KEVIN QUANTUM: UNBELIEVABLE MAGIC FOR NON-BELIEVERS
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
★★½
“Quantum is a charismatic and sincere showman, and his predictive powers are the most impressive parts of the show”
Kevin Quantum’s Unbelievable Magic for Non-Believers is a show that dares its audience to believe in the power of fate and leave their cynicism at the door. Marketed as a fusion of science and magic, magician Kevin Quantum performs a range of tricks, as well as enlisting the help of audience members, but despite the obvious skill that has gone into devising and executing the show, it’s missing that wow-factor that can turn non-believers into believers.
The show’s main set-piece is the Tesla coil, which zaps electricity from one rod to the other; he advertises himself as a scientist-cum-magician. It’s a very cool piece of kit, but doesn’t really feature in the show enough to feel like its implied significance at the beginning of the show is justified. And the trick Quantum performs with the coil doesn’t feel so much mind-blowing magic as year 9 physics class, although I do salute his faith in the power of grounding. Really, the show’s biggest themes are fate and family: Quantum sombrely tells the story of a friend’s narrowly missed airplane tragedy, which feels like a bit of a left-turn when juxtaposed with the sillier magic of the show’s first half. But it’s revisited later in a way that’s touching and adds a note of sincerity not normally seen in magic shows, and I wonder whether the show would have been better advertised with these themes in mind.
There’s also a fun bit of audience participation that does a great job of creating energy and camaraderie within the crowd, although it might have been a bit too long a trick for the payoff to feel suitably climactic, and puts too much faith in the sobriety of evening fringe-goers.
Quantum is extremely likeable, if a little nervous, and improvises well with the audience members he selects as his magician’s assistants. There are a few stumbles with delivery but he quickly picks himself back up, and his warm showmanship is punctuated by some spikier improvisations. The musical backing for tricks is a great way to maintain energy and rhythm, but cuts out a bit abruptly when the tricks reach their climax – and there are other technical issues with the close-up recording projected onto the screen at the back of the stage that feel a bit haphazard. Quantum’s magic tricks are classic and well-executed, including slippery cards, hovering balls and psychic toast, but I wonder whether a classic trick loses its sparkle after a while, not through any fault of the magician but from pure oversaturation.
Overall, Quantum is a charismatic and sincere showman, and his predictive powers are the most impressive parts of the show. If you’re looking for a fun evening with some classic magic, you’ll enjoy this, but it’s not as mind-blowing as I might have hoped, and I remain, unfortunately, a non-believer.
KEVIN QUANTUM: UNBELIEVABLE MAGIC FOR NON-BELIEVERS
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Reviewed on 14th August 2025 at Ballroom at Assembly Rooms
by Emily Lipscombe
Photography by Geebz
