Edinburgh International Magic Festival launched

This article is from 2010.

Edinburgh welcomed a new addition to its festival calendar on Tuesday night: the first ever Edinburgh International Magic Festival was launched at The Scottish Book Trust, just off the Royal Mile.

It was a very swanky affair, with a few neat flourishes – a pile of top hats in the corner tipped a wink to Christian Bale-starring film The Prestige, one of several magic-themed movies to be screening throughout the fest. Several performers were on hand to entertain; one of them Drew McAdam - a man who proudly boasts of being Trisha Goddard’s ‘human lie detector’ - was on hand to show off his faux-psychic skills. McAdam admits that the majority of what he does depends on reading body language and implanting subliminal suggestions – to find out how, you’ll have to see the show.

Comedy magician John Archer was also in attendance, showing off numerous sleight-of-hand tricks and performing amazing illusions, including swallowing an inflated five foot balloon in one go. Lewis Barlow was content to take a different tack, performing masterful card trickery with a slightly nervous air, a charming antidote to the usual showman’s bravado with which many musicians carry off their act.

With psychics, comics, classic card-tricksters and even magician’s workshops, the Edinburgh International Magic Festival has something up its sleeve for everyone.

Edinburgh International Magic festival, various venues, Wed 7 – Sun 11 Jul. See www.magicfest.co.uk for more details.