Number 464 - 16th May 2009
Pete
Wardell - Magic Circle Close-up Magician of the Year 2009! Pete
Wardell took the bull by the horns on Monday evening in front of a
packed house at The Magic Circle's HQ in London. Presenting his take on
the classic Cups and Balls routine Pete dazzled audience and judges
alike using a combination of powerful magic and nonchalant charm. John
van dur Put was placed second, with a (near) equally excellent
performance featuring some first class original magic and Paul Brown came
third. Paul's act featured the four elements Air, Water, Fire and Earth
in a cleverly woven piece that resulted in him being awarded the Ali
Bongo Originality Prize as well. The five other finalists were: Brett
Sherwood, Tim Shoesmith, Tim Sutton, Steve Dela and Steve Ablett.
Overall this was an excellent competition, with a high standard
throughout. Jack Delvin took over the organisation of the competition
this year and was also chairman of the judges, who were: Terry Guyatt,
Alan Shaxon, James Freedman and Fergus Anckorn. Committee Secretary
James Stubb, together with Roy Marsh, acted as general helper to the two
presenters, Andrew Eborn and Richard Pinner. Congratulations to all the winners (DT).
www.themagiccircle.co.uk. 16.5.09
To
boldly go... The Magic Trek came to an end last Sunday, Sean Lobban
reports: I’m pleased to say that we all finished The Magic Trek. Some of
us had blisters, one of us had swollen sore legs and a couple just had a
suntan! Six days, five magic clubs and 106 miles after starting we
arrived at The Magic Circle Headquarters on Sunday 10th May. We were met
there by friends, families and Acting President Jack Delvin, and
Barbara and Alan Astra, who made everybody feel very welcome.
At the end of each day we were met by members of each town’s club. Thank
you to the members of The Associated Wizards of the South, Winchester
Magical Society, The Magicians of Basingstoke, The Home Counties Magical
Society and of course The Magic Circle who waited for us to arrive. The
attached photo is of Simon Williams, President of The Home Counties
Magical Society, presenting a cheque from the club to The Trekkers.
We did create quite a stir on some of Hampshire and Berkshire’s busiest
roads, with traffic slowing down to look at Rod in his straitjacket,
Laurie juggling whilst blindfolded and then the seven foot rabbit!!
Fortunately, we didn’t cause any accidents (a few close shaves, but no
bumps!). The Magic Trek was held together by its support team of David
Luckett, Rob Driscoll and Sharon Lobban who provided refreshments,
repairs and recovery for any broken down walkers. Photos are online
Click Here and a video of the walk can be seen on
www.youtube.com. The best thing is that we achieved our target of
£5,000 for The Anthony Nolan Trust. Of course donations are still
welcome online at
www.anthonynolanevents.org.uk/magictrek. 16.5.09
Visions
of Ken Brooke - DVD. Martin Breese writes: "One of the most exciting
projects I have ever been involved in my 50 or more years in magic is
now almost ready to send out. On this DVD are countless Ken Brooke
movies showing him demonstrating and performing some of his classic
routines, together with many effects from Harry Stanley's Unique Magic
Studio in London, but best of all... Patrick Page has provided a
remarkable and informative live sound commentary for this fabulous DVD.
I acquired the copyright to all of the Unique Magic Studio material some
years ago. Amongst the many Unique Studio items were a number of silent
movies and many of these featured the amazing magic of the amazing Ken
Brooke – one of the most loved British magicians of all time. Patrick
Page knew Ken Brooke very well and he knew the tricks that Ken performed
and here you will not only see Ken Brooke at work but will also hear a
great deal about the history of the tricks and routines he performed. As
a very special bonus Patrick Page also allowed us to include some sound
material. This was filmed just before Ken died so sadly. The sound
material filmed by Vic Pinto and Patrick Page includes Chase the Ace
and The Chop Cup routine and even the wonderful Tamariz
Rabbits. Oh what a treat awaits every viewer!" Martin kindly sent
through an advance copy of this disc - Ken Brooke's Chop Cup routine was
the stand-out item for me, but the disc is packed full of clips that
will delight magic fans old and new. To pre-order visit
www.martinbreese.com. 16.5.09
Psychologist
Richard Wiseman will be joining magician and actor Matt Duggan on
Tuesday 19th May at 6pm for the latest installment of Smoke & Mirrors
- The Magic Radio Show on Resonance FM. Tune in to hear the show from
anywhere in the world via
http://resonancefm.com
or on 104.4FM in London. To find the magicast of the previous five
episodes, including the interviews Matt recently did with Paul Daniels
and Marc Paul visit
www.smokeandmirrorsradioshow.com and iTunes. You can subscribe to
both the show's RSS feed and the iTunes feed, to automatically receive
updates about the great guests still to come in this series. 16.5.09
Alakazam...
as if by magic! Peter Nardi's Alakazam Magic website has just
been re-launched with an all-new look and a number of new features
including live online support. If you're browsing the site and undecided
about what to buy, you can chat live to one of the Alakazam Magic team
for friendly free advice and tips. There's a new VIP club for special
offers, free downloads and discounts on pre-orders. Have a have a
careful look at the front page of the new site (particularly the top
right corner!) to discover the special discount code with which you'll
be able to save 10% on any order you place before the weekend is out -
so hurry!
www.alakazam.co.uk. 16.5.09
Bunbury
Cricket Club's official magician, Paul Craven, enjoyed a wonderful
evening at last Saturday's 'Bunbury Bashes' charity gala at the
Grosvenor Hotel in London. With cricket stars present including England
players Andrew Flintoff (pictured with Paul), Ian Botham and Allan Lamb,
alongside Australian legends Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Rod Marsh,
it was a magical night to celebrate the upcoming Ashes series,
especially as the entertainment on stage was provided by Rory Bremner,
Peter Kay and the great Eric Clapton. This spectacular event raised
thousands of pounds for Leukaemia Research, the Crossroads Centre and
the ESCA. The Bunburys are a celebrity cricket team formed by David
English MBE over two decades ago. Since then they have raised over £12
million for charity. As well as performing magic at their matches, keen
cricketer Paul is a regular player in the Bunbury side, though he freely
admits his sleight of hand in the slips leaves much to be desired...
www.bunburycricket.com. 16.5.09
MagicTricks.co.uk
has its Sixth Sense back in stock! Sixth Sense was a complete sell
out at the Blackpool Convention. It's a device which enables you to
always know which hand a spectator places a coin into, but also has many
other uses for the mentalist. Sixth Sense is the ultimate detection
device, being the smallest, lightest and most powerful in terms of
detection range. The set comes complete with the Sixth Sense sensor,
wrist strap, £1 coin, specially designed protective tin and DVD with
advice and routines.
www.magictricks.co.uk. 16.5.09
Master
mentalist Kockov entertained at an Indian millionaire steel magnet's
birthday party in North London last week. The huge home and grounds were
turned into a Russian fairytale, with Cossack dancers, acrobats, ballet
dancers, fire jugglers, a human snow globe, a dance floor chess board,
opera singers, guards on horseback, several dozen staff and Kockov,
playing a magical Russian Tsar!
www.jasperblakeley.co.uk (photo
www.fishbowlphotography.co.uk). 16.5.09
Richie
Smith's Whitermorn Magic Day has now sold out, but he is offering
Randy Charach's 'Secrets of a Millionaire Magician' on his website:
www.whitermornmagic.com. 16.5.09
Hypnotic
Transpos by David Siracusa. New, from MagicBox: This PDF book
details some amazing routines which use a double face card to create
some devastating effects in the eyes of your audience. The book also
details ways in which to bring in and discard the gimmicked card during
performance. This simple gimmicked card packs small taking up no space
at all and yet plays so big you will never carry your deck without one!"
For more info visit:
www.magicbox.uk.com. 16.5.09
Sponsorship
request for young magician's trip to the States. When Jack Gleadow
was performing at the Blackpool Magicians' Convention in February he and
his father met up with SAM President Bruce Kalver, who was a judge when
Jack won The Stage Competition at The Magic Circle J-Day in 2007.
