Festival review: The Indescribable Phenomenon; Greenside (venue 231)

A COMBINATION of magic, mind reading and the fascinating real-life story of Anna Eva Fay, the first woman to join the Magic Circle, make for a late-night show filled with the atmosphere and intrigue of the Victorian musical hall.

A chorus of dusty narrators – all powdered skin and shredded suits – present the famed medium and later mind reader’s tale through a vaudevillian show within a show.

Within the young cast are a couple of excellent performers, able to conjure up grotesque caricatures in a way that playfully adopts the kind of theatrics that were so popular in the mid-to-late 1800s. We’re asked to pose questions to Anna, after which she “reads our minds” with impressive results. Other tricks are more low-key but have their own quiet beauty, particularly at the end.

At times, the scenes delivered as straight drama fall a bit flat with dialogue that feels lacklustre, particularly in comparison to the more theatrical moments in other parts of the show. But the idea of using live magic and mind reading as an integral part of storytelling is interesting and fresh – turning what could have been a straight biopic into something much more intriguing.

Rating: * * *

Until 25 August. Today 7:20pm.