Number 388 - 1st December 2007
Derren
Brown, Mind Reader - An Evening of Wonders. February, March, April
2008. This is the second leg of the tour and a final chance to see
Derren Brown perform this show. If you've seen Derren live before, you'll
know just how mind-blowing his stage shows are. This is his third tour and
it is expected to sell out as quickly as the last, which won the coveted
Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. Derren's pioneering blend of
psychology, illusion and showmanship make for a stunning theatrical
evening. "One of the most proficient illusionists on the planet... any
planet" - Glasgow Herald, "It's impossible not to be impressed by
Brown's brilliance and baffling shtick" - London Evening Standard,
"Love him or hate him, Derren Brown is the king of illusionists and the
prince of psychological persuaders" - Daily Mail. To find out
where the world's foremost mind manipulator is performing just concentrate
hard, or visit What's On.
(Note: This performance is not suitable for children under 12 years.) Some
venues may not be taking advance bookings just yet. Also try
www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Derren Brown: Something
Wicked This Way Comes and Derren Brown: The
Heist - see TV Magic.
1.12.07
Saturday
Live Again, ITV1, 9.40pm with MagicWeek favourite Pete Firman.
"Several of the reborn Saturday Live’s acts are familiar faces – Jimmy
Carr, Mitchell and Webb, Lee Mack, Ben Elton. Some of them are closer to
the sort of bubbling-under cult status that we associate with the original
- the magician Pete Firman, the sketch trio We Are Klang, the drunken
children’s entertainer Jeremy Lion" To read the full article by Dominic
Maxwell in The Times
Click Here. Pete grew up in Middlesbrough where his parents and
sister provided a normal loving family environment. He studied for an
acting degree and was looking forward to joining the family business
selling second hand cars. But somewhere along the line something went
wrong. Pete spent his teenage years locked away in his bedroom practicing
magic furiously with just a poster of Pamela Anderson for company. Seeing
an announcement for new magicians to present a TV show (Click
Here) Pete stripped to his underpants in a snowy back garden and
filmed himself performing tricks. The show was Five’s Monkey Magic
and Pete's career as a TV magician started. Since Monkey Magic he
has traveled the world meeting his magic heroes and performing his own
brand of anarchic magic in Sky One's The Secret World of Magic, and amazed
viewers with his ability to perform disgusting tricks with animals,
cigarettes and big spikey things in Channel 4's Dirty Tricks. 2006 saw the
release of Pete’s first book for the public, ‘Tricks To Freak Out Your
Friends’ which about to go into its second print run. 2007 has been his
busiest year to date and at the start of 2008 you'll be able to see Pete
live on stage in Pete Firman - Hokum at the
Bloomsbury Theatre,
15 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH, on Friday 25th January at 8pm. Book
now:
www.thebloomsbury.com tickets are £10 in advance and £12 on the day
(£10 concessions). Tickets can
also be booked by calling 0207 388 8822.
1.12.07
Kasrani
and company - putting Bournemouth firmly on the magic map in 2007.
Kasrani Presents... A Show of Extraordinary Magic. "Can you believe a
whole show of magic in Bournemouth's premier nightclub, in the centre of
town, on a Monday night? The show being completely "Sold Out" (at £35.00
per head too!) before the ink had dried on the very impressive posters?
Well you'd better believe it because that's what happened!
The genius behind the show and its marketing was Kasrani himself..." To read the
full review by Mike Danata
Click Here. Find out more about Kasrani:
www.myspace.com/samuelkasrani and
www.samuelkasrani.com YouTube clips: "Kasrani, freaks out Gordon the
time keeper in Bournemouth"
Click
Here, "Magic Singh - Card Slide"
Click
Here, "James More Star Trail Promotion"
Click
Here. (James More represented Bournemouth at Leamington Spa last
Saturday in the National Resorts Competition and came first in the
speciality section winning £500 and third place overall winning another
£500.)
