Number 511 - 10th April 2010
Conjuring
at the Court. On the last Thursday of every month, the Drayton Court
hosts an evening of mystery and magic: "Comedy and magic is the
theme of our show on 29th April. Alan Hudson’s (photo) humorous conjuring has been praised by
none other than Paul Daniels; and Thom Peterson is The Amazing Guy,
a Super-Hero of magic. Russell Levinson shows how easily you can be
separated from your money by the street hustler; and Jonathan Shotton’s
spectacular, stylish and sophisticated act features live birds, fire,
and objects floating through the air." The venue is the lovely
theatre of the Drayton Court, 2 The Avenue, West Ealing, London W13 8PH
(Map).
It seats over 90 people comfortably and you can have a drink while
watching the magic." Tickets £10.00. Doors open at 7.30pm and the show
starts at 8pm. Free parking after 6.30pm on adjacent roads. To book
visit
www.conjuringatthecourt.com or buy on the door if any tickets are left, this
show does sell out. 10.4..10
Derren
Brown: Enigma. Be prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical
experience when the master of psychological illusion returns to the
stage with Derren Brown: Enigma. Derren will once again bewilder,
baffle and bewitch and show why he is one of the country’s most revered
live performers; a master of magic, mind control and psychological
illusion. "The audience will be taken for a theatrical roller-coaster
ride, and I hope it’s an experience that they will never forget." Derren
Brown. For current tour dates see
What's On. 17.4.10
British magician David Willmott has
just beaten the official world record for 'perfect' card shuffling
by a massive margin. On April 6th, 2010, he achieved the largest number of
consecutive, perfect 'Faro' shuffles in a record-breaking
session at Illusions Magic Bar in Bristol. The previous record -
achieved in Hollywood by John Walton in August 2009 - was 2,784 ‘Faro’
shuffles in 12 hours. David kicked this well and truly into touch,
starting his attempt at 9am and completing 2,784 ‘Faro’ shuffles in just
7 hours 10 minutes and 15 seconds. He then went on to complete 2,904
shuffles before taking a break at 4.35pm. On resuming the session at
5.15pm, he raised the record to 3,200 shuffles, at which point he stopped
(at 6.15pm), having well and truly become the new world record holder.
And where his predecessor had changed regularly to clean, specialist
decks, David used just one deck of cards – a run-of-the-mill United
States Playing Card Company Bicycle deck, bought locally. A perfect
'Faro' shuffle is one in which the cards alternately weave together
during the shuffle, meaning that eight consecutive shuffles returns
the deck to its original order. One mistake of one card in any one
shuffle, at any time, would have invalidated the whole record attempt.
David Willmott’s record-breaking session was witnessed, photographed and
videoed. Guinness World Records has been formally notified and is
expected to adjudicate the record within 6 weeks. David Willmott says:
“I work full-time as a magician and the sleight of hand practised over
many years in my close-up table magic proved invaluable when beating the
world record for perfect Faro shuffles. I’m happy to bring this world
record to the UK.”
www.davidwillmott.com . 10.4.10
The Fylde Mystics recently held their annual Close-Up Competition
in front of a
capacity crowd. A total of eight members took part in what was a very
strong line-up of performers, and after careful deliberation the judges
announced the results: 1st - Alan Mylecraine (photo), 2nd - Allan Clarke, 3rd -
Paul Joyce, Best Card Trick - George Jennings, and the Tyro Trophy was
awarded to
Jonathan Joyce, a full review can be found at
www.fyldemystics.co.uk. The
Fylde Mystics are also proud to have within their membership three
winners from the recent Northern Magic Circle Convention with Jack
Clarke winning the Swanbrook Trophy, Alan Mylecraine coming second in
the Close-Up Competition
and Allan Clarke first. 10.4.10
34 magicians entertained at Manchester United in their match
v Chelsea
at the weekend - adding the magical touch to the hospitality at the club. Is this the
largest number of
magicians employed at a non-magic event ever asks Matt Windsor? 10.4.10
Ali
Cardabra lectures at The Mystic Ring on Thursday, April 29th. Ali
will be presenting his new lecture entitled “It's Just A Gimmick”
featuring easy items you will use time and time again. The lecture takes
place at Dunstable Conservative Club, 29 High Street North, Dunstable,
Bedfordshire, starting at 7.45pm . Visiting magicians welcome,
Admission: £8. For more info email
themysticring@hotmail.com
or visit
www.mysticring.co.uk. 10.4.10
Magicians
help raise £115,000 for The Children’s Trust After responding to a
plea for help on Twitter, David Hawkins offered to assist The Children’s
Trust and organised a team of 6 magicians to provide close up magic for
their 25th Anniversary Ball at The Dorchester Hotel, London on 20th
March. The event, attended by many celebrities such as Phil Tufnell,
Jimmy White, John Virgo, Suzanne Dando & Sally Kettle raised over
£115,000 for the charity. A huge thank you to Ollie Mealing, Jamie
Povey, George Kinder, Ken Francis and Andy Reay for such fantastic
performances during the evening and for donating their services free of
charge.
www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk. 10.4.10
The
Northern Magic Circle Convention took place last weekend and they
would like to thank all the performers and lecturers for making the
convention a huge success, and pay particular thanks to all the
conventioneers who ensured the NMC Convention continues to move forward.