Although Jack is only 14, Bruce was keen for Jack to perform in America
and asked them to send in a DVD. Two weeks later Ian Gleadow (Jack's
father) received a call from SAM Secretary Marlene Clark asking if Jack
could come across to perform in The Stars of Tomorrow Show at The
SAM Convention in Buffalo New York in July. They loved his comedy style
of magic. This is a marvellous opportunity for young Jack. Sponsorship
is now sought to help Jack and his equipment get across to America. If
you can help please call Jack's father Ian on 01482 712533. For more on
The Society of American Magicians visit
www.magicsam.com. 16.5.09
Edinburgh
Magic Circle are delighted to announce a forthcoming lecture by
close-up magician, inventor and editor of The Trapdoor magazine
Steve Beam, on Thursday 21st May at 7.30pm at the Police Club, 28 York
Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP (Map).
Doors open 7pm. Members £5.00 and non members £10.00. 16.5.09
Tim
Wissman's Remote Vision Colour Cube. "An astounding version of an
old classic mystery. The magician shows a 2 inch wooden cube with
different coloured sides. While the magician’s back is turned the
spectator places the wooden cube in a plain wooden box and covers the
box with a lid making it impossible for anyone to see which side of the
cube is up. The spectator concentrates on the chosen colour and the
magician uses his mysterious magical powers to remotely sense which
colour is facing up inside the little wooden box. The magician never
touches or looks at the box containing the cube, yet correctly names the
chosen colour each and every time. The Cube measures a full 2 1/4" x 2
1/4" and comes complete with detailed instructions and performance hints
by Tim himself." For more info see the Specials page on
www.waynedobson.co.uk. 16.5.09
“Appearance,
Reality and Truth in Magic”: British management and culture sage
aladin has written
an absorbing, beautifully written chapter about magic and conjuring, a
seminal contribution to the academic literature, succinctly mapping this
live art form, introducing theoretical discussions and benchmark
definitions of the subject. A greatly admired magician in his own right,
the author obliquely makes the argument for magic to be accorded its
rightful place amongst the other performing arts and generally
'elevates' magic discourse. A quite brief but defining article, destined
for inclusion in every reading list about ‘magic’.
“There is an obsession with ‘appearance’ and ‘disappearance’ in popular discussions of magic [and also with] the techniques including technologies of ‘deception’ or ‘fabrication’. [This] focus on means is disproportionate and seems to imply that magic can be understood through knowledge of its techniques.
“Appearance, Reality and Truth in Magic”, chapter by aladin; in “On Appearance” ed. Professor Richard Gough and Dr. Adrian Kear, Volume 13 No. 4 of “Performance Research”, December 2008, Routledge/Taylor & Francis (U.K.) £23.50. Available from Taylor & Francis or Centre for Performance Research. Portrait of aladin courtesy Marcus Tomlinson. 16.5.09
Merlins
of Wakefield have just released their latest 16 page May/June
Preview Catalogue - and it's free! Just email
merlins@btconnect.com and
they'll post you a copy, of send you a PDF if you prefer. Visit their
new website at
www.merlinswakefield.co.uk to see the latest products and offers.. 16.5.09
Philip
Escoffey - Six Impossible Things Before Dinner. Maverick showman
Philip Escoffey will challenge what you believe to be true – live.
Although he has never met you, can this stranger really know you better
than you know yourself? What interests Philip is not whether people can
read minds or not (as luck would have it, it seems he can!), nor even
how they do it, but what the rational – perhaps even cynical - mind does
in the face of an irrefutable demonstration... and why some minds don't
even seem to need that! Six Impossible Things Before Dinner makes the
audience challenge one huge thing: what they fundamentally believe is
possible. Don't miss this opportunity to let mind reading’s enfant
terrible change your life. Saturday 6th June, Tickets: £16.50,
concessions £15.00. The Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London
WC1H 0AH (Map). 16.5.09
Arthur
Setterington Junior Close-up Competition 2009. The
Hull
Magicians’ Circle held this annual competition for 10 to 16 year
olds last week at The Sailmaker’s Arms in Hull. Five young performers
from the Humberside Young Magicians’ Workshop competed for the
Setterington Trophy. Arthur Setterington was one of the founders of this
young magicians’ group in 1971. Joseph Lee, Jamie McKellar, James
Fisher, Aleks Pawinski and Kai Wymes all participated with confident
presentations. The winner was 15 year old Aleks Pawinski and runner-up
Kai Weymes. Past Vice-President Alan Johnston presented the Trophy. It’s
interesting that for some of the entrants this was their first public
performance and one 14 year old had learned his magic entirely from the
Internet – mainly card tricks and sleights from YouTube! He’d never seen
a magic book or magazine! There will be a revelation for him when all
entrants receive their prizes of books – from
Magic Books
By Post. Richard Morrell organized and stage managed the evening.
