Fringe festival season is considered one of the most magical times of the year on the Adelaide festival calendar, and the 2025 Adelaide Fringe is set to be even more magical, with the return of crowd favourites Showmen Productions and their four magic and circus shows.
Showmen Productions, which was founded by Sam Hume and Justin Williams, are set to cast a spell over Adelaide with the return of their hit shows, 'The Greatest Magic Show', 'Adults Only Magic Show', 'Circus – The Show' and 'Kaboom!'.
“Adelaide is the biggest Fringe in the country. It’s electric seeing so many people fill the city during Fringe time,” Showmen Productions Co-Founder, Executive Producer, and performer Sam Hume says. “There are so many shows on and there’s so much excitement and energy. We always have really fantastic audiences over there. As a performer, it’s a really exhilarating environment to be in.”
“[Fringe is like] a school reunion, we get to catch up with a lot of friends and artists – who we sometimes rarely see as everyone’s travelling and performing and doing amazing things; but we try to involve ourselves as much as we can.”
'Adults Only Magic Show'
These school-like reunions have resulted in new additions to Hume and Williams' productions, which have since grown in spectacle, size, cast and tricks. The duo have now added other Fringe favourites to their shows including Magnus Danger Magnus and Nathan Green the clown. “We’ve created a bit of a variety show and we get to work with other Fringe artists, which is fun and changes when we go from city to city. We’ve recently picked up Magnus’ science show, 'Kaboom!'. It’s run by Magnus who is an openly ADHD science enthusiast, and it's basically 60 minutes of science mayhem – its everything I would have wanted in a science class in primary school and high school – there’s a lot of involvement, big explosions, fire, lots of demos and it’s all educational and very engaging.”
Other highlights include the troupe’s original show, 'The Greatest Magic Show', which Hume describes as the company’s “little baby”.
'Kaboom!'
“It was the first show that we did together and it’s grown to include Magnus as the ringmaster. . . Justin and I perform engaging magic tricks; the kids all get magic wands on the way in to help with the magic and the ringmaster tries to keep the show on track, but Justin and I add lunacy. There are illusions, underpants, fart jokes and of course a feel-good message about no matter what you want to achieve in life, if you believe in yourself then anything is possible.”
Also rounding out the troupe’s 2025 Adelaide Fringe season is 'Circus – The Show', which Hume describes as “our biggest trailblazing family circus show” and then for something a little more risqué – 'Adults Only Magic Show'. “It’s a 69-minute show with raunchy humour, and some of the best magic we’ve been able to find and cram into the show. . . There’s big magic, humour and a little cheeky bit of nudity. It’s a lot of fun to perform.”
'The Greatest Magic Show'
With so much going on in the world, Hume believes audiences can do with a bit more magic in their lives and has noticed a renewed interest in the art form of late.
“I think there’s a rise in an interest in magic and in circus. I think for us personally, we’ve always tried to break down the wall between the audiences and the performer and the magic we are doing, and the circus we are performing, it’s very real and authentic – and audiences have really connected with that.”
For Adelaide Fringe, 'Adults Only Magic Show' plays The Peacock at Gluttony – Rymill Park 21 February-23 March, 'The Greatest Magic Show' and 'Kaboom!' play The Virago at Gluttony – Rymill Park 22 February-23 March, and 'Circus – The Show' plays The Moa at Gluttony – Rymill Park 22 February-23 March.
