Kevin Quantum: Dark Matter
Magician, scientist and adventurer, the last two years have been quiet for Kevin Quantum as they have for many people the world over, his research and adventures largely confined to running an online magic course for children with the assistance of his elder daughter; had his younger daughter actively participated, currently mastering basic vocabulary and motor skills, that would perhaps have been a more impressive magic trick.
His last appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe having been two concurrent shows in smaller capacity venues to make social distancing more practical, he has now returned to the lofty Debating Hall on the top floor among the Gothic spires of Teviot, entering with a bold new look with which to greet and dazzle a more generously sized audience in a more suitable room, with barely a spare seat to be had.
The conundrum of a man who is part scientist, solving mysteries, and part magician, making mysteries, Quantum invites his audience on his journey to discover Dark Matter, a name given to that which is unknown and cannot – yet – be understood, taking a wooden box and opening a portal to the ATM in another dimension, cash seemingly summoned from thin air but pouring out of the Bank of Kevin, the wood perhaps cut from the mythical Magic Money Tree.
Those who have regularly attended his many shows these past years will perhaps see little they have not encountered before, but even then, observed from the front row where there is little room for even the slightest error or miscalculation in his sleight of hand, his mastery of his techniques remains baffling, and those new to his live show who may have come to know him from his progression to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent will be suitably dazzled.
A demonstration of pyrokinesis bringing a tiny supernova to life, like spinning plates he has a set of volunteers drawn from the audience laying the groundwork for one demonstration while he jumps to another, at one point realising with time running out there won’t be time to complete all of the experiments underway; Quantum he may be, but even at the smallest measurable rate the passage of time still adds up to the same unforgiving total of a Fringe hour.
The final piece of showmanship the invocation of spooky action at a distance, an impossible tower of objects disregarding gravity to obey his commands, Kevin Quantum is a performer who has returned to where he belongs, on a stage in front of a delighted audience; the show may be called Dark Matter, but that is a misnomer, for while what he does matters very much in these exhausting and joyless times, what he brings is levity and light.
Kevin Quantum: Dark Matter runs at Gilded Balloon Teviot until Monday 29th August
