Close
Edward Hilsum was awarded his BSc in Psychology in 2013.
As a magician, Edward has performed at the London Palladium, the ‘World Stars of Magic’ show in Las Vegas and 10 Downing Street. His one-man show ‘Genie’ received critical acclaim at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and he’s currently touring the UK starring in ‘Champions of Magic’.
Offstage, Edward runs Love Variety – an independent production company dedicated to promoting outstanding live shows. He recently co-wrote and directed the hit West End show ‘James Freedman: Man of Steal’.
During his second year at UCL, Edward became president of the UCL Union's (UCLU) Magic Society. This allowed him to put some of his ideas into practice. As well as teaching aspiring magicians, he produced his first variety shows, bringing incredible artists together to show students what live entertainment is really about. These turned out to be so successful that after three sell-out shows at UCL, they held a further two at The Magic Circle Headquarters. This grounding in producing shows he received at UCL led him to form his own production company after he graduated.
Another opportunity which came from being at UCL was performing at the London Olympics. The Olympic Committee invited UCL to recommend entertainers and Edward was thrilled to be chosen as the only magician to perform during the opening ceremony and throughout the games.
In his very first year at UCL, he was asked to perform at the annual Psychology department Christmas party. At the time, he had done very few shows like this and it was one of the first times he had spoken on stage. Edward says that the reception he received was truly incredible and he went on to perform in this show every year, including a couple even after he graduated!
Edward's career highlight so far is being awarded ‘Stage
Magician of the Year’ by the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
Image: Edward Hilsum (credit: Gary Moyes)
