Review by Steve Bennett

Barry Jones and Stuart McLeod do have a mildly entertaining show with some good ideas. There is no denying that their basic sleight-of-hand card tricks are performed well but there’s nothing that can’s be seen on the Royal Mile up close and for free.

However, most of the tricks in tonight's show didn’t leave the audience pondering how it was done as they had actually seen how it was done.

I was positioned in the back of the room so had a limited view of the pair as they weaved their magic, employing fake thumbs, rigged top hats and switches of props that were so apparent that I had to wonder if this was a Penn & Teller-esque attempt to debunk the genre.

There were a couple of moments which could have been genuinely impressive but with the shoddy execution of previous tricks, I was left just not caring.

Jones and McLeod have got stage presence, they are likeable characters and their obvious enjoyment of their show is contagious; giggling at each other when making playground references to bumming or knob gags.

These are jokes so basic and familiar that they would struggle at any comedy club but here they are surprisingly refreshing and funny and suit the immature level of their conjuring talent. Not enough blam! Too much blah!

Reviewed by: Corry Shaw

Review date: 1 Jan 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett