Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Wisard
Julian Hernandez
Genre: Absurd Theatre, Clown, Comedy, Interactive
Venue: Just Out Of The Box at Just The Tonic at The Caves
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The genius Cuban Wisard, Julian Hernandez, takes you through an experience that bemuses and amuses the modern mind. It’s an absurd show that absolutely makes no sense for most of its duration but magically makes sense by the end of it.
Review
The Wisard enters the stage in a venue that lends itself wonderfully to the themes of this show. He sneakily comes into the audience and steals some of your belongings. What unfolds is an hour of absolute absurdity and laughter. No one exactly knows what is going on, but somehow everyone is having the time of their lives. What’s magic if not this?
Hernandez has a very charming presence and embodies spontaneity and wit. He has some structure to the show which he makes sure to reach. But in the spaces between those moments, he flies like a true wizard. The only way I can explain his comedic style is to say that he listens to every intrusive thought he has, and slowly speaks it out loud, modifying and playing with it in real time as the audience just sits there wondering what is going on?!
The joy of this show is that whatever is going on is beautiful, honest and true to the performer. He’s not trying to trick you, or manipulate you, or pretend in front of you. He’s there with all his heart. And his incredible comedic timing. At one point, out of nowhere, Hernandez makes the right row slowly chant a spell that eventually forms the name “Saoirse Ronan” and then makes the left row chant a spell that forms the name “Sasha Baron Cohen”. We laugh at the absurdity of it all. And then he asks us – who are we today? Are we the British man that makes fun of brown people or the perfect innocent white Irish girl?
Absurdity with great political humour doesn’t get better than this. Hernandez has a lot to say about the current world order. He possesses a deep passion for changing that order and creating a better world. But he knows that this isn’t a straightforward job. It’s a job which requires a Cuban immigrant wizard to come and mess some things up. Steal a few belongings from the audience. Make up a song with an audience member. Ask the white American boy in the front row to close his legs. Give random pop culture names like Pam Beesly and Michelle Wolf to audience members. Captivate them with your skill, presence and loveable absurdity and then tell them how the world is being drowned by various authoritarian and capitalistic forces.
Wisard is not popular amongst the biggest clown names at the Fringe this year, but it’s right up there in quality with some of the best clowns around. Hernandez is very funny and has something important to say, which we all should listen to. It’s a show which embodies the fringe spirit and reminds us of why it’s important to take time out of our busy lives and go visit wizards every now and then. Our lives get too monotonous within the current systems. We need this Wisard to change our lives this year.
