers and his performance dates can be found here.

CHARLIE CAPER: MAGICAL

☆☆☆☆☆

The simplicity of the show title “Magical” perfectly reflects Charlie Caper’s 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show. He doesn’t bother with an overarching plotline for the show, the closest we get is his recurring bowtie magic motif. However, he is a master of the street magic style that he performs. Everything bumbles along perfectly in keeping with his slightly scatterbrained character, without him ever losing control of the stage.

The highlight of Caper’s shows is never the magic, as perfectly performed as it always is. Caper always brings a selection of the robots that he creates to join in his show, to play the assistant role in a few of his tricks. It’s the marvel of these robots and the delight of his adorable interactions with them that really sets his shows apart. This year we only get two of them (Caper’s fans may remember that he devoted his show to introducing us to hundreds of them a few years ago) but they are as delightful as ever. The most memorable one is given a little bowtie to match Caper’s own.

The magic that Caper performs may be recognizable to those who attend a lot of magic shows, but here we see it performed flawlessly. His brief coin trick uses an extra large coin, which is helpful for those seated toward the back of his venue, and his card tricks similarly involve a signed card to make it easier for the whole audience to follow along with the action. A veteran street magician, it’s evident that Caper has honed his act in front of large crowds and easily avoids any of the usual pitfalls of performing sleight of hand to such a big group. He is especially charming when he invites a young child on stage to participate in a trick, indulging her curiosity about his props without letting it break his flow.

In Magical, Caper’s effects are always perfect and often beautiful. Though he is not especially well advertised, his reputation alone gets him a decent crowd early in the Fringe, which can only grow as word of his current show’s quality spreads. Fringe goers interested in excellent magic would do well to spend an hour with Caper.

More information on Charlie Caper and his performance dates can be found here.

RENZ NOVANI: ORACLE: DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE FUTURE?

☆☆☆☆

The Fringe is a very loud place, from flyerers clamoring to grab attention to performers using their best projection to ensure that their audience can hear them in distracting venues. It’s part of the appeal, but can get tiring. Stepping up the stairs to Renz’s calming, lilting voice and softer charisma is a welcome reprieve. The audience of his show Oracle: Do You Want to See the Future gets to listen to him as he leads them through a series of mentalist effects in a bid to show that he, too, joins the oracles of mythology in ability to see the future.

Renz dips in to a range of methods to display his mentalist and predictive powers. Perhaps most fun and impressive is when he requests that audience members generate creative responses to his prompts for him to read from their minds, giving the rest of the audience insight both in to their fellow audience members and Renz himself via the range of prompts available. You’ll find no ESP cards here, Renz’s methods create a unique experience of his skills at each show.

The audience members who join Renz’s show as magical participants can expect an especially uplifting experience in an already uplifting show, being rewarded for leaving their seats with compliments and kindness. Renz is a supportive presence, an audience member who initially has some trouble with Renz’s instructions becomes a temporary co-star in his own right. Joining Renz on stage is not the only way that the audience participates in the show, which ends up feeling like a culmination of the audience’s collective participation.

If Renz cheats the question in his ultimate conclusions regarding precognition it is no more than is reasonably expected of magicians, and the result is more inspirational than prospective audiences might anticipate. While we at World Magic Review don’t claim to possess Renz’s precognitive abilities, we do foresee that Renz’s future audiences will very much enjoy his show.

More information on Renz Novani and his performance dates can be found here.

ANDREW MCKINLAY: NECESSARY LIES

☆☆☆

Andrew McKinlay’s Necessary Lies has found its home in that most archetypical of free fringe venues: the back of a bar. It’s also an archetypical fringe magic show. An overarching theme is noticeable and appreciated to bring some shape to the string of tricks that McKinlay performs. There are the expected unexpected moments of a magic show, and McKinlay is a strong performer, the audience doesn’t see anything to break the illusions.

A mentalist, McKinlay uses all the classic props and doesn’t shy away from poking fun at himself for it—“It wouldn’t be a mentalist show without notecards and a sharpie”, after all. ESP shapes are used prominently as well, in a fun sequence in which McKinlay tests whether or not the audience as a collective has the mind reading abilities to tell where he has placed the shapes.

The small weekday evening audience of the reviewed show bonded over such moments. Given the size, there were several times that entire audience was involved in a single trick, and even once where the whole group was all up on stage with McKinlay, effectively performing for ourselves. This temporary sense of community, both in support of McKinlay as the magician of the evening and in response to knowing that we were collectively choosing to be manipulated by him, is the kind of magic that was most difficult to translate to the pandemic era and is a welcome sign of increasing normalcy.

Necessary Lies has all the classic mentalist ingredients, with a little bit extra structure to make the audience think without asking them to think too hard. McKinlay brings his full force of energy to even his small weekday shows, easily holding attention in an uncontrollable bar environment. The Fringe going audience could do a whole lot worse than spend an hour in his company.

More information on Andrew McKinlay and his performance dates can be found here.

PROFESSOR NOVAK’S BIZARRE TALES

☆☆☆

Every year, the Fringe features an overwhelmingly gigantic array of shows. While in the wake of the pandemic it has fallen slightly short of the record, from the individual perspective this year feels no different. If you venture off the beaten path to a venue that is new this year, perhaps to a late night show on a Monday evening, you may end up the sole audience member at your chosen event. If you’re lucky the performer will deal with this as gracefully and professionally at Professor Novak in Professor Novak’s Bizarre Tales. Staged in a disused section of the Omni Centre (one of the cooler PBH venues this year) at a relatively late time slot, it stands to reason that Professor Novak sees a slump in attendees on an evening early in the work week. However, this is a shame, as his Bizarre Tales are well thought through and performed with enthusiasm, regardless of the audience size.

These tales are loosely tied together by the character of Professor Novak, who guides the audience through his mystical curiosities. It’s a magic show, and magic tricks are employed as evidence of the mysterious properties of these objects, but what sets this show apart is the storytelling, which draws the audience in to the world that Novak creates. While a couple of prop issues keep it from perfection, the audience barely notices or minds. Psychic cards, boards that communicate with the spirit realm, and mystical boxes serve to highlight key moments in the tales. It ends on an interesting, original note that subverts the expectations of even frequent attendees of magic shows, and especially admirably, comes to a satisfying conclusion without the cliched reveal that the magician knew everything that happened before it did.

Even while maintaining a slightly zany character, Novak does not come across as threatening to his audience, and even manages to build a good rapport through the eccentricities of his persona. He uses the roles of participants to uplift the audience in addition to the traditional eyes of the public up close to the trick. This is a different challenge with just one audience member, but not necessarily an easier one, and Novak rises to it with apparent ease.

Professor Novak’s Bizarre Tales has evidentially been underrated as at the evening of the reviewed performance. It’s one of the better scripted magic shows, performed very enthusiastically regardless of audience size, and definitely deserves a larger audience. While perhaps not one for those who value a magic show based on concentration of tricks, it’s great for those who want to listen to spooky stories, with the odd magical twist.

More information on Professor Novak and his performance dates can be found here.

SIMON SOUTH: CLOSE UP CONJURING

☆☆

South presents soft, intimate array of close up tricks to an audience that is able to gather as closely as prevailing pandemic norms allow. The magic used consists of several classic tricks that may be fairly familiar to magic fans in the audience. South works his way through several card, coin, and hoop tricks, all performed well. A fun variation sees him perform a trick using the ubiquitous PBH Free Fringe program guide. This essential guide to every Fringe schedule is much thinner this year than usual, perhaps making it easier to give it the centre-stage treatment that it gets at this point in South’s show.

There is no issue in South’s performance of his magic, but the show feels a bit stilted with inconsistent transitions. After some of his tricks the audience feels like they are just watching South tidy away his props before he takes out the next one and continues to perform. Having a more consistent stream of patter or integrating the necessary transition points in to the act may help the show flow more smoothly.

Given the reduced audience sizes of this pandemic Fringe, South is able to include the majority of his audience in the magic. Participants don’t even have to get up on stage, as South is able to include them where they are sitting. South is friendly and respectful with everyone who he includes in his show.

In Close Up Conjuring South does exactly what it says in the title. It’s a pretty standard, boilerplate show from a performer who has the magical skill to perform convincingly to an audience sat very close to him. This is a solid show for those looking for an afternoon of magic.

More information on Simon South and his performance dates can be found here.