1.12.07
JL2
Magic launch their new Magic Wallets and Mastercheat Mind
Reading Gimmick today. "These beautiful designer leather wallets made
from the best quality DD waxy leather available are perfect for the
professional magician. The Scam Wallet is a custom made shogun style
wallet looks like an everyday hip wallet and The Himber Twist Wallet is
slim line and handles perfectly. There are a multitude of different magic
routines and effects you can perform with the
JL2 Magic wallets,
and each package includes a broadcast quality DVD and written colour
instructions with three routines to get you started. 'a great piece of kit
that will allow you to do amazing effects' Martin Sanderson. 'This wallet
represents fantastic value for money. It is a cost-effective way to own a
beautifully made leather wallet that has many features built in to help
any magician of any ability perform a myriad of effects.' Nic Einhorn.
Mastercheat: 'I love gimmicks that look like everyday objects!
Mastercheat is something you can use to read minds anytime. Lee has
taken a simple idea and improved it no end' Marc Paul" - For more
information on the whole range (including video clips) visit
www.jl2magic.com today!
1.12.07
Wayne
Dobson visited the South Lincs Magical Society last week to lecture
and gave members and visitors a marvelous evening to remember. The Society
awarded Wayne Honorary Life Membership for his services to magic which
Wayne was delighted to accept. Wayne is seen here receiving his
Certificate from President of The South Lincs Magical Society Paul Cooke.
1.12.07
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Holiday Apartments, South Shore, Blackpool. Fully self contained
apartments sleeping from 2 to 6 people. Book now for Blackpool's Magic
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Email for further details: lindisfarneblackpool@yahoo.com 1.12.07
Merlins
of Wakefield have just released their latest 16 page 'Preview'
catalogue. Simply email them your postal address:
merlins@btconnect.com and they
will send you a free copy! Also, visit their website for the 2008 Tenyo
range - now in stock:
www.merlinswakefield.co.uk. Tenyo Ultimate Spoon Bend - "Show
your audience a solid metal spoon. Focus your psychic energy on it, and
watch the spoon bend at your fingertips. As a surprising finale, the spoon
breaks in half! You can hand our the two broken pieces of the spoon to
your audience for examination, and they will find nothing unusual or out
of the ordinary. No cover or secret movements. Your audience will shriek
when they seen the spoon bend!"
1.12.07
Just
in at Practical Magic -The Encyclopedia of Sponge Ball Magic DVD. This
is a 2½ hour collection of Sponge Ball moves and routines - all for just
£12.50! Not only that, but included in the price is a boxed set of Sponge
Balls! For full details
Click Here.
1.12.07
Past
Midnight. Another trailer has just been released from the upcoming Past Midnight DVD collection from Alakazam Magic: "Pluckley
is a fantastic psychological style routine that has a brilliant gambling
theme. This set is pre selling very quickly indeed so get your order in
now to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas as they are expected to be
shipping in the first week in December! The unique and original material
on these DVDs is certain to find its way into the repertoires of magicians
everywhere." Watch the clip; Alakazam on YouTube:
Click Here
www.alakazam.co.uk.
1.12.07
The
Annual Dinner of the Associated Wizards of the South will be held at
the Holiday Inn Hotel Fareham, Cartwright Drive, Titchfield, Fareham,
Hampshire PO15 5RJ (Map)
on Friday 8th February 2008. A three course meal plus coffee will be
followed by close-up magic at the table and a cabaret, starring
illusionists' Jason Steele and Joanne. Tickets: £33.00 each from Ian
Marriott, 4 Country View, West Wellow, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 6JS. Please
make cheques payable to the AWS and enclose an SAE.
www.awsmagic.co.uk.
1.12.07
Jerry
O'Connell - Split Decision. Jerry O'Connell has made a very limited
number of "Split Decision" cases by hand. They come with or without the
actual trick... which Jerry has revamped, and because of that can now be
made in Bicycle stock! Exclusively available from Top Secret Magic,
Click Here.
1.12.07
Tom
Rose has just returned from a whistle-stop trip to Dubai where he was
invited to perform at a Birthday Party with the theme of 'a thousand
shades of white' (hence Tom's dashing white suit!). Performing along with
Tom were a 10-piece band from the UK, a Ukrainian Saxophonist together
with an Australian photographer - truly an international party. Another
highlight included a life size, 3D birthday cake replica of Pamela Anderson -
nice. www.trmagic.com.
1.12.07
Paul
Kieve was a guest on Blue Peter on Wednesday 28th November, training
Konnie Huq to be a magician and talking about his new book, Hocus Pocus.