Reported by Jon Marshall. 16.5.09
Russell
Brown stars in the South Beech Show at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach
until November 8th at Planet Rock:
www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com. Visit Russ's new website too:
www.russbrownmagic.com. 16.5.09
At
the recent Annual General Meeting of Perth Magic Circle the outgoing
President, Jim Craig paid a sincere tribute to the newly elected
President Ian Dougall. Ian suffered horrific spinal injuries following a
serious road accident in November 2007 and was warned that he would
probably never walk again. Through sheer grit and determination, Ian is
now back with us. More importantly, he is walking, albeit with the aid
of two magic wands in the form of walking sticks! The Circle will
celebrate its 60th Anniversary in 2010 and plans are being made to
celebrate this milestone occasion. Reported by Adrian Harris. 16.5.09
Acts
Wanted! Trevor George Entertainments Ltd – the UK’s largest
independent entertainment organisation – are opening their books for
acts. "We are particularly keen to hear from young, dynamic magicians to
fulfill summer touring magic show contracts throughout the UK,
cruise-ships and holiday destinations. If you are an illusion act,
children’s entertainer, presenter, comedian, dancer or speciality act
please email your CV, headshot, biography and showreel link to:
enquiries@trevorgeorge.co.uk. We will contact successful performers
to arrange an interview/audition at our forthcoming showcase. Please
note due to high volumes of enquiries we are unable to reply personally
to each application. Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you." 16.5.09
1st4magic.com is an entertainment agency specialising in all types of magical entertainment. Following their recent success at the RSVP exhibition they are looking for additional performers nationwide. All types of Magicians and Children's Entertainers are needed plus any unusual / alternative acts. Visit www.1st4magic.com to register. If you have any questions contact Carolyn on 0845 108 8600. 16.5.09
Wanted: Professional Children's Entertainment Clowns. Dave Morgan, The Production Suite, Light Entertainments Manager, emails: "Are you a great clown? Do you enjoy entertaining children? Can you play funny characters? Want to develop your skills? Must have at least one circus skill (unicycle, stilts, etc) or a repertoire of magic. Please send photo & CV to our HR dept via email: hr@productionsuite.co.uk. We are looking for two roles. One is within Tui's Family Club hotels for a six week period between 20th July and 1st September." 16.5.09
Love and Other Magic Tricks. Midnight, Saturday 16th May, Tristan Bates Theatre, Covent Garden. "Love is like a magic trick. You can try and work it out. But that would spoil the fun." Part love story, part magic show, Love and Other Magic Tricks reveals the smoke and mirrors between a couple as they search for that delicate line between love and need. With John van der Put and Maya. www.standnotamazed.com. 16.5.09
Best wishes to SFX maestro Tom Lauten who will be out of action for a few weeks following a triple bypass operation which is happening any day now. Tom will be catching up on some magic watching and reading during an eight week recovery period and emails that he should be "re-plumbed" by the weekend and home within 2 weeks. www.nimbacreations.com. 16.5.09
"Michael Vine appointed president of Agents’ Association" Click Here • "Criss Angel in wax: Magician to get Madame Tussauds statue" Click Here • "A magician conjures up a new kind of show" Click Here • "Magician, 19, admitted to Magic Circle" Click Here • "Entertainment in Berkshire: Coming soon" Click Here • "The 49th Bristol Day of Magic" Click Here • "Five-year-old works his magic on Simon Cowell" Click Here • "Nine are prepared to work their magic on the crowds" Click Here • "Parties: Now you see him..." Click Here • "Britain's Got Talent star faces competition from his wife" Click Here • "Death Defying Acts Review" Click Here • "Preview: Ricky Jay" Click Here • "Magical evening in May returns to Southport Arts Centre" Click Here • "DSiWare gets inside your mind with Magic Made Fun: Deep Psyche" Click Here • "That's entertainment" Click Here • Bob Hayden sends in latest British Ring Convention News, Click Here • Your UK magic news is always welcome - please remember the Friday 12 noon deadline. See you next week, Duncan. 16.5.09