MARIO the Maker Magician ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Mario the Maker Magician returns to Edinburgh, bringing his robot magic live from NYC, with a show full of original magic, handmade robots and modern slapstick. Fast-paced, interactive and full of heart, Mario takes audiences on a romping ride of contagious energy and big belly laughs. Perfect for kids, adults and families. There’s something for everyone!”

Some family shows are designed to keep children entertained for an hour, but others manage to make adults feel like children again, too. MARIO the Maker Magician is very much the latter. Bringing handmade robots, magic, slapstick, and a seemingly endless supply of energy to Edinburgh, Mario creates a show that is as much about happiness and bonding as it is about the tricks themselves. It is fast, silly, interactive and wonderfully warm, with a real understanding of what makes family theatre work.

Direction is crazy and chaotic in the very best possible way. Mario doesn’t simply use the space on stage; he uses the entire auditorium, meaning that the audience is never allowed to become passive. Something can happen anywhere. That creates a lovely variability to the show and fits Mario’s hyper energy perfectly. There is a sense that he could suddenly decide to perform a trick from somewhere completely unexpected, and the audience has to stay with him. It is chaotic, but it is controlled chaos.

The set has a wonderfully homemade quality. A lovely cloth doubles as a projection screen, while the red theatre curtains have a child-painted quality. And I mean that as a compliment. The slightly handmade aesthetic fits the production beautifully. This isn’t a show trying to pretend that everything has been manufactured to within an inch of its life. It embraces creativity, making and imagination, which feels particularly appropriate for a show about a magician who makes his own robots.

Costume is brilliant and fits Mario’s wonderfully eccentric personality. His colourful, playful look immediately tells us that this isn’t going to be a traditional magic show. There is something almost cartoon-like about the styling, which works beautifully alongside the robots, slapstick and physical comedy. It also adds to the sense that Mario has emerged directly from his own wonderfully chaotic universe.

The lighting is really nice and adds another layer to the production without becoming a distraction. It helps generate moments of focus and gives the show a little more theatrical scale, while still allowing Mario and his robots to remain the visual centre of attention. Sound is well balanced throughout, but I particularly enjoyed the pre-show playlist. Disney songs given an almost rock/punk aesthetic is not something I knew I needed before entering the theatre, but I absolutely appreciated it. It immediately establishes the fun, rebellious energy of the production before Mario has even appeared.

The projections are a welcome addition and help expand the show's world. The opening projection could have been slightly clearer, as I only fully understood the story it was trying to communicate toward the end. However, once that was established, the projections worked really nicely and added another visual dimension without eclipsing the live performance.

The book is full of joy. What especially impressed me was the storytelling surrounding the magic. The build-up to the tricks is often just as entertaining as the trick itself, with Mario taking his time to establish an idea before finally delivering the payoff. I also really liked the variation in how the magic is presented. Sometimes the show openly acknowledges that we’re watching a magic trick and leans fully into its theatricality. At other times, Mario appears to be telling us a story that happens to have a magic trick occurring somewhere within it. That distinction keeps the show feeling fresh. The show also carries lovely messages throughout, particularly for younger audience members. It promotes creativity, kindness, imagination, and messages that children absolutely deserve to hear, but which, if we’re being honest, adults could probably use a reminder of occasionally too. Because underneath all the robots and ridiculousness, there is a real warmth here.

Mario Marchese's performance is completely magnetising. You cannot help but smile when he is on stage. His energy is captivating, his charisma is enormous, and his stage presence is exactly what you want from a performer leading a family show. He is brilliant with his volunteers and has a lovely ability to make them feel like part of the performance rather than simply people brought up to assist with a trick. And the energy. Where does he get it from? I would quite like some! There is barely a moment where Mario isn’t moving, reacting, playing or engaging with somebody. Yet it never feels as frantic energy for the sake of it. It is part of his character and part of the show’s charm. The modern slapstick is also a particularly welcome addition. It gives the younger audience plenty of physical comedy while bringing an added layer of silliness for the adults watching.

MARIO the Maker Magician is a wonderfully joyful family show. It understands that children don’t need theatre to be simplified for them. They need theatre that is exciting, imaginative and willing to play with them. The handmade robots are brilliant, the magic is impressive, the storytelling is heartfelt, and Mario himself is almost impossible not to love. Most importantly, a genuine sense of generosity runs through the production. It wants you to laugh. It wants you to be amazed. It wants children to leave feeling inspired. And it wants adults to remember that sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to be silly.

MARIO the Maker Magician plays McEwan Hall at Underbelly Bristo Square at 11 am until the 30th August with an approximate run time of 60 minutes.

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