Set in the exuberant class of The Royal Scots Club, the highly esteemed Magic Awareness Society has gathered to instil the law – magic is banned and has been for decades.
In this meeting we are informed on the dangers of magic, the tricks magicians historically used, and the ways in which we could be coerced by them today. Ironically being performed on the final night of the Edinburgh International Magic Festival, it is soon revealed to us that this meeting is a ruse. In fact, this meeting is a resistance – we are here to oppose the ban on magic and once again be filled with wonder.
Leading this show is Tim Licata, accompanied by his right-hand man Dan Bastianelli. Both magicians are clearly very well experienced, dedicating a large amount of focus on the performance element of the show. With Licata hosting the evening, his magic wasn’t the focus of the event, rather his acting was. Despite not formally being an actor, Licata gave a convincing performance as the cautious but passionate leader of the resistance. We did however see him perform a very flamboyant magic set pulled from the archives from before magic was banned. I was entirely amused by his ribbon waving set to the sounds of the 70s. Bastianelli played the silent and gruff assistant to Licata, delivering a comedic and characterful performance without even saying a word.
As the performance progressed and it was established this was a resistance group, a number of magicians, including Bastianelli, entered in dark masks. Each magician was stationed at a different table of guests (each table with seven guests around it) and then proceeded to perform their mini sets. The initial impact of their entrance was powerful but with four or five magicians all performing at once it became a strain to hear the magicians at times.
On finishing their set, each magician exited to then re-enter, this time going to a different table. As the sets were varying in length, certain tables were left in silence waiting for the next rotation which did feel slightly awkward and with three rotations we did not get to see each magician perform which was slightly disappointing. However, each magician we did see presented us with mind-blowing tricks which were simply unfathomable.
As I was sat almost perpendicular to the table, some of the sleight of hand tricks were visible to me, but even so, I could never comprehend the end result of the tricks. So, although the illusions were slightly broken at points, the tricks still held up their flair.
As the magic was close-up, there was a great deal of audience participation with two of the magicians we saw even giving away a personalised card from their routine to some of us. Elliot Bibby’s routine struck me especially, and on giving us a souvenir card, he even had a plastic wallet for the card to preserve it which I thought was a lovely touch.
During the final rotation of magicians, we were rumbled by a government raid on the meeting. The magicians fled and Licata gave one final, stirring monologue, urging us to keep the wonder we had found that day. In one impressive vanishing act he was gone, leaving us to return to the outside world.
While this show held promise, it was slightly let down by the formatting of the show, but with some adjustments to the functioning of it, this certainly could be a refreshingly creative performance. I certainly was still very much struck by the skill of each magician and look forward to seeing this show be developed further.
Reviewer: Jessie Martin
Reviewed: 30th December 2025
North West End UK Rating: