Mario the Maker Magician at Underbelly Bristo Square Review
As soon as Mario the Maker Magician bursts onto the stage, there’s a good chance you’ll have a huge grin plastered across your face and long after you leave the corridors of McEwan Hall. It’s the kind of show that leaves you feeling lighter than when you walked in, and in the middle of a busy Fringe day, that’s no small achievement.
Part magic show, part clowning masterclass and part motivational pep talk, Mario is an hour of organised chaos that never loses sight of its audience. Children are laughing before the first trick has even landed, while the adults quickly realise this isn’t one of those family shows they’re simply there to supervise. Everyone is invited in.
Mario’s energy is relentless in the best possible way. Audience participation is constant, with call-and-response routines, games of Simon Says, volunteers on stage and enough shouting of “More!” and “Please!” to echo around McEwan Hall for the rest of the afternoon. It would be easy for this level of enthusiasm to become exhausting, but Mario somehow keeps everyone completely on board. Behind the apparent chaos is an incredibly precise performer whose timing is absolutely impeccable.
The magic itself is brilliantly inventive. Alongside clever sleight of hand are homemade robots, oversized props and wonderfully silly inventions that constantly wrong-foot the audience. Every trick feels meticulously planned, even the moments designed to look like they’ve gone spectacularly wrong. It’s the sort of show where children are completely swept up in the magic while adults find themselves trying—and failing—to work out exactly how everything has been engineered.
What elevates the show beyond a straightforward magic act is its heart. Throughout the performance, Mario shares stories about the people who inspired him, from family members and teachers to artists like Andy Warhol and Alexander Calder. Woven naturally into the comedy is a simple message: do what you love, use what you have and don’t be afraid to make something uniquely yours. It’s never heavy-handed, just a genuine reminder that creativity comes in all shapes and sizes.
The pace is undeniably frantic, and younger audience members who prefer quieter performances may find it a little overwhelming at times. But if you’re prepared to embrace Mario’s wonderfully cartoonish world, it’s impossible not to be swept along by it.
Family shows often focus on entertaining children first and hoping the adults enjoy themselves too. This one refuses to make that compromise. Instead, it builds a shared experience where laughter, surprise and disbelief land equally across the room, regardless of age. It’s funny, inventive and packed with astonishing magic, but more importantly it’s full of joy.
You’ll leave still trying to piece together how half of it worked, and with the sense that you’ve just witnessed something genuinely special in its own wonderfully chaotic category.
Mario the Maker Magician is playing at Underbelly Bristo Square (McEwan Hall) at 11.00 until 30th August.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Written by Liam Arnold for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
