From Harry Houdini to J K Rowling – Edinburgh’s own international star Kevin Quantum – is inviting audiences to see if they can explain the tricks which baffled some of the world’s sharpest and most magical minds in his new show in partnership with The Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian.
Much of the magic has strong links to the city and Scotland and includes tricks rediscovered and recreated by Kevin after reading century-old newspaper accounts and Magic Circle meeting minutes.
There’s even a royal touch as he also performs the “cups and balls” trick used back in 1975 by Prince (now King) Charles to gain admission to the Magic Circle.
Edinburgh Magic takes place in the elegant and intimate surroundings of the Versailles Suite within The Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian – with numbers limited to 30, allowing audiences to see (almost) every move Kevin makes.
Kevin said: “Magic is all about the inexplicable. And some of the best tricks are the ones that magically minded people can’t explain.
“I’d love you to join me for a show where you can see if you too would be fooled by the tricks that baffled the likes of Houdini and J K Rowling.
“Guests will be seated within a few feet of me and there will be no stage, big props or bright theatre spotlights, so you can follow everything I do.
“Much of what you will see has strong associations with Edinburgh – a city where magical traditions stretch back for centuries.”
Houdini, who performed around 100 times in Scotland (around half the time in Edinburgh), was so sharply perceptive that he claimed to be able to explain how any magic trick was done after watching it once – at the most twice.
When a young card magician called Dai Vernon put him to the test with a card trick based on sleight of hand from the underground world of card game hustling, Houdini had to admit defeat. Can you do any better?
And when Kevin Quantum levitated a bank note at a celebrity-studded party attended by J K Rowling a decade ago, even the inventor of Harry Potter had no idea how it was done.
In some cases, Kevin searched back through minutes from Magic Circle meetings and through century-old newspaper stories in order to find and recreate fascinating tricks from the past.
Edinburgh Magic has a limited run, taking place on most Saturday evenings 6 May to 8 July.
Those who book front and second row tickets will be treated to a complementary glass of prosecco on arrival. While there’s no strict code, elegant evening attire is encouraged.
Edinburgh’s history of magic
• In centuries gone by magic was a source of fear rather than fun – as the horrors of the witchcraft trials and executions at Edinburgh Castle testify.
• In 1670 the respected, pious Major Thomas Weir was tried and executed after surprising city society by claiming to have lived a life of vice and sorcery. Tales about him became increasingly strange, including that he had a magical staff which ran errands for him.
• Changing times saw magic become popular entertainment, with crowds packing theatres to see the likes of Harry Houdini – who in 1913 accepted a challenge from city police and escaped from their custom-made leather and canvas “insane restraint bag”.
• Just as famous as Houdini was the illusionist The Great Lafayette. At the height of his fame, in 1911, he was entertaining an audience of 3,000 at Edinburgh’s Empire Palace Theatre when fire broke out. After initially escaping the blaze he rushed back in and was among those who died. He is buried in Piershill cemetery along with the remains of his beloved dog Beauty which had died not long before.
• Edinburgh was the birthplace and home of Charles Cameron (1927-2001) the godfather of Bizarre Magic (which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic), who also ran the Edinburgh Wax Museum.
• The city today is famous as the place where J K Rowling conjured up Harry Potter, and boasts everything from magic shops to a magic potions tavern.
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