Review: A Wizard Guide to Saving the World, Fringe 2025

When I agreed to attend Terry Victor‘s Fringe show Wizard Guide to Saving the World, I may not have entirely known what I was signing up for – but I was game for this one-man show.

Vibe

I made my way to Hill Street on what I believe was the last day of the show, and then made myself comfortable in an audience… of four. And at least two of the others were working at the venue (one of them was performing in two of the shows). Last day Fringe vibes for sure.

Despite the lack of audience, it was an interesting vibe with a crushed velvet prop nesting some glassware. What was about to happen? Well… wizard stuff! Wizard stuff was indeed about to happen.

The show itself

Terry Victor made his way on stage as an experienced wizard called (now, I may get the spelling of this wrong because I’ve been unable to spell check this with other reviews) Wotizz Moist.

It’s clear to see Victor has the character actor chops, and a commendable stage presence, whilst making some double entendres. There are many wizard references, although I feel myself bristling slightly at the word ‘muggle’ – which is used many more times going forward. This is accompanied by many other Harry Potter references (and other great wizard references – like Gandalf).

Now, now! It’s fair to say, not everyone has grown to detest Harry Potter, or has even left the JK Rowling (TERF old boot) party… but I have. I find myself mostly still enjoying the show, but the constant Potterisms immediately put me on edge, raising the unavoidable question of whether this was a space aligned with Rowling’s views (and therefore, less of a safe space for trans people).

Whilst I have no reason to believe the Victor shares those views – indeed, having done a bit of digging afterwards, my impression was quite the opposite – the reliance on her lexicon created a bit of a barrier for me; a constant, nagging reminder of a broader cultural conflict.

Anyway, getting over the HP references, we see quite a neat stage trick involving that glass I mentioned earlier, where the water turns black, we recite some words that are proven to be most hated by us humans, the great wizard Merlin joins us for a bit (actually played by Victor again), and we get the chance to transmogrify into another human.

I’m selected to do this first; I refuse. When the other three audience members choose Lorraine Kelly, Tom Jones, and Charlotte Church, I begin to regret it. Don’t they want to choose someone who could actually made a difference, like Netanyahu, Trump or Putin?! What a waste.

We’re then given the option to save the world by making a spell to stop either climate change or war, and again apparently the other three people are on an entirely different page to me. I chose to end war, citing my reasoning of stopping the current genocide – Victor stopped the show and shook my hand.

But hey, looked like climate change was what we were going to end. The next part involved quite a lot of standing up and sitting down whilst reciting various words in a chant. It was quite fun, and a satisfactory end to the show. Do I believe it actually worked? Hmmm, colour me skeptical.

Overall

This was quite a show, and fairly enjoyable as a way to end the Fringe, but ultimately, A Wizard Guide to Saving the World succeeds on the strength of Terry Victor’s charismatic performance. In terms of escapism, it’s hampered by its reliance on a cultural touchstone that is, for many, no longer a source of uncomplicated magic.

It’s an enjoyable hour, but one that left me pondering the ghosts of wizards past more than the magic of the present – mainly due to the fact that Harry Potter references now give me the ick. Are the intentions good? I believe so. Therefore, this is a good show for fans of wizards, magic and people who want to save the world.