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Show: Edinburgh Fringe Magic Gala
Society: Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot
Credits: No credits available
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 08/08/2018
Edinburgh Fringe Magic Gala
Chris Abbott | 09 Aug 2018 10:15am
Sampler shows are popular at the Edinburgh Fringe; with a bewildering array of performances on offer, the chance to see a few minutes of each can be an effective way of making ticket-buying choices. Most often it is comedy that is sampled and sometimes theatre, but at the Gilded Balloon this year the Edinburgh Fringe Magic Gala serves the same purpose for an impressive cluster of magicians.
The show is compered by the amiable Elliot Bibby, Scottish Comedy Magician of the Year. He is adept at communicating with the audience and is a supportive MC for the other acts as well as making his own contribution. His routine of turning a borrowed £20 note into a handmade but useless one was impressive.
Tomas McCabe is an Irish mind reader with an engaging style and a very rapid delivery – maybe there were time pressures in a show such as this but he would be more effective if he spoke a little more slowly; not that this detracted from his effective and occasionally scary performance. Variety was added to the programme with the appearance of Polly Hoops “hula hoop marvel” who worked the crowd effectively and impressed the audience.
Perhaps the most mystifying act on the bill was Ben Hart, seen recently in Impossible in London, and scoring a big hit with the audience here when managing to link together and then separate three rings borrowed from different audience members. He also overcame early sound problems, including the moment when he was offered a hand mike as an alternative: not really a good plan for a sleight of hand magician…
Perhaps the most unusual performance came from Tom Crosbie, self-proclaimed nerd and not really a magician at all – although his skills with digital dexterity and Rubik’s cubes seemed to verge on the supernatural. All the performers have their own shows at the Fringe this year and the mark of success for audience members must be whether they have seen someone whose show attracts them. I would happily enjoy a full performance from any of the group, but as time only allows one, I will be going to Tom Crosbie’s show tomorrow.
- : admin
- : 08/08/2018