Confessions of a Magician by Pierre Ulric @ Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Award-winning magician Pierre Ulric has brought his show Confessions of a Magician to Fringe, and it has found its home at Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den for the duration of this season. The performance space was intimate, the stage emulating the classic comedy club setup, right down to the faded brick wall and lone microphone stand. There were a scattering of various props on stage, with most being covered by black sheets for an added element of mystery.
The lights and sound also played a large part in creating a moody and mystical atmosphere and were executed and designed beautifully. The show was a combination of impressive magic tricks that accompanied ‘confession’ segments, where the audience became privy to some small tricks of the trade that help magicians pull them off. Ulric has the marvellous ability to share tidbits of how magicians become masters of deception without spoiling the wonder and magic of the tricks one bit.
The execution of each trick was spellbinding, garnering countless gasps, applause and genuine squeals of delight. Most of the tricks were tied into some comedic back and forth between Ulric and the audience, with an impressive amount of them requiring volunteers from the audience. The audience participation helped Ulric build a fast rapport with the crowd, making them feel like they were all working together to execute each trick.
The most astonishing trick of the night was the finale – where Ulric asked an audience member to blindfold him using a variety of different items that made it impossible for him to peek through. He then had them pass a playing card through the audience and whoever had the card when he said stop was required to walk on stage and put their hand on his shoulder… any more information would amount to a spoiler, but be assured the audience gave thunderous applause after this final trick, many of whom had spent the entire hour with their jaws on the floor in amazement, and it is definitely worth the price of a ticket for this trick alone.
Ulric is both a phenomenal magician and showman, and came out to the lounge once he had packed up after the show to meet everyone and have a chat. Pierre Ulric would give Copperfield himself a run for his money, and it would be a true Fringe crime to not see this show immediately.
SAMANTHA FERGUSON
