Edinburgh Fringe Festival 1996 Reviews

The Scotsman

Look at it This Way

Magic from Ian Saville, music from Leon Rosselson. This sounds like a probable dream ticket bargain at Ł4.50. It exceeded expectations.

Saville is such a charmer that he managed to liberate a tenner from this reviewer for a trial-by-fire that almost exercised a fire-hazard. Only the return of the same currency stopped the first known case of a critic's death by spontaneous combustion.

Rosselson is the articulate voice of anger. His songs bite at the conscience, as does his guitar delivery which is fury personified. The other half of the audience on opening night was a man from the Independent on Sunday. We applauded each other at the end for attending one of the most stimulating hours in the mid-evening Fringe.

The Independent on Sunday

...Less self-consciously weird is Look at it This Way, an evening of gently dialectical delights offered by socialist magician Ian Saville and Marxist songwriter Leon Rosselson, two lovely men with the worst haircuts in Scotland. No other show in town could offer you a trick that explains the injustices of gas privatisation, or a ventriloquist's dummy of William Morris exclaiming, "I had to minister to the swinish luxury of the rich." It's like two daffy uncles performing at a bar mitzvah, and done with stirring sincerity. "Now say the magic words, 'Mass Action for a Radical Transformation of Society'" They will stay on my lips until the end of the Festival.

Rejecting society's division between winners and losers, Ian Saville wants to make his way in the world doing magic "to change things". But being a socialist magician has its pitfalls - does commercial success compromise one's beliefs? His tough-talking cat certainly thinks so (a delightful piece of glove puppet ventriloquism). Singer/songwriter Leon Rosselson starts as Ian's Mr Worldly Wiseman but soon prefers to be Voice of Conscience, in a fierce yet amusing series of lyrics dissenting the evils of contemporary capitalism. A third character joins - the eloquent ghost of William Morris, an almost-large-as-life ventriloquist's doll. This clever touch is exploited to the full in wholly engaging style, and Saville and Rosselson leave us in no doubt that Morris' politics are far more relevant than his wallpaper.

There is plenty of entertainment value in this witty political cabaret by a duo of distinctive talent.

The Scotsman

A Dinosaur in my Shoe
Leon Rosselson and Ian Saville have packed a fairly traditional magician's bag to come to the Hill Street Theatre with A Dinosaur In My Shoe. They've got some magic silk handkerchiefs, a few wands and a couple of boxes with false bottoms, but they also have the assistance of a couple of charming rabbits - rebellious Robert and Rupert the furry escapologist - and their own child-like imaginations and intuitive rapport with the audience.
Leon Rosselson is a well-known children's author and singer and he and Saville combine to tell some of his stories and sing a few songs during the show. It's Saville's magic that really captures the children, however - low key, apparently simple tricks which they can't quite get to the bottom of, and wonderful joining in.

The List
Ian Saville, the socialist magician, teams up with songwriter Leon Rosselson for an hour of magic, songs and story-telling very silly ventriloquism for 4-9 year-olds.
Together they make a very strong story-telling combo: individually Rosselson is a very adept musician, who has been around for yonks, and whatever Saville lacks in ventriloquism skills he more than makes up for in affability and a nice turn in vanishing tricks. Which is saying a lot for him as a magician really because, I'm sure he won't mind me saying, he's a crap ventriloquist. the reason I'm sure he won't mind, is because he really doesn't take himself that seriously. At least, I hope he doesn't, or he's liable to turn me into a ...ribit ...ribit ...

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Ian Saville
ian@redmagic.org.uk