Number 364 - 16th June 2007
Breaking the Magician's
Code is being repeated next week for the umpteenth time at 8pm on
Sunday 24th June on ITV4, cynically following the genuinely groundbreaking
magic of David Blaine, which is being shown on the same channel at 7pm. TV
exposure reduces the art and performance of magic to nothing more than a
trick or "con" in the eyes of most of the viewing public, young or old,
yet still magicians who should know better get sucked in by television
companies who couldn't give a damn.
TV Magic.
16.6.07
The
Dirty Secret Club. An esoteric night of comedy, music and bizarre
'magikal' rituals on a boat floating on the Thames! Starring TV's
Barry and
Stuart, extreme escapologist
Jonathan
Goodwin and the truly amazing
Pete Firman
together with Trevor Lock, Lora Gadd and master of ceremonies Andrew
O'Neill. "Boarding the boat you have to enter a true dirty secret into a
box - secrets are then pulled from the box at random and used as part of
the show throughout the night, a bit like Russian Roulette, but with
morals! At the end of the night this box - and all the secrets it contains
- are burnt. The ashes are then put in an urn and buried at the end of the
season. So poker faces all round should your secret be read out!"
Battersea Barge, Vauxhall Tube. Tuesday June 19th at 7.30pm. £7.00. Book
early by calling the barge on 020 7498 0004.
www.batterseabarge.com.
16.6.07
At
last - a British magic act with the X Factor! After a week of pretty
dismal viewing magic-wise (Britain's Got Talent ITV1 & 2) one act
that has managed to shine in the talent stakes is Latin Magic - on rival
talent show Let Me Entertain You (BBC2, weekdays). James Anthony
and Joy Worsley's version of Illusioncraft's X-Factor illusion resulted in
the couple winning their heat and £1,000 cash prize; the show will be
transmitted on Monday, June 18th, at 6.30pm on BBC2. James Anthony began
as a competitive ice-skater, becoming the British Junior Champion in 1997.
Today Latin Magic combine skills taken from skating, Latin dancing and
magic in an act that has taken them all over the world. The couple are
regular guest entertainers for P&O and Royal Caribbean. Visit
www.latin-magic.com
for more information. News just in: Magic Sam "The People's Magician"
featured in last week's news, has made it through to the Grand Final which will go
out live on Friday June 22nd at 6pm on BBC2. Good
luck Magic Sam!
16.6.07
Watch
out - we thought there was a pickpocket about! "Bush Gets His Watch
Stolen By His Albanian Fans" YouTube (video 1)
Click Here. "Bush in Albania, the truth about his watch" YouTube
(video 2)
Click Here. Daily Mail: "Revealed: The secret sleight of hand used by
thieves to remove a watch from a victim's wrist"
Click Here. Dave Bonsall reports on his day in "A Hell of a Day!"
Click
Here. (Photo: Dave Bonsall on BBC News 24). "See how it's done. How
easy is it to swipe someone's watch from their wrist? As the White House
denies George Bush had his timepiece lifted while on walkabout, we take
some expert advice." To read the full article by Finlo Rohrer for BBC News
Magazine, featuring magician Michael Gee (with video)
Click Here.
16.6.07
The
new Mel Mellor's double DVD set Tickling the Mind is featured
under Magic
DVDs this week. This two disc set is really packed with great material
- you'll see Mel in three different live shows, followed by post-show
breakdowns that deconstruct each routine in this invaluable set.
16.6.07
Hans Klok show gets Pammed! "Show
Review: Seen It All Before 'Beauty of Magic' a repeat of other shows
without the punch" writes Mike Weatherford for the Las Vegas Review
Journal. "You have to sit through about 50 minutes of pointing and
posturing from Dutch magician Hans Klok to get 10 or 12 minutes of Pam
Anderson, the marquee star whose micro-shorts were meant to add
contemporary interest to this dated and unintentionally campy magic revue
at Planet Hollywood." Ouch... to read the full review
Click Here.
16.6.07
Electric
Empire presents 'Magic Night' at the Soho Revue Bar on Friday 6th
July. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm (followed by Circus at
10.30pm) Tickets £8.00, concessions £6.00 "Magic Night is proud to present
Graham Jolley - the ultimate mind reader, Christian Lee, a rising star in
the comedy and magic world, Tom Bell one of the most exciting comics on
the scene, and Anil Desai (AKA Rajesh the Bollywood Lounge singer) a
brilliant character comedian. Not forgetting our host, the stunning
Tiffany Stevenson. So come along to London's premiere entertainment haunt,
Soho Revue Bar, and see why this night continues to be one of the best
contemporary cabaret nights on the circuit - with fantastic magic and
comedy acts and the best cutting edge magicians in an intimate setting."
Tickets:
www.ticketweb.co.uk or call Ticket Web on 08700 600 100. Soho Revue
Bar, 11 Walkers Court, Soho, London W1
www.sohorevuebar.com.
16.6.07
MagicWeek
favourite Pete Firman sets off to Scotland in August to get his fringe
sorted out. See What's On
for the this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival magic listings (minus one, who'd
prefer it if you respected his "no magicians" policy). Thanks to
Peter
McLanachan for collating the information.
16.6.07
Maurice Fogel - In Search of the
Sensational by Chris
Woodward and Richard Mark, published by Hermetic Press, is now available in the UK
(or Europe) direct from Chris Woodward
c.woodward@tesco.net
or in the USA from Richard Mark rimark@pol.net. Price US $72.00
postpaid in the USA or £36.00 (plus postage - email first, for the UK and
Europe).
Special Offer: Each purchaser will receive a bookplate containing three
signatures: Chris Woodward, Nadine (his wife and Maurice Fogel's daughter) and
Richard Mark. 440 pages of pure magic.
www.mauricefogel.com.
16.6.07
Roy Davenport lectures at the London
Society of Magicians on Friday 20th June at 7.30pm - details from
Davenports on 020 7836 0408.
16.6.07
Etienne Pradier
lectures in
Southampton on June 19th for the Associated Wizards of the South.
Starts at 8pm prompt. For more information call Phil Wedgbrow on 07739 407147 or email
philwedgbrow@themagiccircle.co.uk.
16.6.07
Viva
España! Andrew Murray entertained thousands of physicians this week at
the EULAR Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Andrew's sleight of hand skills
were showcased by his client for 4 days with each live set being broadcast
to the attendees on giant 106" plasma screens.
www.andrewmurray.biz.
16.6.07
Jonathan
Lovett - new close-up champ. As
usual the Leamington and Warwick Magic Society’s Close-Up Competition for
the Frank Allen Cup attracted several talented members and the skill level
was high. At the meeting on 6th June seven members competed for the cup
and in the event the winner by one point was newest member Jonathan Lovett
with some amazing card magic done to very amusing patter. Second was Alan
Cooper and only 2 points away from him was Mark Traversoni who came third.
Picture: Jonathan on the left with society President Mick McCreath.
Reported by Martin Key.
16.6.07
Calling all ex-Demon Magic Club members. Oliver Tabor emails: "If you were ever a member of the young magicians club, that used to meet every Saturday afternoon in the Davenports Magic Studio, please get in contact, we would love to hear from you, to form a mini reunion." Call either Paul Henri on 07701 040990 or Oliver Tabor on 07900 543384 or email otmagicfx@hotmail.com. 16.6.07
"Watch Alex get tricksy" Click Here • "Line-up for the eFestivals Cosmic Comedy Tent at Guilfest announced" Click Here • Finally, if you enjoyed The Apprentice, and you like a bit of Star Wars Click Here • That's it for this week, see you next week, Duncan. 16.6.07