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Edinburgh International Magic Festival
July 2012
This year’s Festival [2012] enjoyed another year of growth, doubling its ticket
sales since launching in 2010, proving once more that there is a real demand for
quality live magic in the UK.
A newly introduced ‘Gala Preview’ at The Royal Lyceum Theatre opened the
Festival followed by the ‘Opening Night Magic and Variety Gala’ attended by
Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop. The sell-out
Gala show saw performances from Voronin (Ukraine. photo), Les Chapeaux Blancs
(France), Jeton (Germany), Drew McAdam (Scotland), Pierre Xamin (France) and Vox
Motus (Scotland).
The hugely anticipated sell-out ‘Four Nations Magic-Off’ closed the Festival, at
its new venue ‘Traverse Bar Cafe’, with the UK’s top comedy magicians fighting
it out to be crowned the winner.
Organisers were proud to bring the UK premier of Voyageurs Egarés to the
Capital. One of this year’s success stories, the production, by two award
winning French Magicians Jérôme Helfenstein and Claude Brun, was an hour long
fun magic play packed full of illusions, circus skills, video technology and
shadow arts… there's been nothing else quite like it in any of the MagicFest
programmes.
Ukrainian magician Maestro Voronin was presented with the ‘Great Lafayette
Award’, a worldwide award in honour of the Great Lafayette who created the most
spectacular live magic shows of his time. Maestro Voronin was one of the first
magicians to bring his act to the west after the breakup of the USSR and is the
Artistic Director of Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco and Seattle. Voronin said;
“I am very excited by this Festival, now and for the future. It is run by a
young team with great vision and a passion for innovative magic shows.”
Close-up Magic proved a popular genre this year with 2 shows selling out for the
full 7 day run. The sell-out Street Magic Master Class and 5-Day Magic School
once again proved such a hit with the kids of Edinburgh that next year
organisers are planning to expand the Master Classes.
The prestigious sleight of hand competition ‘War of the Wizards’ attracted
competitors from all over the world and was hotly contested. Beating of stiff
competition to win a year’s mentoring by MagicFest Artist Director Kevin
McMahon, the under 18 winner, Adam Black from Dunblane, first started to learn
magic after seeing Kevin performing at Stirling Castle four years ago. The over
18 winner, Australian magician Tony Roberts, said; “The competition was a great
experience, I am proud to win and really looking forward to being a part of the
Festival next year."
MagicFest Artistic Director, Kevin McMahon says; “All Festival shows had
successful runs and received great reviews and audience feedback. We are very
pleased that all the new formats we tried this year including 5-Day Magic
School, Street Magic Master Class and the Gala Preview worked out really well
and we’re excited about bringing them back next year along with some other
innovative events.
“We see Magic as the ‘Art of the Impossible’ that shows you the world in a
wonderfully diverse way and challenges you to see things differently.”
The Edinburgh International Magic Festival received great support from many new
and existing sponsors and this year benefitted from the New Arts Sponsorship
Scheme funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Arts and Business
Scotland. In addition to receiving rave reviews from the press, Cabinet
Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop tweeted “mesmerising,
fun, theatrical variety at its best.”
MagicFest Managing Director Svetlana McMahon said: “We are delighted at the
increase in ticket sales this year and we’re very grateful for all the support
that the festival received. Going forward it is essential for us to further
develop partnerships with businesses and cultural agencies and funds in order to
sustain and develop this unique event which will benefit Edinburgh and spotlight
the Art of Magic, like no other event, on a national scale.”
© Edinburgh International Magic Festival, July 2012