Sitting waiting for a Fringe show the other day, I was approached by a robotic dog delivering flyers on its back. This was my first encounter with one of the stars of Robot Magic, a mechanical dog called Sparky that has more dexterity than my own flesh and fur canine.

Robot Magic is an amalgamation of traditional sleight of hand magic and cutting-edge AI served up by a master magician – Charlie Caper from Sweden – and his troupe of robots – most of which have been lovingly handcrafted by him. This show is the definition of new! I attended the fourth ever performance. Polished it was not but Charlie was disarmingly candid and charming about it being a work in progress.

If you’re looking for a David Copperfield extravaganza, this is not your show. But if you want to be taken into the slightly chaotic world of Charlie Caper where the set could well be an extension of his brain – then come on in! There are moments in the show that will have you oohing and aahing with his skill as a magician. And there are moments that challenge your perception of what is real and what is trickery using technology and magic. But the most touching moments for me were when Charlie introduced his Robot friends.

This mechanical menagerie was disturbing and delightful in equal parts. The all talking, all singing robot that had more facial expressions than a family of Kardashians was scary real. The floating eyeball was balletic and bonkers. But my favourite moment of the show was when we were introduced to Charlie’s first creation – an aging mini man modelled on his maker. The tenderness in which they interacted was amplified with a kiss on the robot’s head from the magician.

This show will leave you pondering the world as we know it. Charlie attempts some incredible feats of magic but he’s also a futurist implicitly conjuring complicated thoughts about progress and technology. How we embrace these thoughts, just like how we might embrace this show is up to the individual.