City's first magic festival set to keep audiences spellbound

A HUMAN lie detector, a Harry Potter-inspired magic school and the world's top con artist expert have been unveiled as the headlining acts at Edinburgh's first International Magic Festival.

Several top performers and illusionists are set to take the stage during the five-day event, including trickster Paul Wilson, from popular TV show The Real Hustle, who is set to scam audience members before showing them how the tricks are pulled off.

And Drew McAdam – also known as The Interrogator due to his ability to sniff out any lie – will grill those who dare to watch his performance.

Organiser Kevin McMahon revealed that 20 acts have so far been signed up to wow fans at magical and mystical shows running from 7-11 July.

He added that he hoped the debut festival would be make its mark on the Capital's events map and become an annual celebration of magic.

Mr McMahon said: "We've been planning this since last year and we think Edinburgh is the perfect place for a magic festival because it is so enchanting.

"Paul is a world-class exponent of card and casino scams and he'll be teaching the audience a thing or two. He'll be going through some of his greatest tricks and explaining how they are done.

"Kids in the city are obviously very interested in magic, especially as Harry Potter was born here, so we've set up a number of two-and-a-half-hour wizard schools.

"They'll get to learn how to bamboozle their friends with a slight of hand and get a mini magic kit to take away.

"This is a good opportunity for Edinburgh because a lot of the performers we have secured often only conduct private shows for celebrities and the royal family. I had to pull a few strings."

Shows will be held in four venues including the Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile, The Lot on the Grassmarket, and The Vault.

Other confirmed names include juggler, musician, comic and magician Xavier Mortimer, "Ringo Starr's favourite conjurer" Ben Woodward and the man entrusted to entertain Derren Brown's father at his 70th birthday, ex-policeman Jon Archer.

A War of the Wizards competition will allow amateurs to show off their tricks for a cash prize and magical kudos.

Between 3,000 and 5, 000 people are predicted to attend the festival over its five days, with prices starting from 5. On the festival's first night two-for-one tickets are available.