Number 423 - 2nd August 2008
Britain
has Got Talent! 24 close-up magicians competed for the
People's Choice Award for Close-Up Magic (and a $10,000 prize) last week
at the joint IBM SAM Convention held in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Six
made it through to the judged final and then it was left down to the
audience to decide... Marc Oberon won, enjoying two standing ovations
along the way with his original magic - that in his hands is
real magic. I am sure readers will be as delighted as I was on
hearing this news. Marc is a 24/7 magic guy and his love of the art,
combined with a personal quest for excellence, has really paid off. I
first saw Marc perform this routine at the British Ring Eastbourne
Convention in
2006 and thought it the magical highlight of the convention.
Brilliant stuff - well done Marc!
www.marcoberon.com.
Many congratulations also to Stage Competition winner, manipulator An
Ha-Lim, from South Korea. This year's British Ring Eastbourne Convention
is now just weeks away... and everyone I speak to about it is going!
Click Here for the full day-to-day programme of events (thanks Bob). 2.8.08
South
Tyneside International Magic Festival: 13th-15th March 2009. Details
have just been released for next year's event. Booked to date: David
Williamson (USA), Rick Maue (photo - USA), Banachek (USA), Steve Axtell
(USA), Don Driver (USA), Bob Sheets (USA), Russ Stevens (UK), Jasper
(UK), and Paul Dabek (UK). Find out more! Visit
www.magicbox.uk.com. 2.8.08
Richard
Leigh presents the 500th performance of The Magic Cavern at the
Barons Court Theatre on Sunday 31st August at 3pm. Richard would like to
thank the many artistes who have performed at the venue over the years.
Richard Leigh (Producer) and Ron Phillips (Artistic Director of Barons
Court Theatre) invite close-up magicians to audition on Wednesday 13th
August, from 1pm, for the next season of shows. Email
falseimpressions@gmail.com
for further details and available audition times. The Magic Cavern,
Barons Court Theatre, 28A Comeragh Road, London W14 9HR. 2.8.08
Electric
Empire presents ‘Magic Night’ at Soho Revue Bar, Friday 5th
September: "Magic Night returns in September and gets technical with
Video Magic. This show is full of clever celluloid trickery where live
performed magic will be beamed straight onto a TV screen. Lee Hathaway
will be presenting an amazing sleight of hand card routine, Adam Bloom
will also be beaming in on video with a magic trick he has created with
some very glamorous assistants, Bob Percy will be presenting his ‘stab
the object’, but he will be blindfolded and the object hidden in the
audience. Be afraid! Barry and Stuart the dark twins of magic will also
be projecting a dark and wonderful trick onto the big screen alongside
their nightmarish world of sorcery, illusion, strange feats and comedy
sketches. Laughs will be provided by the hilarious Tiffany Stevenson.
Christian Lee, a rising star in the magic world, will be hosting,
Christian is one of the few magicians who genuinely crosses the divide
between comedy and magic. Also featuring: Neil Henry, our ever popular
and incredibly talented close up magician." Doors open 7pm, Show starts
at 8pm, Tickets £10.00, Concessions £7.00
www.ticketweb.co.uk
Soho Revue Bar, 11 Walkers Court, Soho, London W1
www.sohorevuebar.com. 2.8.08
A
special surprise event is being planned as part of the line up at this
year's International Magic Convention (November 28th-30th at the
Shaw Theatre, London). Two years ago the surprise event was a Question
and Answer session with Derren Brown, that included video footage from
his then unseen new series. This year you're not going to know exactly
what the surprise is until it starts on the Sunday! "There are a number
of reasons why we are keeping the exact nature of the event as a
surprise," says Noel Britten, event co-ordinator for the Convention,
"but undoubtedly one of them is that there seem very few genuine
surprises at Conventions nowadays, which seems strange when 'surprise'
is our business. Stan Allen at Magic Live did not announce what
any of the events were going to be before they happened. This produced a
certain level of anticipation and the excitement was palpable as the
event unfolded in front of you, if the performer or happening
warranted it. I think this will undoubtedly warrant it!" Guesses as to
what the event may be, can be emailed to
noelbritten@talk21.com under the heading "Surprise Event". The first
person to guess correctly will have their full registration cost
reimbursed at the Convention. Multiple entries are allowed, so let the
guessing begin! More Convention details on
www.internationalmagic.com. 2.8.08
Chris
Priest and Andrew Murray - Leicester Magic Circle lectures. The
Leicester Magic Circle present a night of magic with British Close-up
Champion Chris Priest on Monday August 18th and an evening with multi
award winning Gold Star member of the Inner Magic Circle Andrew Murray
on September 1st. 7.30pm, visiting magicians welcome (£5.00 door charge,
no need to book). Venue: Ramada Hotel, 71-73 Grandby Street, Leicester
LE1 6ES (Map).
For more information contact: LMC secretary Barry Martin
barry@leicestermagiccircle.co.uk or visit
www.leicestermagiccircle.co.uk. 2.8.08
San
Francisco magicians Jay Alexander, Big Al Catraz, RJ Owens and Fred
Anderson will be performing in All-Star Magic and Comedy at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show runs to August 25th at The Zoo –
Southside venue. Jay Alexander will be in the show from August 6th-11th.
See What's On for
Fringe listings. 2.8.08
Merlins
of Wakefield have just acquired the UK rights for a range of
Outlaw Magic effects from the USA. These are mentalism based effects
with the emphasis on "non-magical" looking items. The owner, Rick says
"I specialise in the production of hand-crafted effects for those that
perform in the field of mentalism. Whether for the professional or
hobbyist, I design my products to fit most needs. I take great pride in
the custom work done here at Outlaw and it is reflected in the
wonderful feedback I receive from customers, including some of the top
names in our field." As everything is hand-crafted they are generally
only available in limited quantities, or on a made to order basis. Visit
www.merlinswakefield.co.uk for details. 2.8.08
Kidology
Convention - Tuesday 9th September 2008. This is the only UK
convention specifically geared towards the children's entertainer. Last
week we highlighted one of the lecturers, Tony Griffith, and this week
it's the turn of Russ Brown (photo) with a lecture called 'Kids 'r'
Russ'. The lecture will feature some of the routines, gags and games he
has used in his act over the years including some of his latest
material. Everything in his lecture is aimed at a modern audience and is
fast and exciting. Russ was resident entertainer in Blackpool's famous
Tower for over ten years - no mean feat! His approach to entertaining is
unique, resulting in many TV appearances and excellent reviews in the
national press. Kidology 2008, Wolverhampton, Tuesday September 9th: 4
lectures, 12 dealers, lunch included. Visit
www.practical-magic.com. 2.8.08
Mark
Mason: Decade 2 DVD set. Ten years ago Mark Mason released his first
DVD set Real World Magic. No one could have guessed how popular
this set would become, with thousands having been sold worldwide. Now
it's time for a brand new two-disc set, entitled Decade - full of
magical gems, right out of Mark's professional repertoire. Perfect for
pre-dinner, corporate events and restaurants,
Click
Here. 2.8.08
BigBlindMedia
presents The Underground Collective in ‘Welcome To The Firm’ "A DVD
from Jamie Badman and Colin Miller – the people who brought you the
smash hit Heirloom, (plus Panagram, Sensory Perception and The
Underground Collection Books 1&2). This 90min extravaganza has it all -
self workers, mentalism, brand new sleights, some eye popping card
chicanery – it’s all there! These guys have a Stella reputation in the
magic world – and ‘Welcome To The Firm’ will show you why!"
Click Here to watch the trailer.
"This is a great DVD that allows you to really experience the magic
of the Underground Collective. Please stop punching me now." Andi
Gladwin
www.bigblindmedia.com. 2.8.08
The
Order of the Magi (Manchester) celebrate their Centenary in March
next year and the membership is now nearly up to 100. The Council of the
society have decided that the 100th current member at the time of the
celebrations will receive a special engraved shield bearing their logo,
together with a chrome type tipped wand. These two gifts will be
presented at the Centenary Dinner on the 21st March 2009 by President
Geoffrey Newton (photo)... will this member be you? Application forms
are available from Secretary Mike Sharples on 0161 287 7865
secretary@orderofthemagi.org.uk Geoffrey said “This is a very
exciting year for The Magi as we approach our 100th birthday and full
details of the current syllabus are on
www.orderofthemagi.org.uk”. 2.8.08
Colin
McLeod can be seen nightly at 7pm on August 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and
7th at the Tea Tree, 13 Bread Street, Edinburgh.
Click Here for details. 2.8.08
Jack
Stephens is seen here performing to celebrity chef Gary Rhodes
onboard the Oriana. Jack tells us that Gary is a real magic fan, and
loved it! Van Buren & Co were performing in the ships theatre, Jack
emails: " It is so important to us magicians that our colleagues keep
magic alive. This is exactly what Van Buren & Co did in their superb
illusion show onboard the luxury liner, Oriana. In fact it was more than
just an illusion show. Of course, Andrew, a true gentleman of magic,
performed some large scale items (just like his did used to – except no
vanishing motorbike!). He also did some lovely effects such as vanishing
radio, appearing water bowls, vanish of a large flower arrangement and
then to all this he added some escapology (straightjacket and hand cuff
escapes) as well as some excellent juggling, uni-cycling and superb 8
stand plate spinning. This was a variety show with a capital V and hats
off to Andrew and his two lovely assistants for flying the flag of magic
across the seas. 2.8.08
The
Chuckle Brothers will shortly be launching a brand new adventure on
DVD entitled 'Indiana Chuckle and the Kingdom of the Mythical Sulk'
featuring the illusions, special effects and puppets of Safire, recorded
live during their 2008 sell out tour. Meanwhile, a 2 disc box set
'Pirates of the River Rother' and 'Spooky Goings on 2' also featuring
Safire, is currently available from Amazon.co.uk
Click Here. 2.8.08
Congratulations
to popular Scottish magician Michael McMillan who was married on
18th July to Miss Margaret McMillan. The wedding ceremony was held in
the lovely Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Church in the
Perthshire village of Auchterarder and was followed with a traditional
Scottish Ceilidhi in the Crieff Hydro Hotel. Reported by Adrian Harris. 2.8.08
The
Twins take to the high seas once again this month with their large
illusion show onboard P&O's Oceana. "We have brought onboard John
Gaughan's 'Flying' and Roy Shank's 'Bow Staff' - this is the first time
'Flying' as been performed on a ship!" said Gary. Illusion designer Mark
Parker consulted on this production... "Mark has design a number of
illusions for us including 'Acceleration' a lighting appearance of a
Super Bike". Mark is currently designing some new illusions for The
Twins for 2009. Visit
www.thetwins.co.uk
and www.4-effect.com
for more information 2.8.08
El
Loco has just returned from cruising aboard Carnival's newest ship,
The Splendor. Next, he is off to join Sir Richard Branson's barge, the M
V Edwardian.
www.elloco.co.uk. 2.8.08
Lee
Smith and Steve Dean performed close-up magic at a grand charity
event last week. "A great day was had by all, the magic went down a
storm and they helped raised in excess of £10,000 for charity." 2.8.08
Craig Petty lectures at the Bolton Magicians Club on Wednesday 6th August. The venue as usual is the Doffcocker Inn, Chorley Old Road, Bolton. The start time 8.30pm, and all magicians are welcome, though there is a small charge on the door for non-members. Craig has just returned from the IBM/SAM convention in Kentucky, where has launched two new exciting products, Split Happens and Mirage Coins. The lecture promises to be a good one. Steve Owen, Bolton Magicians Club. 2.8.08
Merlin Magical Society Auction. John Clayton emails: "The Merlin Magical Society are holding an auction on August 7th, at Potters Bar United Reformed Church, Tilbury Hall, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1BZ (Map). Doors open at 7.30pm and the Auction will start at around 8pm. The entrance fee is £2 for non-members. The effects being sold are the property of Rex Taylor, who for those who don't know already, is terminally ill. There is a variety of effects being sold, some close-up items, children's magic and mentalism effects. Also a number of books. The more people we can get to attend the evening, the more chance we have of helping Rex sell his magic items." www.merlinmagicalsociety.co.uk. 2.8.08
"David Blaine promises to meet Gloucestershire youngster" Click Here • "Tommy’s big statue’s a step closer – just like that!" Click Here • "Criss Angel reveals details of his exploding building stunt" Click Here • "Criss Angel Survives Hotel Implosion, Thanks to the Magic of Television" Click Here • "Spoiler Alert: Criss Angel's 'Escape' Revealed" Click Here • When it comes to "live - no camera tricks TV" no one does it quite like Criss Angel. See you next week, Duncan. 2.8.08