TOP AWARD FOR 'FAKING IT MAGICIAN' AT
ADELAIDE FRINGLE, AUSTRALIA
WHEN early Channel 4 reality show Faking
It made nerdy Edinburgh physicist Kevin
McMahon pretend to be a magician 13
years ago it was only supposed to be
temporary.
And yet, instead of going back to his
research when the cameras turned off,
the scientist-turned-wannabe-conjurer
persisted. of the best magicians in the world. It beat
more than 30 others at the Aussie festival
to pick up the prize.
Last week that persistence paid off when
he walked away with the gong for Best
Magic Award at the Adelaide Fringe, one of
the biggest prizes in trickery. Quantum, who became the first Scot to
win the trophy, said: “I’m surprised and de-
lighted to receive this award on the other
side of the world at one of the largest and
most prestigious festivals in the world.
In that original TV show, McMahon had to
overcome crippling bouts of stage fright,
an inability to lie, and to go from, what one
paper at the time, described as “a woolly
jumper-wearing academic” to a “razor-
suited card shark”.
Now known as Kevin Quantum, his show
Anti-Gravity has marked him out as one
DYNAMO
CHRON'S DISEASE
(From THE SUN) Last week, Dynamo – real name Steven Frayne – was pictured with a severely
swollen face after having treatment for condition which is a type of inflammatory bowel
disease.
He later told his fans he’d been rushed to hospital last summer after contracting food
poisoning and admitted he was still struggling now. Despite being in crippling pain, 34-year-
old Dynamo looked content as he was spotted running errands with his wife Kelly.
She beamed as they walked around London together on Good Friday. The pair kept a low
profile as they strolled around, with TV star Dynamo wearing a hat and dressing in dark blue.
He was inundated with messages of support after opening up to fans about his struggle with
Crohn’s.
VANISH MAGAZINE
Adelaide Fringe, which lasts five weeks,
is second only in size to the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe.
The magician is also the artistic director of
the Edinburgh International Magic Festival,
which celebrates it’s ninth birthday next
month.
Since going to hospital last summer,
Dynamo has also developed arthritis due to
complications with the condition.
The debilitating pain left him unable to
shuffle cards when the arthritis took hold
of his body - affecting all his joints in body
including his toes, knees, neck, ankle and
even his hands.
He told his fans: “That really sucks as a
magician when you can't shuffle a pack of
cards because you're in so much pain.
“I'm working with doctors to do everything
in my power to get 100 per cent.”
The magician had to have half his stomach
removed at 17 years old when he was
diagnosed with the incurable condition.
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