If you were to ask every magician performing at Edinburgh Fringe who their favourite magician performing at Edinburgh Fringe is, you could expect the majority of them to respond in a heartbeat – Charlie Caper. A legend among his own ilk, Caper is renowned for being one of the world’s leading street magicians, and also boasts spending five years as the only magician to have ever won a Got Talent series in the world (Sweden’s Got Talent, 2009).
His every inflection and slightest hand movement is out of this world.
Over half of his show is comprised of his stunningly well-honed street performances – but don’t be put off if you’ve seen other magicians performing in the street, this is of the highest calibre and translates perfectly well to the stage and Caper delivers it in his inimitable style. His every inflection and slightest movement is out of this world, with countless funny one-liners and off-the-cuff remarks. His sleight of hand skills are jaw-dropping and the audience is oblivious to his secret movements, even as he repeats the same effect a dozen times during the show. At times, Caper does feel slightly underprepared, as he continues rigging props during the show and appearing to decide on some material to perform spontaneously, but he carries it by ad libbing perfectly well on auto-pilot and it never gets awkward.
The highlight here is undoubtedly Roy the Robot – a remarkable piece of technology that Caper designed and created himself, and has all the potential to revolutionise the world of magic as we know it. This may seem hyperbolic but it’s no understatement: you really must witness it to comprehend the wonderment of his achievement, because I’m not going to spoil it for you here. But trust me, the show is worth your time for Roy alone.
If you saw Artificial Intelligence, Caper’s show last year in the same venue, I’m afraid there’s not enough new material to reward your loyalty – although for magic enthusiasts, he is always worthy of repeat viewings, even within the same Fringe. Appealing to magic fans of all ages, if you’re a parent looking to take your child to their first magic show then this one is your dream come true. A healthy balance of street magic in its highest order, with breathtakingly innovative technology, perfect patter and to top it off, it’s on the PBH Free Fringe which means you can go in for free and pay what you feel the show deserves at the end.
