South Tyneside International Magic Festival 2026

The South Tyneside International Magic Festival returns to South Shields on October 17 and 18, 2026, a celebration of all things magic backed by South Tyneside Council.

The heart of the weekend is the two-day convention at The Little Haven Hotel on River Drive, with a nine-act international lineup: David Penn, winner of the British Magic Championships, brings his robot tech show featuring D4RYL, a live humanoid robot, in its only appearance north of London; FISM world champion Yann Frisch performs the cups-and-balls routine that made him famous, plus a separate close-up set; card magician Andrew Frost lectures on his magician-fooling material; Bron Ivy, the first woman to win Family Entertainer of the Year at Blackpool; French mentalist Gabriel Werlen, creator of the Green Neck System and recent Penn & Teller: Fool Us performer; comedy magician Mark Bennett of Bristol's Smoke & Mirrors theatre pub; Britain's Got Talent pickpocket Lee Thompson, thirteen years with Cirque du Soleil; magic creator Iain Bailey; and comedian Steffen Peddie closing Saturday with a late night comedy show.

Around the convention, The Customs House on Mill Dam hosts two public shows: a Family Variety Show on Friday evening, October 16, and the Gala Variety Show on Saturday night, both at 7:30pm, with lineups to be announced.

Convention tickets are 120 pounds for the full two days, or 95 pounds for returning attendees with a discount code, booked through South Tyneside Council. Tickets for the Customs House shows go on sale separately.