Review by Steve Bennett

Gruesome fakir tricks and blood-soaked illusions are pretty much a staple of the Fringe these days, with Barry and Stuart the latest exponents of this vaudevillian genre.

Powered By Demons certainly contains many of the tricks you’ll see at similar shows – providing you don’t hide your eyes behind your hand in disgust, that is – but the Scottish duo have an easy banter and a talent for showmanship.

Needles go through tongues, cheesewire goes through throats and pins go into eyelids in the ikkiest parts of the hour; though other routines are decidedly old-school – with no attempt at funny – such as ripping up a newspaper, then restoring it, or cutting a rope in two lengths that are at first equal, then not. They may be of music-hall vintage, but it’s still no easier to see how they’re done.

Their most impressive trick, though, is a sublime piece of stage hypnotism. Such things usually take elaborate set-ups on finding the most susceptible volunteers and putting them into a trance, but Barry and Stuart do it so quickly it’s almost imperceptible. It’s a frightening amount of power over people they have.

Most stunts are done with creative flair to match the technical skill. There’s an escapology-style display framed in entertaining Stuff and Nonsense about the venue being haunted; while the ‘swallowing a £20 note’ routine has a silly and extravagant payoff.

The comedy element extends little more than the light approach they take to their dark set-ups, but these affable young Scots have certainly produced a thoroughly entertaining hour of baffling illusion and gothic spectacle.

Review date: 17 Aug 2009
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett