Review by Steve Bennett

A lot of people seem to be completely taken in by this show. Not, presumably, in believing that these two young Scottish tricksters are genuine necromancers, summoning up evil spirits, but in that they become so thoroughly absorbed by the horror-movie aesthetics, they experience genuine shock at what occurs.

But, in reality, it amounts to some stage hypnotism, a few mid-range magic tricks and a couple of fantastic ones, but all brilliantly packaged in the dark theatricality of the séance.

Barry and Stuart make it abundantly clear they are sceptics, debunking some of the psychological tricks that convince people they might have witnessed something supernatural, such as voices in radio static. They are affable, sometimes witty, guides through the history of spiritualism and mythical creatures such as the Sandman (which I kept mishearing as ‘sound man’ which made the whole thing a lot less spooky, even though some of these tecchies can, admittedly, be a bit weird).

This preamble is the equivalent of checking the knots in an escapology stunt, getting the audience to concentrate on exactly what the conjurors want you to concentrate on.

As we delve deeper into the mock séance, volunteers are genuinely discombobulated by what they witness, and as we move towards the finale – the details of which the audience are all urged not to disclose – the illusions become more impressive and, to some, more believable. There is no denying the wow factor here, as you wonder how they could possibly have done that, but you get the same with fellow Fringe magician Ali Cook but without all the diabolical whistles and bells.

For many, the experience was much deeper than being astonished, and for them this would surely be a five-star show (as some reviewers have already deemed it). For the rest of us, it’s simply a bit of gothic fun.

Review date: 14 Aug 2010
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett