Rohan Sharma and Dan Bishop are world class magicians. They’re giving it up for comedy
Fringe Magic
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Fringe Magic 〰️
Images: Dan Bishop by Patrick Dowse / Rohan Sharma by Michael Julings
It’s time for Edinburgh Fringe 2025, and with it, our annual feature series! This year, we’re celebrating the special, unique Fringe moments — the ones that feel like pure MAGIC…
By Brigitte De Villepoix (Dan Bishop and Rohan Sharma)
LMAOnaise magic correspondent Brigitte De Villepoix interviews Dan Bishop and Rohan Sharma, two comedians who are taking shows to the Fringe this year after giving up their day jobs as world renowned magicians.
It’s a Sunday afternoon and I arrive at a run-down flat in South East London. Considering it belongs to the internationally renowned close up magicians Rohan Sharma and Dan Bishop, I am surprised by how understated it is. Rohan and Dan recently performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. In fact, their card tricks went down so well that both teams decided to cancel the game and let the magicians continue long into the night. Because of this, I thought they might live somewhere slightly grander. I can only presume that they choose to live in squalor.
The door is ajar. Strange. I walk through the gloomily lit hallway. Large doves waddle across the carpet, a white rabbit levitates in the corner and a snake knots itself into the shape of a poodle.
“Hello?” Nothing.
I creep into the next room and quickly discover Rohan clutching a chainsaw and Dan lying on a table, a few inches of air between his head and body.
“Why hello! You must be Brigette De Villepoix from LMAOnaise magazine,” Rohan exclaims, offering his bloody hand for me to shake.
“Is this a bad time?” I ask.
“Not at all!” says Dan’s loose head, his decapitated torso reaching out a hand as well.
I notice a large American Football trophy on the mantelpiece, engraved with the words Super Bowl Champions 2025. Dan clocks my wandering eye. “After they called off the game, they didn’t know what to do, so they crowned us joint champions.”
“Would you like to sniff my flower?” Rohan gestures to a geranium affixed to his lapel and, before I know what‘s happening, a stream of water sprays directly in my eye.
“Sorry about him, Rohan’s got a cruel wit,” Dan says as he hoists his body off the table and onto a kitchen chair. “Shall we start the interview?” He fuses his head with his body. My god they’re good at magic.
I nod and sit myself down. It’s only then that I notice Rohan is wearing a top hat and nothing else.
“So, I suppose a good place to start is… why are you giving up your day jobs to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe this year?”
“Well,” Rohan says. “The truth is… magic is just too easy for us. We need a real challenge.”
This surprises me. After all, these two are famed for their jaw-dropping, daredevil stunts. In their last tour, Dan held his breath underwater for 19 minutes in a 600-litre tank, and then Rohan drank all 600 litres in one single gulp.
“I think most people would consider doing actual magic far more difficult than making people laugh,” I contest.
“No, I disagree! Uniting an audience in uproarious laughter is the real magic!” As Rohan says this, he points his wand at a teacup, transforming it immediately into a large Czech man. “Oops, butterfingers!”
Dan chuckles. “He’s always doing that.” He then clicks his fingers and the man I came to know as Miloš shapeshifted into a giant Sports Direct mug. “Rohan’s right though. The real magicians are the great comedians. Jimmy Carr could learn how to pull a rabbit out of a hat, but I could never tell an audience member I’ve bonked their mum and get a standing ovation.”
Sharma agrees: “I still don’t know how he did that. My best guess? Mirrors.” At this point in the interview, Rohan sniffs his own flower and squirts water directly into his own mouth. “Thirsty work, this,” he mumbles to himself through a sly grin.
“And so what type of material do you perform? Is it edgy, offensive stuff?”
Dan looks at Rohan, slightly abashed. “Well, I must admit, I often split the crowd… and not just when I saw them in half!”
Rohan catches a bullet between his teeth.
“Where did that come from?!” I scream.
They both laugh and turn each other into tortoises.
After a few minutes of trying to cajole the tortoises into continuing with the interview, I give up. As I walk from their cramped flat back to the LMAOnaise offices, I realise I understand very little about Rohan and Dan. But I couldn’t help but feel that the world of magic had lost two very magical men, and the world of comedy had gained two very unfunny tortoises.
Rohan Sharma: Mad Dog is running from July 30th-August 24th, 7:10pm, at Pleasance Courtyard (Below). Tickets here.
Dan Bishop’s comedy play Brainsluts is running from July 30th-August 25th, 2:45pm, at Pleasance Dome (10Dome). Tickets here.
Read more about Edinburgh Fringe 2025:
