Edinburgh’s MagicFest is preparing to welcome World Champion of Magic Héctor Mancha and a host of other top performers as its second week gets underway.
Among the festival’s many superb shows will be Hogmanay House which brings together magicians, musicians, storytellers and others for a celebration of Scotland’s remarkable, and often ancient, New Year traditions.
And then there’s Future Magicians, five teenage sorcerers with ambitions to become the next generation of top performers and who have been specially mentored by leading professionals, take to the stage for the first time.
Kevin Quantum, international magician and co-founder of MagicFest (the Edinburgh International Festival of Magic), said: “The first half of MagicFest went superbly well and we are now looking forward to a brilliant second week with a really wide variety of entertainment.
“This is the biggest event of its kind in Europe, and there’s nothing else like it in the rest of the UK – a chance to sit back, have fun and be amazed by some of the best national and international magicians.
“We’re especially looking forward to welcoming Héctor Mancha, who is not only a world champion magician, but has an infectious sense of silliness that makes his shows an absolute joy.”
Héctor will be presenting two different shows, The Magician is Here … You! in which it’s the audience who end up doing the magic and This Is Not Magic in which he reveals some of the secrets behind seemingly impossible feats.
He said: “I am really looking to performing in Edinburgh – I think that right now people really want the chance to get out, forget everything that’s going on in the world, and just enjoy themselves.”
Héctor is a specialist in card magic, comedy, object manipulation and pickpocketing.
A measure of Héctor’s talent is that he is the winner of major national and international awards despite the fact that he splits his time between being a magician and working as a fireman.
He said: “As I was growing up I had two ambitions, one was to be a magician and the other was to be a superhero. I love being a firemen, and think it’s about as close as someone can get to being a superhero in real life, and I really enjoy comedy and entertaining people as a magician. So I guess I’ve achieved both my ambitions.”
Top shows for week two of MagicFest 2022 include
- Hogmanay House: Discover Scotland’s Hogmanay traditions in a joyous theatre show with live music, storytelling, magic and comedy. Hogmanay House makes merry with black buns, lumps of coal, first footing, tall dark strangers and a very strange dance with a herring.Featuring singer/songwriter Ainsley Hamill, mind-reader Drew McAdam, storyteller Andy Cannon, magician Lewis Barlow and composer/musician Ron Jappy.
- Héctor Mancha, This is not Magic: World Champion of Magic and Spain’s national champion entertains with card magic, comedy, manipulation, parlour magic, hand shadows and storytelling. And it’s the only show where all the tricks are explained.
- Lewis Barlow, The Way of the Magician: Shrouded in secrecy and mystery, the Way of the Magician is solitary yet fascinating. This internationally-acclaimed magician will take you on a journey to the essence of the accomplished conjurer.
- Billy Reid, Watch Closely: A spellbinding evening of sleight-of-hand magic and storytelling. Cards transform into a rainbow, sweets appear from thin air. The ★★★★★ show concludes with Reid’s signature Caledonia routine – the most beautiful card trick in the world.
- Magic Gareth, Magic Eye: Kick-ass, eye-bending magic and a whole load of nonsense – plus balloons. Magic Gareth’s brand new rip-roaring family show features games, gifts and a whole load of silliness.
- Tricky Ricky, Me, My Elf and I: The Trickster returns with a new festive fun show starring Eddie Knox The Elf In The Box. Mischievous rabbit Sonny the Bunny adds madness and mayhem. Tricky Ricky will have you laughing your Christmas Socks off.
- Hector Mancha, The Magician is Here – You: Join World Champion of Magic, Hector Mancha, this time for a family-friendly show where the audience does the magic.
Festival workshops include:
- Magic School: Great Christmas gift for sorcerers aged 7-10. Learn to perform magic and create your own, then join a 2.5-hour workshop with magician and Magic School headmaster Gary James. In partnership Deaf Action and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
- Balloon Twisting Workshop with Magic Gareth: A fun and interactive session learning to bend, twist and create amazing balloon models with Gareth White (Magic Gareth).
-Ends-
Notes for editors
- MagicFest looks forward to welcoming Ukrainian refugee families to Hogmanay House on 30 December after working with the Ukrainian Community Centre to distribute free tickets.
MagicFest 2022
- The festival is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council, Creative Scotland and Kiran’s Trust.
- Virtual Magic School is supported by Baillie Gifford, Kiran’s Trust and through Creative Scotland as part of the Creative Digital Initiative, funded by the Scottish Government.
- For full festival details see www.magicfest.co.uk.
Bookings
- Online: www.magicfest.co.uk
- Phone: 0131 226 0006
- In person: The Fringe Box Office 180 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1QS. Monday-Friday 10.30am-5.30pm.
- Booking lines are open till 20 December, Monday-Friday 10am-6pm. During the holiday, email [email protected]
- Tickets can be purchased on the day from the festival venues, subject to availability.
- A booking fee of £1.50 per transaction is applied to all online and phone bookings.
Concessions are available for full-time students, senior citizens (65 and over), under 16s (unless a child ticket is available), disabled patrons (companions go free).
If you require a wheelchair access or a complimentary companion ticket, please call our box office to book over the phone on 0131 226 0006. Group discounts are available for groups of over 10 people. Please phone 0131 226 0006 for more information.
About Héctor Mancha
Héctor is a multidisciplinary artist specialising in card magic, comedy, object manipulation, parlour magic, stage theft (pickpocketing), hand shadows, story-telling and improvisation.
welcome (even those who like pineapple on their pizza)
Official Awards:
– WORLD CHAMPION OF MAGIC MANIPULATION
– WORLD CHAMPION OF MAGIC GRAND PRIX
– NATIONAL CHAMPION OF MAGIC IN SPAIN
– NATIONAL CHAMPION OF MAGIC INVENTIONS IN SPAIN
– NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPION OF MAGIC
– MAGICIAN OF THE YEAR IN SPAIN (ASCANIO´S AWARD).
About Edinburgh International Magic Festival
- The festival is a not-for-profit organisation founded and managed by event producer Svetlana McMahon and magician Kevin Quantum.
- The festival promotes magic as an art form and celebrates the limitless possibilities of human imagination.
- Since conception in 2010 MagicFest has welcomed over 70,000 visitors and is Europe’s biggest festival of its kind.
- MagicFest is leading the charge in the newly developing market of magic festivals appearing around the world, and aims to be the world leader in programming and producing innovative and cutting edge magic.
- The programme is balanced to reflect the best and most exciting magic from around the world alongside the very best in home grown work, aiming to amaze, inspire, provoke and entertain.
- The festival is also producing new work which celebrates Edinburgh’s unique historic environment and cultural heritage in innovative and exciting way.
Twitter: @MagicFest
Facebook: @edmagicfest
Instagram: @edmagicfest
About Creative Scotland
- Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland.
About Kiran’s Trust
Kiran Martin died at the age of 18 from a brain tumour in 2008. Kiran was one of these very creative, fun loving and magical people you meet every now and then, and she will never be forgotten. Kiran’s Trust was founded on her birthday, 9th October, in 2009, as way of giving thanks for her life and celebrating the creative arts and sports, which she held dear. The Trust recognises this passion in other young people and provides support to help them advance in further education and participation in these areas. www.kiranstrust.org
For media information contact Matthew Shelley on 07786 704299 or at [email protected].