EDINBURGH 2025: Review: MESSY MAGIC, Assembly Festival, Bijou
Sparkles, slapstick and mess
Written and Performed by Lizzie T Ollemache and David Ladderman from Rollicking Entertainment, a riot of magic, slapstick and sparkle is brought to the stage with Messy Magic, a family show which manages to be silly, but skilful. With a recommended age of three and above, the performance has clearly been designed to keep young audiences giggling, while still offering enough for parents to remain engaged in its physical comedy and acrobatic flair.
From the moment the audience is introduced to Spray and Wipe, a cleaning duo specialising in sparkle, the stage is alive with mischief. A “plastic fantastic” sheet is handed out to protect the front rows, preparing children and adults alike for the mess ahead. What begins as an earnest attempt to tidy a magician’s house quickly spirals into a playful disaster of spilled sparkles, ladder tricks and water spray.
The pair perform with a sharp sense of timing, through a well-choreographed cleaning dance and a wonderfully silly balancing act with a broom placed precariously on their faces. There is plenty of magic woven into the chaos too, from a rose which changes colour (the Queen of Hearts would be happy from white to red) to the cheeky magic book which survives a set of flames. A particular highlight comes with the acrobatic balancing sequence, in which one performer holds the other upside down before flipping seamlessly to reverse the trick.
The mess builds to a glitter-strewn crescendo, with intentionally bad jokes about mud-slinging and grime not paying, keeping the audience involved in the mischief. A magic box routine, where Spray and Wipe appear to switch places, lands well.
This is children’s theatre which celebrates chaos while entertaining, messily. Messy Magic delivers exactly what it promises: joy, spectacle and a very big mess.
Messy Magic ran at Assembly Festival, Bijou until 17 August
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