The Poldark show was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend that you book to see this show. If you have not already read part I of this review, please start here before reading this part II about the support act.
The Poldark Show, on this occasion, started with support. It was only magician and creator Cavan Booth! Certainly, for any magicians, Cavan is a familiar name and face who mentors others and is known for his social media posts. He is also, of course, available for bookings and corporate work. An excellent booking by the Poldark team to have Cavan as support.
I should say that the support act for The Poldark Show tends to change and is advertised in advance. In the past, they have booked Angus Baskerville and currently also have Billy Kidd performing some show dates along with Cavan for a few shows.
Cavan performed a decent set lasting about 50 minutes, before the interval and the main Poldark show. So while I already knew who Cavan was and I have watched and followed his YouTube videos, I was curious to see him actually perform live. What would his style be like and would he be any good?
I really liked his performance style, and he was funny while confidently working through his set that mainly comprised of mentalism while using playing cards, a cube, and some other various props. I do enjoy watching mentalism performed by artists like Cavan as the techniques used do fool. Cavan openly admits that he does not have the ability to read minds and it is all trickery. A very interactive and enjoyable show with many audience members helping him. He is cheeky but fun in his style and makes the audience believe that they are in on certain jokes/humour, to only then prove the audience wrong by creating unexpected reveals. An amiable character.
I do dread a little every time when a certain prop appears – the Rubik’s cube! Many magicians have incorporated cube work into their acts as it does always go down well with audiences. However, I have to remember that I do see a lot of magic and what may be repetitive to me can be a brand new first-time experience for others. Thankfully, Cavan’s cube routine was very impressive and clever and not something that you see as much on stage. There is a partial clue as to what happens in the pictures below.
I know Cavan is a busy working magician with private bookings, so to get to see him perform in a theatre outside of his Edinburgh Fringe appearances this year was a good opportunity. I understand he is Manchester-based, so as I am in the Midlands, I have had fewer opportunities to see him perform. If you are going to Edinburgh this year, he does have a show and based on what I saw, I am sure it will be very good.
Cavan received an excellent reception from the audience and many wanted to meet him. Like all decent magicians, he took the time to meet the audience during the interval. This worked out nicely as I got a moment to chat, have a selfie, and get a playing card signed for my collection (I collect signed playing cards by magicians and the count is 97 personally signed cards).
Thank you to Cavan for the excellent show and spending some time to chat. It was good to talk magic.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-honest-magician
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