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Magic Seats is bringing you a series of mini reviews from MagicFest 2020 this week. This is our second review of the festival which is showcasing the best of Scottish magical talent.
After the fantastic opening performance last night by Elliot Bibby (read here), Ryan K Davidson took the spotlight today. Offering his own unique style of magic and performance.
MagicFest 2020 is a virtual festival with daily Zoom shows that started yesterday (Wednesday the 16th of December). Finishing this Sunday the 20th of December after 8 shows!
Tonight's show was called “Mirror Mirror” and took place at 1900 GMT. This was the first time that I had seen Ryan K. Davidson perform, so I had no idea what to expect.
The “Mirror Mirror” show is based on a short story, told through a series of interactive vignettes that bring the audience’s decisions to a unexpected finale. A unique and intimate Zoom performance from a remarkable sleight-of-hand artist based in Glasgow.
For a bio on Ryan,please take a look at the bottom of this article where I have included details about him. Alternatively, take a look at his website here.
Should you wish to attend MagicFest 2020, another 6 shows are scheduled to take place between now and Sunday. You can buy tickets and gain more information by visiting their site here.
You can buy tickets for individual shows or a show pass which is really good value. Two shows down and 6 to go!
Just like last night, an email to join the show was sent out exactly one hour prior to the show start. It contained joining instructions and how to best setup your viewing experience.
The show started promptly at 1900 with about 55 in the audience, watching via 40 screens on Zoom. The audience was mixed with couples, young children and families viewing. You were encouraged to have pens and paper along with playing cards at hand so that you can join in.
Despite joining early, I appeared to have some technical issues and low bandwidth problems at the start of the show. However, the issue was at my end and the video and sound improved after about 5 minutes. No one else appeared to be affected and the sound and vision then remained good for the rest of the show.
Interaction with the audience took place throughout the entire show and Ryan told a story about a young boy through the use of card magic and some mentalism.
Though the act is quite original and unique, Ryan's style is reminiscent of Vincenzo Ravina. This is a good thing and any fans of Vincenzo will enjoy viewing Ryan perform.
Technically the show was performed by Ryan perfectly with no issues. The audience were engaged and all appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Everyone appeared genuinely amazed and it was good to see a performance of another original set. Photos and graphics were also used to enhance the show.
Main feedback is that the audience management could have been better. Not all were on mute but Ryan had his own way of dealing with this. In the event that an individual did not use their mic, he interacted with them and then once finished, would ask them to mute.
Ryan is impressive as an artist and story teller who skillfully handed the playing cards and amazed the audience. Another enjoyable MagicFest 2020 show.
Thank you Ryan and MagicFest 2020.
For more information and tickets to MagicFest 2020, take a look here.
Bio (from Ryan's Website)
Ryan K. Davidson is a magician from Glasgow, Scotland specialising in unique and intimate performances.
His interest in sleight-of-hand started after a chance meeting with a former hustler in Greece. After a late night in the hotel listening to tales of successful hustles and scams, the shared working of a con game with Ryan would change his life. This interest in con artists and crooked gambling cheats led to an obsession with sleight-of-hand and psychology that eventually crossed over into the performing arts.
Since deciding to perform publicly, he has been invited to perform at private and corporate events in some of the most luxurious venues throughout the UK and in Europe for private and corporate clients, including high profile CEO’s, billionaire Forbes List clients and celebrities.
As well as close-up engagements, Ryan has also written and performed several one-man shows. His debut show entitled Past Times Of The Strange sold out every show of its run in Glasgow in 2012. The follow up was the intimate theatre show An Honest Deception which premiered in Glasgow in 2014, selling out it’s run of 5 nights in less than 5 hours.
His first residency project, titled Little Mysteries, sold out a 16 month residency in a private suite in the luxurious Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow to much acclaim. Little Mysteries was extended after a successful 12 month run with the extra dates selling out in 4 minutes.
Ryan then stunned audiences with his first live theatre show DEVILRY is in the West End of Glasgow in The Websters Theatre for a limited run in October 2018 before returning to The Grand Central Hotel the following year for another sold out run of Nothing To See for 28 consecutive nights.
His current live show THE WONDER ROOM runs weekly in The Grand Central Hotel. Find more info here.
Ryan lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland.