ED2016 Cabaret ED2016 Three To See ED2016 Week0 Edition

Three To See 2016: Marvellous magic

By Caro Moses | Published on Saturday 30 July 2016

ThreeWeeks Co-Editor Caro Moses helps you navigate the Festival with her Three To See tips. This time some marvellous magic.

Laura London – Cheat | Voodoo Rooms | 6-28 Aug (pictured)
From what I have been told, Laura London is pretty much the only female sleight of hand card magician working today, and that’s interesting enough all by itself, but she’s also performing a show with a fascinating subject. ‘Cheat’ tells the story of Geraldine Hartmann, a card cheat from the 1920s, exploring her love affair with poker and the cheating techniques she used to part the unwitting from their cash. It also helpfully informs you how you too can cheat at cards.

Dave Alnwick – The Cult Of Dave | Voodoo Rooms | 6-28 Aug
When our ThreeWeeks reviewer saw this man’s show back at Edinburgh Festival 2011, we gave him full marks, a five star review, or five-out-of-five as it’s known around these parts, and our reviewer described at least one of his tricks as “jaw-dropping”. I’m trusting on the general assumption that the last five years have been kind to Dave Alnwick, and that his super-powers of trickery have therefore only increased. Oh, and the fact reviewers elsewhere continue to talk about what a brilliantly entertaining, unconventional and charismatic performer he is.

Die Magik Kunst | La Belle Angele | 6-28 Aug
Now, to be fair, this isn’t really a real magic show, but a parody of a magic show, a comedy homage to that overly theatrical Vegas style of magic. In their heyday, Grainger And Hans were stars of The Strip, but haven’t performed since their show closed in 1973. Now in their eighties, they are back for one last performance… which ounds like a recipe for lots of ageing make-up and physical comedy.

Photo: James Millar