EdFringe Talk: Dan Bastianelli: Identity

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“It is a huge part of my year and, as a local, I love what it gives the city.”

WHO: Dan Bastianelli

WHAT: “The modern festival’s smartest multi-space destination venue. The ultimate powerhouse of live performance, offering a pulsating programme of diverse and inclusive work from every genre possible. Part of our 11-space hub at the very stylish Surgeons Quarter, well-stocked bars and great food has made this the perfect destination for audiences who tend to come and spend the day seeing a wide selection of award-winning shows from across the globe.”

WHERE: Theatre 1 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall (Venue 117) 

WHEN: 18:25 (50 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my 5th show at the Edinburgh Festival. In my first couple of years, while I was at university, I brought shows to the PBH Free Fringe. This was an amazing way to hone my craft and get huge amounts of experience on stage to different audiences every day. In the past couple of years, as I have grown in my professional performing career, I have moved into ticketed venues but the spirit remains the same.

It is a huge part of my year and, as a local, I love what it gives the city. Ever since I was young, I have loved attending shows and watching street shows. My grandparents used to bring me onto the royal mile regularly, and it is probably where a lot of my love for magic began.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

2024 was a really good year for me as I performed a sell-out run in a small and intimate room. I learned a lot about my show and how to evolve it night on night based on audience reactions. This year I have taken the lesson to take a bit more risks, as Edinburgh audiences want to see something new and different.

Tell us about your show.

My show is essentially a one-man band. I produce, write and perform the show. I do however have lots of help from great friends and colleagues throughout the writing process. I have been performing magic at professional events from the age of 14, but this is the first show that I have written that really explains to the audience who I am and what that means.

This show is newly written specifically for Edinburgh 2025, but I am performing a preview show at Newcastle Fringe a few days before the run begins, just to get those inevitable initial hiccups ironed out before Edinburgh.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

I have lots of amazing friends in magic (too many to shout out here). I am a proud committee member of the Edinburgh Magic Circle, who are performing a medley show in the Festival for the first time in many years. I’d encourage magic fans to go and support them as the performers will primarily be festival newbies and up-and-comers, which is what the fringe is truly about.

Other magic shows I would highly recommend are; ‘1 hour of Insane Magic’, ‘The Remarkable Ben Hart’, and (for younger families) ‘Mario the Maker Magician’.

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