On December 16th Paul presents a talk about the magicians of the Hackney
Empire, onstage at the Hackney Empire. For more information and to book
visit:
www.hackneyempire.co.uk.
1.12.07
Magic
man Jasper Blakeley, was the first choice for luxury car maker,
Maserati, to help launch their new eighty thousand pound sportscar. "With
sleek looks and a stunning appearance, it's not hard to see why their were
gasps of awe - but besides me there was also a car, the amazing Gran
Turismo turning heads!" said Jasper. Out of his usual wig and leather
trousers of his alter-ego, Kockov, Jasper entertained the clients with his
unique close-up material.
www.jasperblakeley.co.uk.
1.12.07
Laughter
Lounge Coventry Comedy and Magic night. Diamond Dave emails: "The
first event is being held on January 30th, 2008 for the charity
Dreams Come True.
Unfortunately because this is a charity event I will be unable to offer
any form of fees to any of the artists however I feel this would be a
great chance for any up and coming or local magicians to perform for the public and also a great chance to promote themselves. Auditions are
being held at the following venue: 226 Radford Road, Radford, Coventry CV6
1AA on Monday 3rd of December between 10am and 4pm." If you would like
more information email Diamond Dave:
laughterlounge@live.co.uk.
1.12.07
Chris
Hare's Birthday Detector. I was treated to a live performance of Chris
Hare's Birthday Detector a few days ago and it instantly became clear just
how much fun you can have with this if you like your magic on the hoof. In
a close-up environment, playing to small groups of people, the Birthday
Detector really comes into its own - allowing you to apparently perform
mind reading miracles that simply shouldn't be possible! Once you are
comfortable with the prop you'll no doubt experiment with it and develop
different routines to those supplied. It is a prop that offers real
freedom. Quite expensive, but very well made, this will best suit the busy
professional who thrives under difficult close-quarter conditions, and
enjoys hearing those magic words "no way!" Highly recommended, visit
www.birthdaydetector.com for more details and to order.
1.12.07
Sheffield
Circle of Magicians are holding a Magic Night on Tuesday 4th December
at 7pm at the Fairways Inn, Birley Lane, Birley Wood, Sheffield S12 3BP
(Map). £2.00 on the door - all welcome. Contact Craig Frith (Entertainment
Secretary) 01142 014770 or 07816 989946 or Dave Chambers (President) 01302
537720 or 07740 404948.
1.12.07
An
Evening of Magic with Etienne Pradier and guest Paul Martin at the
Petham Village Hall, Church Lane, Petham, Canterbury, Kent CT4 5RD (Map)
at 7.30pm on Sunday 16th December. Tickets: 01233 712 759 (£12.00 each)
Suitable for all ages 8 and up.
1.12.07
Victor Burnett. Really sad to report that Victor Burnett died on November 6th of cancer. When I was growing up there were two great British silent magicians who would pop up on television every so often, Johnny Hart and Victor Burnett. Victor's act was super slick and involved the production (and vanish) of fire fans, dove magic and even a floating ball, performed to Isaac Hayes's theme from Shaft (hearing that theme music brings back vivid memories). 1.12.07
The
36th International Magic Weekend
is reported by JJ this week,
Click Here • Arturo Brachetti - The man with a thousand faces - Lee
Alex reviews Arturo's current show this week,
Click Here • Jack Delvin reports on The Magic Circle's Annual
Awards Banquet
Click Here • "Watch some Bizarre magic"
Click Here • "Tricks and Trikes: Questions for Loch David Crane"
Click Here • "The Quantum Eye" $10 off tickets
Click Here • "James More Bournemouth Star Trail 2007"
Click
Here • "Comedy pals toast Mike"
Click Here • "Keith Barry Extraordinary"
Click Here • "On a magic tour to knit the country together"
Click Here • Mel Harvey has just returned from a trip to Las
Vegas with more than he bargained for. Overcome by the romance of a
gondola trip at the Venetian hotel he proposed to his partner Nikki Lynas,
a senior education officer working for Worcestershire Education Authority,
and the couple plan to marry early in 2008. (The lengths some people go to
just to get a name-check in MagicWeek.) That's it for another week, your
UK magic news is always welcomed - please remember the 12 noon Friday
deadline. See you next week, Duncan. 1.12.07