Magician Oliver Meech is bringing his new improv show to Oxford, as he explains to Katherine MacAlister

Magic consultant is the kind of job title that small boys and girls can only dream of, right up there with train driver, princess and astronaut.

And yet that’s exactly what Oliver Meech did for three years on The Discovery Channel to make sure the magic was up to scratch.

Coming to Oxford Fringe with his Improvised Magic Show, the magician still likes mixing up psychology, magic and science to create a spellbinding performance which is suitable for all ages, the perfect family show then.

So will everyone enjoy it age 0-100? “Children only begin to understand magic from the age of 5 up, because otherwise they’ll watch and think ‘oh look his thumbs come off’, without thinking anything of it, so my show is 7+. By then children understand the coin behind the ear kind of stuff.”

The ad lib format is a new format. Oli’s shows always used to be about science and magic combined, so this is a new venture.

“We used to have a lot of improv and then I realised how much I enjoyed it, so now the audience chooses the music, the magic, the tricks, the props, it’s their show which means it’s different every time. I don’t think it’s ever been done before,” he tells me. “So it’s all about breaking the rules.”

Working as a one man band however means Oliver relies a lot on audience participation “not the sawing in half kind,” he laughs, “just positive interaction.”

But he can’t wait to try out the new formula at the OFS, having performed at The Oxford Fringe for the past three years. “The Oxford Fringe grows every year and there is so much good stuff going on and some really big names coming, so see as much as possible while you can.”

Excited about returning to Oxford, having gone to university here, the cards were on the table even then. “I was advised not to talk about magic during my interview but I couldn’t help myself, and luckily they were as fascinated as me because we talked about nothing else.”

It worked because Oli, 34, spent the next three years here studying psychology at Jesus College.

But despite taking up a lucrative job in the advertising industry, five years later he jacked it all in to become a professional magician. “The magic was always there, burning away and once I realised it was my passion I changed profession and I’ve been doing magic ever since.”

Was it hard to start with? “It was scary and of course it takes a while to get going but you just have to plug away and realise what angle/style you like and what you’re are good at, find your niche.

“And then you get to a point when your shows are selling out and you know it was the right move.

“But I love it. I love every show. I can’t wait to get up on stage and perform my magic. It’s all I ever wanted to do. It means that people always come out of my shows smiling, so if I had to sum them up I’d describe them as a nerdy giggle.”

And do they always go according to plan? “No, once in the early days I asked the audience to choose a different way to perform my card trick and they said ‘blindfolded and stilt-walking’, so I gaffer-taped some plastic stools to my feet and blind-folded myself, but hadn’t banked on the steps leading into the theatre and I buckled right into the audience,” he laughs. “They were very nice about it actually and propped me up again, but I got there in the end,” he smiled.

SEE IT
Oliver Meech’s Improvised Magic Show is at OFS in George Street on Saturday, May 23, Sunday May 24, and Saturday, May 30. 
See ticketsoxford.com or call 01865 305305