From the creator of The Magic Room, a brand new show for 2026, debuted at Buxton Fringe Festival.
Now is the best time to do anything! Unless you’re waiting for it to load. So often we wait for the ‘perfect’ moment, but what if it never arrives? Through magic, mind-reading, storytelling, and comedy, LOADING… explores what happens when life buffers, and the unexpected ways it starts moving again.
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And here’s what the fringe reviewer said:
Loading… proposes an intriguing mix of magic, comedy, storytelling – and even some insights into the meaning of life. Ed Sumner pulls off this combination with relaxed charm. This is a magic show performed as a story, beginning with Ed’s youthful fascination with arcade games.
To start the show, the audience needs to insert 50p into a slot in one of Ed’s fun cardboard props. Luckily someone still carries cash and obliges. The 50p disappears and later ingeniously reappears, in one of Ed’s mind-boggling feats of close-up magic.
Inter-generational differences is a theme, which works well with this mixed-age audience. Ed cleverly uses nostalgic, retro electronic devices in his mind-reading, deftly combined with smartphone technology.
Rubik’s Cubes make an appearance, an audience member being enlisted to help with a gasp-inducing trick. Slapstick is also part of the performer’s repertoire. On hearing an audience member was born as recently as 2008, he literally falls to the floor in shock.
There is standing room only at Onnen, the intimate atmosphere perfect for this show. Ed has nowhere to hide as he flawlessly performs close-up magic. Jokes and tricks elicit laughs, wows and applause. Ed interacts easily and confidently with the fully-engaged crowd.
This is a pay-what-you like show, very much worth a full ticket price. True to his ethos, Ed accepts old-fashioned coins and notes, or you can tap a card to contribute.
Ed suggests that we might use those in-between ‘Loading…’ moments to connect with each other. He achieves just that by bringing us together in an enjoyable, communal experience.