It's Magic

It might surprise you, but we have been known to dabble with the odd festival here in the capital. I didn’t believe it at first either.

And now, before your very eyes.......Abracadabra! Another has been pulled out of the hat! The city that gave birth to school boy wizard Harry Potter, now looks set to host an annual Magic Festival, starting this summer from 7th-11th July.

We spoke to some of the performers to find out  why they think there is still some mystery left in that shiny black hat.

Matthew Dowden, 30, has performed his magic and sleight of hand tricks around the world but reckons Edinburgh is the perfect place for the festival. “The people know how to handle it, they're up for it and ready to be entertained.” 

His show Some Enchanted Evening, is inspired by an unlikely combination of stage performers, from the charismatic to the comedic. “I’m very much a fan of older magicians, especially Fred Kaps, a Dutchman who had a great sense of humour. I also draw inspiration from classic entertainers like Dean Martin, and Morecambe and Wise...anyone you can watch from 50 years ago and still laugh at is really inspiring.”

“With this show I’d like to bring classic entertainment to a modern audience. I want to remind them that classic magic is still as strong as it ever was. I enjoy performing it and I want to share that.” 

When asked about what makes his show stand out, Dowden tells me he does not like “bigging himself up”, instead he promises to “bring a bit of the glamour and showbiz back to the magic”. 

Drew McAdam has been messing with heads for years and hopes An Evening of Mindplay will not only leave his audience baffled, but inspired. “I’d like to introduce audiences to a whole new world in which they appreciate just how powerful the human mind – THEIR mind – actually is, and that they are capable of far more than they ever thought possible.” 

The 55-year-old from West Calder will perform memory feats, describe childhood memories belonging to audience members and even stop his own pulse. 

McAdam, who originally dappled in psychic phenomena as a youngster to get girls (something he claims never worked) does not consider himself a showman but an “ordinary bloke who has learned to do some extraordinary things.” 

“As a mind reader I love the fact that what I do is so personal to the person with whom I’m working. If you tell somebody the name of the first person they kissed, or the name of their first pet, it’s extremely meaningful to them as an individual.” 

At 23, Colin McLeod is the youngest performer of the festival but is already tipped to be the next Derren Brown. 

At  ten years old, Colin’s interest in mind reading was kindled with Sherlock Holmes’ ability to extract information without knowing much. 

With his show, simply entitled I Know, he hopes to “freak people out in a big way and leave them wondering if what they've just seen was real mind reading.” 

Having performed at the Fringe over the last two years, Colin’s shows are developing and this year he plans to teach the audience how to read minds themselves. 

 “What I'm aiming to do is to help with the festival’s objective, to give magic a good name and bring it to a bigger audience, so it’s not cringey, but actually very exciting and incredible to watch.” 

Injecting humour into his performance is also a crucial. “With the comedy I use, it lightens up the mood. I identify myself most closely with psychics, and injecting that humour kind of helps me stand out.”

Over 3000 people are expected to be spellbound by a variety of acts over the 5 days, which includes a Harry Potter style magic school, Magic cinema, Mind reading, a War of The Wizards competition and a special event by BBC’s The Real Hustle star Paul Wilson.

Despite dramatically rising in popularity over the past few years thanks to the likes of Derren Brown and David Blaine, magic is sadly nudged aside during the Fringe by theatre and comedy.

The Magic Festival aims to shuffle the artform back into the spotlight and reinvigorate a sense of wonder and illusion to the public show

It will also entice more people to visit the city and experience its own magical qualities. A VisitScotland spokeswoman has said: "Everyone is fascinated by magic, regardless of age, and the programme should be a great draw for visitors and also people in Scotland with some fantastic performances and competitions."