Fringe review: MAGIC FOR ANIMALS, Liz Toonkel - Edinburgh Festival Fringe

A one-woman magic show full of humour, hard-hitting truths and great tricks, challenging how we treat animals and each other with dazzling costumes and props.

Toonkel is a stylish performer and certainly looks the part in her glamourously sequined suit and heels. The stories used to incorporate her magic tricks have a certain charm to them, but the tricks need to be delivered with more confidence in order for them to be impressive.

Whilst the stories about high school and how we treat each other as humans work well, the stories about how we treat animals are not as hard hitting. Using comedy to highlight how humans treat animals takes away the element that needs to be more shocking for it to be truly acknowledged, maybe these two elements don't work so well when mixed together in this way?

It's an easy going show, however, that has some nice moments, but we'd love to see it in a slightly different context.

Regrettably disillusioned.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Rachel Louise Martin

Magic for Animals plays in the Olive Studio at Greenside @ Infirmary Street at 11.25pm until 26 August.