Ben Hanlin’s new magic show ‘50’ will be on at the Pleasance – King Dome at 7pm during August.

  • What is your Fringe show about?

In this year’s Edinburgh show I’m performing 50 of what I think are the greatest magic tricks ever!! Some of them are my versions of classic tricks, for example “the worlds oldest trick” and others are tricks that mean something to me.

  • How many times/many years have you appeared at the Fringe?

This will be my second Edinburgh show. My first show, Trickhead, debuted in 2016. It was a show I was really proud of and got some good reviews.

  • What’s your most memorable moment from the Fringe?

The person that proposed during my show! - He had contacted me a couple weeks before saying that he was coming to my show and would like me to help him propose. My show has a lot of audience interaction so I thought we could have some fun with it. At the end of the show I told the audience I need to “random” people and I bought them both up on stage. I then played a bit of a mind reading game of Mr. & Mrs. - She didn’t have a clue she’d been set up. Then I produced the ring and gave it to him to propose. She said yes. Everyone went nuts. It was the best ending to a show.

  • What’s the worst thing about the Fringe?

Cost of accommodation! It’s crazy what you pay for very little.

  • If you were not a performer what would you be doing?

Apart from magic, my only real skill is talking so I’d probably be in some sort of sales job where I just get to go and have cups of tea and talk to people.

  • How do you prepare for a performance?

Food! I can’t go on stage hungry. It makes me feel less confident and slows me down. I always make sure I eat about two hours before I’m on stage. During the fringe I hate wasting time trying to find different places to eat. If I find a place that I like and can get served quickly, I’ll pretty much eat that exact same meal everyday for the entire run.

  • Favourite thing about being in Edinburgh?

I can’t pin it down to one thing so I’m going to say two if that’s okay…

1. The buzz - The entire city has got such a great buzz all day and night. I love the 25 minute walk from my flat to the venue and just walking through the entire city taking in all the craziness!

2. Really obviously - the shows - At the moment, I hardly have chance to go and see shows. I am so excited that for an entire month I’ll be seeing so many different shows. Every time I see a great show, I always think “what is the magic version of that” and it’s a great way of making me look at what I do in a different way.

  • What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve ever done?

Walked up Arthur’s seat! - Granted, so have thousands of tourists each year but it is a great view!

  • Favourite Scottish food/drink?

Irn Bru Milkshake - Phenomenal

  • Sum up your show in three words

SO MUCH MAGIC!!!!

Show summary

TV magician Ben Hanlin returns to Edinburgh with his brand-new show. Ben has searched the globe and the history books to find the 50 best magic tricks ever performed. He's added his own cheeky spin and presents them in this fast-paced magic show.

Ben Hanlin’s new magic show ‘50’ will be on at the Pleasance – King Dome at 7pm during August. For tickets, please visit www.edfringe.com

You can follow Ben Hanlin on Twitter at @benhanlin, find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/benhanlin and visit his official website at www.benhanlin.com