A sneak peek at Adult’s Only Magic Show

Fresh off sell-out seasons at Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe Festival, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, comedy magicians Justin Williams and Sam Hume are headed back to Fringe World this summer with the hilarious Adult’s Only Magic Show. Get down to Lotterywest De Parel Spiegeltent at The Pleasure Garden from Friday, January 19, to Tuesday, February 1, for a rowdy night of raucous comedy, mind-bending illusions, stunningly dangerous stunts and a dash of cheeky nudity (get more info and tickets here). BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with the dynamic duo to find out what tricks they have up their sleeves.

It’s great to have you back for Fringe 2024! What big things have happened since you last hit our stages?

Since 2023, we have travelled the country and the world performing the show! Since Fringe World, we travelled to Adelaide for the Fringe there for a month in Gluttony, and then onto Melbourne Comedy Festival and eventually onto Edinburgh in the UK, where we performed 54 shows over 26 days! The show has undoubtedly continued to grow each and every season we do, and we can’t wait to run out on stage every single night.

How did you start out as a magic/comedy duo? Did you have similar ideas of what you wanted to do as performers when you started, or did it take some convincing?

We first met in 2012, when I was 12 and Justin was 19! Amazingly, we both had almost identical visions when it came to what we wanted in our shows and where we were hoping to grow to in the future. Since then, we have designed six different shows together that are constantly touring fringe circuits around the country and the globe while still maintaining the same focus to only want the best for our business!

You have taken the magic show all over the world. What have been the highlights of your travels?

Honestly, just the progression that I experience when reflecting between rehearsing with the two of us in my parent’s basement to performing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival is absolutely amazing! Performing magic has been our only ever jobs, and now that we are able to travel the country and the world doing what we love, it is a privilege that we will never ever take for granted!

Who were your favourite magicians growing up? And has their style influenced your own style of performing?

Our two favourite magicians were undoubtedly Penn & Teller! The way that they are constantly challenging, developing, and innovating the way that magic is performed and presented to the general public has always been inspiring for us in terms of how we perform our routines, continue to challenge the normality of magic, and keep presenting new and unique magic effects that our audiences have never seen before!

A show like this must be a little bit different each night, depending on the crowd and how the audience responds. What has been a time when you had to deal with an unexpected situation?

It definitely is! Our show incorporates many volunteers throughout the show, so naturally, there is a lot of variety and unexpected situations that come about! I think our most memorable times have always come from people who just fully embrace the stage and the routine we are doing, more or less becoming the stars of the show themselves! These moments are always unexpected but always welcome, as we love the individuality that comes with every single audience that we are able to perform for.

What’s next for you after Fringe World? Any big plans for the rest of 2024?

2024 is setting up to be even bigger and better than any other year we have ever done! We are, as usual, performing at the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festivals; however, we are debuting more shows under our company that are yet to be seen by a live audience! Afterwards, we are always looking to travel to as many different locations as possible, so we will definitely be exploring every opportunity that comes our way to travel and do what we love to do right around the globe.