Showing @ Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 11 Feb

The age-old debate between science and faith is unlikely to throw up anything concrete or definitive today, so Vox Motus’ production has to tread carefully to avoid regurgitating expired arguments, forgotten sentiments or childish evaluations. Fortunately, their ‘stage séance’ is as much about the redemptive and emotive power of belief as it is the theatrical grandeur of illusion.

Taking us back to the dawn of spiritualism, directors Jamie Harrison and Candice Edmunds open with a performance led by Ira and Willie Davenport (Ryan and Scott Fletcher) – brothers who travelled across America and subsequently England in the mid 19th-century, performing first to crowds on the streets before setting themselves up in theatres.

It’s a perfect show for Vox Motus to tackle – their history in visual theatre and stagecraft offering much in the way of practice and dexterity. Their centrepiece is the Davenports’ box illusion: Ira and Willie would be tied to chairs inside a ‘spirit cabinet’ with musical instruments and, as the doors to the cabinet are closed, the audience are to marvel at how the instruments can be heard. It’s an impressive re-enactment, including notably convincing performances from Ryan and Scott Fletcher – and a rowdily high-spirited turn from Gavin Mitchell as the show’s host, Mr Fay.

What’s more impressive however, behind the tricks of floating tambourines, appearances and disappearances, is the tale of the brothers’ lives played out within the confines of the cabinet. Ira and Willie had an abusive father, an absent mother and relied solely on the care of their sister Katy (Kirsty Stuart) – their desire for illusionism as much an evasive tactic to their own anguish as it was a quest for fame. As the scenes are acted out in such a small space, the claustrophobic intensity at the root of the family can feel stifling and awkward, clashing hard against the loftiness of the magic shows. This show becomes less about the spiritual industry and more an emotional glimpse into the lives of two artistic geniuses.