Kevin Quantum: Momentum
The success of a species can be determined by its adaptability, and with a background in science – though in physics rather than biology – magician Kevin Quantum is well placed to appreciate that metric having spent the summer confounding the select visitors of the intimate Versailles Suite of the Waldorf Astoria before relocating to the equally grand but considerably larger Music Hall of the Assembly Rooms on George Street.
A veteran Fringe performer who is increasingly comfortable on the stage he has made his second home, despite the support he is wearing for a torn Achilles tendon he is in constant motion, the show possibly named Momentum because he never stops, but as with an object which will continue in uniform motion until acted on by an outside force his skill is often in setting something up to be in the right place at the right time for him to intercept it.
The audience watching for sleight of hand at the conclusion of a trick when it was actually achieved several minutes before when they weren’t paying attention, Quantum’s easy patter isn’t a preamble, it’s an invitation into his world of surprises and delights, exploring the strange effects of displacement, possibly even transformation, appearing to break the laws of physics but in fact using the properties of matter and making objects and his audience compliant as he guides them through dinner dates and the Bermuda Triangle.
Quantum’s most famous trick the one involving a harmonic pendulum performed on national television, the idea is introduced at the start to set the show in motion, but even for those who are familiar with it to see the stunt performed live on stage, to smell the fumes of the fuel and feel the heat of the flames from the front row, is another experience altogether, but as with all science the key to Momentum is to decipher and be brave enough to take advantage of the patterns.
Kevin Quantum: Momentum runs at the Assembly Rooms until Sunday 27th August
