Norvil & Josephine: Rabbits Out of the Hat – Edinburgh Festival Fringe 

Picture: Patrick Baldwin

Norvil & Josephine: Rabbits Out of the Hat continues at King Dome at Pleasance Dome until 24 August 2025.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

Set in the early 1900s, Norvil & Josephine: Rabbits Out of the Hat tells the story of two magician siblings. Norvil (Christopher Howell), a traditional magician with well-known tricks, believes that he cannot be himself. His sister, Josephine (Desireé Kongerød) wants Rights for Women and is keen to show off her skills and panache.

This show is well staged to portray the magical world of the characters.  

On the day I attended, the show unfortunately lacked full energy on both sides of the curtain. The audience, quiet but willing to play along, were guided by the performers, but they appeared to lack ‘bounce’ themselves. It took three quarters of the show for the energy to pick up. By the conclusion, however, both artists and audience had found their energy and shared the ‘wows!’ everyone had all been waiting for. 

The storyline is sweet and comfortable. The suffragette element is interesting and key to the plot, but seemed lost on a number of children who were agog during the tricks but quickly lost interest in between. Attention noticeably dropped when plot was the focus. 

Story-wise the magic tricks deliberately showcase Josephine as the superior performer. Kongerød is amazing in her movement skills, evoking genuine “oohs and aahs” from all ages.  

Howell is an accomplished magician, but the execution of several of Norvil’s tricks could have been performed more skilfully and still have demonstrated the lack of confidence in himself. They were enough to delight the smallest children in the audience, but elicited only a polite attentiveness from the rest.  

Where Howell shines best as an actor is in his singing. There are not many songs in the show, but when Norvil sings about his desire to be himself on stage it is heartfelt, touching the entire audience. 

Overall, the show is charming and enjoyable. With more energy, an extra song and a few tweaks to the script it could indeed have wowed! It’s fun, with a lovely story. If you want to see a bit of magic and a little bit of singing, have your “oohs” and “aahs” prepared and head along to the Pleasance Dome.  

Molly Glenn