1. James Phelan: Showman — Underbelly's Circus Hub on the Meadows, 5.15pm
This is the show to see this year, and Phelan comes with the kind of momentum that you can't fake - two sold-out West End runs at the Adelphi Theatre and Underbelly Boulevard, a huge theatre tour, and the distinction of being the first magician ever to sell out a two-week solo run at The Magic Circle.
It's fair to say James is magic's brightest rising star and his reviews reflect that with Edinburgh Weekly calling him 'Edinburgh's new king of magic'.
It's special. Along-side amazing magic, Phelan performs with a warmth, showmanship and charm that is sadly uncommon among magicians, and is enhanced by his high-end production values in one of the Fringe's most beautiful spaces.
2. Mario the Maker Magician — Underbelly, Bristo Square, 11.00am
I love Mario the Maker and this is what magic should feel like. Many people have seen Mario's show over the last few years, and despite it being a kids show, I've never once heard anyone not enjoy it. There's a reason: this isn't a magic show you politely watch, it's one you get swept into.
Mario builds his own robots, does slapstick like a silent-film clown, and somehow makes card tricks and homemade contraptions feel like the same act of wonder. He's been on The Tonight Show, Sesame Street and toured with David Blaine, who's called him "the best kids magician in the world" — but the reviews that matter are the ones from parents who say they laughed as hard as their kids did. It's chaos, but disciplined chaos, and the warmth underneath it is real.
Take the kids or go on your own, either way you'll have a great time.
3. Ben Hart: The Labyrinth — Assembly George Square Gardens, 6.20pm
Ben Hart is great. He is the magician (or is it Witch?) other magicians go and watch, with fans including Dynamo and Penn & Teller he has pedigree. His shows have a literary, slightly unsettling quality — less "look what I can do" and more "let me take you somewhere."
I first saw Ben's show in 2018 and I've been a fan ever since. The Labyrinth leans into atmosphere and storytelling rather than big reveals, and beautiful production, which makes it a good pick for anyone who finds standard magic-show patter a bit much. This is the one you think about on the walk home.
4. Colin Cloud: Hoax — Pleasance Grand, 7.30pm
Cloud has been a staple at the Fringe for well over a decade. A Scottish local, earning his reputation the hard way - America's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent's Ultimate Magician, and his Fringe shows have sold out and placed in the top three of over 4,000 acts in past years.
Hoax is his newest, built around his typical mentalism and mind-reading material and the unsettling question of how easily belief can be manipulated. It's usually smart, a little uncomfortable, and exactly the kind of show that generates queues and word-of-mouth by week two.
5. Charlie Caper: Magical — PBH's Free Fringe, 6.30pm
Caper is one of the most travelled magicians alive — 70-plus countries, and now he returns to the Liquid Room with his ever popular street show that blends old-school sleight of hand with his love of robotics research (he spent his pandemic downtime as CCO of a robotics company, which tells you this isn't a gimmick bolted on). Previous Edinburgh, Adelaide and Perth audiences have already rated it five stars across the board. It's the show for anyone who wants magic that feels polished, nostalgic and charming whilst revitalising the classics.
6. Andrew Frost: Just Let Me Have This — Pleasance Baby Grand, 3.25pm
Frost has the kind of endorsements that you can't buy — Derren Brown calling him "a brilliant magician," David Blaine calling him "a phenomenon." The show's premise is a bit meta: he just wants to do a fun card magic show, but the audience keeps trying to work out how he's doing it, so he has to escalate. It's funny and technically sharp in a way that rewards people who think they already know how card magic works.
7. David Alnwick: Objectively the Best Magician — PBH's Free Fringe, 1.30pm
Alnwick's been doing this at the Fringe for fifteen years, and it shows in the best way — this is a magician who's completely at ease riffing with a crowd. He's built a reputation as one of the funniest performers in comedy-magic specifically, with reviewers repeatedly calling him "the most spontaneously funny magician on the Fringe."
It's a free show, which makes it an easy, low-stakes way to fill an afternoon slot and walk away pleasantly surprised.
8. Tom Brace: The Tom Brace Magic Hour — Pleasance Dome, 4.50pm
Brace is one of those dependable Fringe names you build a day around — not flashy in the way some of the bigger names are, but consistently polished, funny and well-liked year after year. If you want a show that's a safe bet rather than a gamble, this is it.
9. 1 Hour of Insane Magic — Gilded Balloon at Teviot, 5.30pm
These boys have been on quite a journey over the last three or four years and are riding real momentum into Edinburgh this year. Whilst not being the most polished or high-end magic show, it is bankable, you can trust it and it has a youthful cheekiness that means it had a huge Adelaide Fringe 2026, selling out crowds, and finishing with amazing ratings for the entire festival.
It's built for a big room and big reactions rather than intimate close-up work, so go in expecting spectacle over subtlety.
10. Oliver Tabor: Magical Maestro — theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall, 11.50am
Tabor's been a fixture of UK magic for decades, at the helm of London's longest running magic show 'West End Magic', and this show fuses live music with illusion in a way that's genuinely distinct from the rest of the list. It's a gentler, earlier-in-the-day slot, and a good palate-cleanser if you've been to a few high-energy shows already and want something more elegant.
Social Media
Search