Brief Encounter With … Time Warper Oliver Meech


Growing up, I loved sci-fi films, of which so many involved time-travelling, like Back to the Future, The Terminator and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I wanted to do something similar to this on stage, with magic tricks replacing the special effects.

I also love the steady stream of pop culture references in The Simpsons and Spaced, so I’ve added a good dollop of those into the mix too.

I developed the idea for the show by performing short extracts at comedy clubs. It was quite a baptism of fire for me, but it was a great way to get lots of stage time in which to polish my routines.

How does your show differ from a normal magic show?

The biggest difference is that there’s a narrative, so it’s more of a play and less of a succession of tricks. Magic can sometimes be like fireworks; you go ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ and then immediately forget about it. I want to leave people with a bit more to think about. Having said that, I’m still a magician at heart, so there will be plenty of impossible things happening!

How did you become a magician?

I’ve been interested in magic since I was a kid, but I studied psychology at Oxford and creativity at an advertising agency before I finally took the plunge and became a professional magician. It wasn’t wasted time, though, as I now apply what I learnt about psychology and creativity to my magic.

If you could travel to any point in time, when would it be?


To the first night of my Edinburgh show. I’ve been preparing for so many months, and the initial audience response has been great, so I can’t wait to finally unleash it.

What are your plans after Edinburgh?

Sleep for a week! After that, hopefully take Time Warper on tour and then throw myself into devising a new show for next year’s festival.

Time Warper is running at Laughing Horse @ City Café, 23-29 August at 15:45.