Five of the best magic shows at 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

• Brian Donaldson
• 25 July 2012

This article is from 2012.

Middlesborough's number one magic man brings Hoodwinker to the Edinburgh Fringe this year

Sleight of hand and scary tricks are the chosen paths for these Fringe acts

Pete Firman

Middlesborough’s number one magic man and author of Tricks to Freak Out Your Friends, Firman will be a Hoodwinker this August. Expect an hour of highly impressive/potentially quease-inducing illusions.
Courtyard, 556 6550, 4–26 Aug, 9.10pm, £12–£15 (£10.50–£13.50). Previews until 3 Aug, £6.

Peter Antoniou

Fancy a spot of afternoon mind-reading? Antoniou drives his Psychic Circus into your heads, the show dubbed a ‘Vaudeville 2.0 Sideshow for the Facebook generation’.
Apex International Hotel, 243 3596, 4-29 Aug (not 18, 25), 3.35pm, £8 (£6). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £5.

Chris Dugdale

He’s blown away Richard Branson, Angelina Jolie and that bloke from UB40 with his close-up magic antics and via 2 Faced Deception, you can join that hi-falutin’ club.
Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 4-27 Aug, 6.10pm, £11–£12 (£9.50-£10.50). Previews until 3 Aug, £6.

Alan Hudson

He’s got pigeon poo all over him in his publicity shot. Does this mean the joke is on him or you should drop all your preconceptions about what modern conjury is? Slide into his Not So Secret World of Magic to find out.
The Caves, 556 5375, 4-26 Aug (not 14), 4.55pm, £7–£19 (£5-£7). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £4.

Morgan & West

In Clockwork Miracles, the dynamic duo allow you access to their Victorian parlour to see how it’s all done. And if you can’t get enough of M&W’s afternoon schtick, they’re also doing Lying, Cheating Scoundrels, a midnight run of card-table scammery.
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 5–27 Aug (not 14), 4.30pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50-£9.50). Previews until 4 Aug, £6.