Showing @ The Vaults, Edinburgh until Fri 8 July @ 8:30pm

Magic, unlike say Michael Winner, is something that improves on closer inspection. The Vaults, one of the smaller venues in town, proves this by giving a home for the duration of the Festival to close up specialist Michael Neto.

This Portuguese/Glaswegian performer confused and delighted his tightly packed audience with card and coin manipulation as well as feats of mentalism to boggle their minds; all performed at such close quarters they could – and indeed some did – touch the magician. Add to the package a dry witty delivery and a pretence of confusion that helped pull the wool over their eyes and it provided a great evening’s entertainment.

Beginning with the conjurer’s mainstay of disappearing coins he continued for the next forty five minutes to make the impossible seem casual including a baffling trick with a colouring book that caused heads to be scratched and sharp intakes of breath.

The highlight of the evening however was a card trick with a twist, a piece of long distance mind magic which even though harboured an inevitable conclusion, demonstrated Neto’s undoubted and genuinely impressive skills in both magic and presentation.

Close enough though the audience were to Neto the real head-spinning bafflement took place when he brought members of the audience on stage. Proximity did not lead to enlightenment and none of his volunteers left the stage anything other than completely nonplussed.

If you like your magic big, flashy, expensive and with loads of props then this isn’t the show for you. If on the other hand you want to be impressed by sheer manipulative skill and have your brain bent by mental trickery then you should join the select company to watch Michael Neto in action.