The weekend included a number of competitions with the results as
follows: The York Cup for the Juniors was presented to James Orr, The
Swanbrook Trophy went to Jack Clarke, The Cliff Lount trophy for the
dealers went to Razmatazz, and The Eric Bland trophy for the best
Northern Lights article to Paul Guy. The Senior Close-up Competition
results were: 1st - Allan Clarke, 2nd - Alan Mylecraine. The Junior
Stage Competition results: 1st - Ben Pruce, 2nd - James Orr, 3rd - Toby
Davis. And finally the Comedy Trophy to Toby Davis. Next year's dates
are April 16th and 17th and FISM winner Marc Oberon has already been
booked.
www.northernmagic.co.uk. 10.4.10
King
Entertainments/Crown Associates present: Mindstorm A Secret Seminar,
hosted on Saturday May 15th at a secret location somewhere in Manchester
by Andrew Normansell and Michael Diamond. "A unique and exclusive one
day seminar, featuring intensive lectures, personal one-to-one tuition,
contemporary mentalism plus personal closely guarded secrets on how to
succeed in the real world of commercial entertainment. Over 25 years of
experience crammed into one exclusive and exciting day! Become one of
magic's new elite! Due to its nature this secret seminar is only
available to a select number of registrants. Please note there are only
15 places available! All registrants will receive as part of their
package, an exclusive magical goody bag, and complimentary lunch!" For
further information and to register email Andrew Normansell
info@andrewnormansell.com
www.andrewnormansell.com. 10.4.10
Madame
Endora Fortune Telling Cards. News from 'The Black Heart': "Madame
Endora Fortune Telling Cards are a modern set of fortune telling cards
that immediately appealed to me for their colourful and rich symbolism
and artwork by Christine Filipak and Joseph Vargo. From the start I
could see that the characters and symbols of the cards were perfect for
storytelling magic so I decided to stock them. I am very pleased that I
did because now a powerful secret has been revealed hidden within the
cards. If you concentrate on one of the cards it becomes slightly
heavier! This is because Madame Endora cards are able to absorb your
thoughts and the more powerful your thoughts the heavier the card
becomes. This means that if your client chooses a card at random (unseen
by you) and concentrates their thoughts upon it, when the card is
returned to the deck, which is mixed up by them, you will be able to
take the face down cards and detect which one they are thinking about
because it is weighted down with their thoughts! Okay so there is a
‘secret’ involved, but you won’t tell your audience that! You get, a
full set of Madame Endora cards, a sumptuous silk embroidered velvet
drawstring bag and a set of instructions by The Black Hart. There are no
sleights involved, there are no forces, the cards are examinable at all
times and the effect is immediately repeatable with a different card.
Plus you can use the cards for fortune telling. Cost £25.00 (including
p&p by surface mail)" The Black Hart.
www.blackhart.co.uk. 10.4.10
Congratulations
to Jim Kelly, winner of the Scottish Conjurers' Association's recent
annual Close-up Contest 2010. A field of eight competitors performed in
front of an audience of 40. The very worthy winner was Jim Kelly with
Chris Dinwoodie in second place and Sean McQueen a creditable third. 10.4.10
Richard
Special, a Surrey based close-up, corporate magician and children’s
entertainer who performs across the UK, will be heading north this
coming week, to deliver his new lecture to the
Harrogate Society of Magicians. As well as coin and card magic from
his working repertoire, Richard’s lecture contains advice on the
all-important business side of magic, including how to get bookings,
deal with clients, how to approach an event, and so on. The emphasis,
says Richard, a member of both the International Brotherhood of
Magicians and The Magic Circle, will be on solid, practical routines
and, equally important, how to make the magical experience more fun for
an audience. For further information on Richard, visit
www.tricku.com. 10.4.10
Tony Griffith will be presenting his Reflections Lecture for the Sheffield Circle of Magicians on Thursday 15th July. Contact Craig Frith 0114 2014770 for details. 10.4.10
"Nelson's 'Magic Jack' set to get a plaque" Click Here • See you next week, Duncan. 10.4.10