The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street, 9.15pm, nightly (not Weds) until 27th August.
The swing music was loud on entering the ballroom at the Voodoo Rooms, and although modern, seemed to transport the audience to an age gone by.
The black background behind the stage twinkled with stars as we squeezed ourselves onto the small seats that were tied together in half rows of five (presumably to stop you from throwing them at the various acts that occupy the space every day of the Fringe from lunchtime till late.)
This particular act was part of PBH´s (Peter Buckley Hill´s) Free Fringe, which has more than three thousand shows being performed in this, its fourteenth year.
Paul Dabek has been awarded the title of ´Young Magician of the Year´ by the Magic Circle and it´s not hard to see why. While his jokes can be slightly cheesy, reminding one of stand up comics of old, he still has a contemporary edge and the magic itself is truly amazing.
Looking around at the audience and seeing the faces of his volunteers onstage (avoid the front row if you want to remain anonymous) I could see genuine awe at his sleight of hand.
Make no mistake, this man is a master of illusion and more than once my husband and I had jaw-dropping ´oh my god´ moments. It´s easy to forget to clap when stunned, but Paul reminded us all to do so on several occasions! It´s a comedy magic show and there are lots of laughs, as many at the magician´s expense as the audiences.
Being the Fringe, and especially the Free Fringe, there were late-comers and drunk people and hecklers, all of whom were dealt with with skill and aplomb.
The final part of the act was one of the most original and skilful things I´ve ever seen. If I said shadow hand puppetry to music you´d probably groan, but that stuff raised the roof.
It was beautifully done and had the wow factor all over it. If we´d paid anything to get in, that would have been worth the admission price alone!
Paul exited to roars of appreciation and as much applause as he could want. Oh, and on the subject of payment, this is a free show, but I´d recommend bringing notes to the performance.
He might do a magic trick with them, and coins scratch the collection tin you know.
The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street, 9.15pm, nightly (not Weds) until 27th August.
