I have so many fond memories of Edinburgh and especially The Voodoo Rooms, the beautiful venue where we debuted James Freedman's show 'Man of Steal' back in 2014 and it's also where I first performed my own show 'Genie' the following year. This year I returned to work with Harry De Cruz on his debut show, on that very same stage! It's been amazing to join him on his journey and I'm so pleased to see what he's achieved. There are a few days left to catch him, so if you're passing through Edinburgh, add him to your must-sees!
The brilliant Magicians' Podcast just returned with a new episode, catching up with six magicians at the Edinburgh Festival this year. You can hear Harry talking about his experience and it's fascinating getting different perspectives of the Festival from each magician. It's great to hear Richard Young behind the mic again and I know I'm not the only one hoping this isn't a one-off!
I saw quite a few shows at the Festival - here are some of my highlights:
Charlie Caper – Artifice Intelligence is an insanely ambitious and brave magic show. 14 robots on stage, built and programmed by Charlie himself! Charlie's past shows have been a highlight of my previous visits to the Fringe, and this show was no exception. An eye-opening story of what the future may hold for us with robots and machines becoming ever more intelligent, I can't wait to see where this show goes.
Kevin Quantum: Vanishing Point combines science and magic in a different way to Charlie. The show begins with a breathtaking opening - a life-sized demonstration of the harmonic pendulum. You may recognise it as a desktop toy, with little silver balls on different lengths of string, swaying in and out of sync with each other. Kevin's huge scaled up version fills the stage, providing an amazing visual which results in a hypnotising and beautiful finale.
Phil Ellis Is Ready for the Big Time - Phil became an Edinburgh favourite in 2014 with Funz and Gamez - a kids show, which was just as much for the adults! This show is not for kids... an hour filled with craziness, including a couple of brilliant moments that really break the mould of what you'd expect to see from a comic at the Festival.
Tom Crosbie: Nerd Time's A Charm. The self-proclaimed 'performing nerd', this is a lovely show themed around four geniuses of the past, with incredible demonstrations of skill, nerdiness and of course, seemingly impossible feats of Rubik's cube solving with probably the most photographed ending of any show at the Festival!
Bubble Show for Adults Only showcases the 'Bubble Laboratory' who create some truly magical bubbles, combined with some more adult moments... not for the faint-hearted!
Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical - is exactly that... Six performers improvising a musical based on suggestions shouted out by the audience, together with a live band! Great fun with an extremely talented cast.
The Chore of Enchantment is a powerful piece of theatre from Vincent Gambini, a magician who is "disillusioned with illusions and struggling with 'magician's block'". Vincent takes us on the journey of a professional magician, dancing through the minefield of being stuck repeating the same tricks night after night, while also trying to push magic forward from the 1980's. Vincent demonstrates how these difficulties can affect a performer, showcasing some astonishing moments of pure magic, muted by his ongoing struggle of searching for wonder.