Chris Dugdale has performed for plenty of notable names in his career, from Elizabeth II to Beyoncé. And the US-based trickster’s show is a no-brainer if you’re into magic. He doesn’t need a fancy set-up, just a deck of cards and a couple of books, and with this minimalist inventory at his disposal, he controls the audience for a full hour with hypnotic ease. 

His material becomes more and more impressive as the show progresses, from a card-trick warm-up to ‘the closest thing to mind reading we will ever get’. Audience members are invited to pick a random word from a random book, that he then plucks directly from their brains with his miraculous, unexplained mind-bending technique. The volunteers’ faces fold and their eyes widen as he gets every word right without fail.

Sceptics among us (notably, some inquisitive children in the audience) may try and guess how he manages to teleport a uniquely signed card from the deck and into a closed trinket box. But really, nothing the light-fingered artiste can do is explainable (to the audience, that is). Even those of us who don’t frequent magic shows will enter as a cynic and leave astounded. This charismatic cardsmith lands every single trick. 

Ethermind, Assembly Rooms, until 27 August, 8.35pm.