Charlie Caper has one of the most likeable personalities going around. From the moment you step into the Umbrella Revolution in The Garden of Unearthly Delights, you are greeted by his warm smile and soft demeanour. Don’t let this fool you though – he is one of the most incredible sleight-of-hand magicians at this year’s Fringe.

Magical showcases Charlie at his best. It contains, among other things, card tricks, a new twist on the old cup-and-ball routine as well as some of Charlie’s own creations, including two tricks involving robots. The banter that accompanies the routines is light. Charlie keeps his script to a minimum so the focus is on the magic. This works brilliantly as it pulls the audiences into his tricks and at times his cheeky trickery. There is a great running gag throughout the whole show, that both makes you annoyed that you didn’t spot it sooner, and leaves you gasping in amazement whenever this particular trick is revealed…no, I’m not saying what it is; you need to go and see that for yourself.

In last year’s show, Charlie performed on the venue floor where the audience’s eyes were at trick height, or looking slightly down if you were seated at the back. This year, Charlie performs on a stage that is elevated above the audience’s eye line, which means if you are near the front, you may sneak a peek at some of his incredible sleight-of-hand at work.

This is a wonderful family magic show that is the perfect ending to a day of Fringing. There is something in this show for any age. Seeing the joy and smiles of disbelief on the families around me was priceless. Hopefully Charlie will return again, as I for one am hooked on this brilliant magician’s work.