Number
1209 - Saturday 26th August 2023
Megan's
Swan Song - The Magic Circle Awards 2023. Charlie Burgess writes:
Megan Swann bows out of her two year stint as the president of The Magic
Circle next month but before that she is presenting the society's Annual
Awards this Thursday, August 31st, and appearing in the accompanying
show. Megan, who will be reviving her remarkable Black Swan ballet
routine, is starring alongside comedy magician Neal Austin, Arabella
Crawford who is an award winning member of The Young Magicians Club, and
the mentalist duo TranscendenT, Adrian Neal and Suzy Ellen. The show
will be compered by Ada Campe, who has been wowing audiences at the
Edinburgh Fringe this month. Pre-show, guests will also be able to enjoy
the close-up magic of Fay Presto, up close! Megan said this week: "I
suppose you could call this my swan song! It promises to be a super
evening. We have six awards to hand out. There are still a few tickets
left and the evening is open to non-members." The awards recognise
international as well as British magicians and also those who have done
work for The Magic Circle itself. For tickets visit
www.themagiccircle.co.uk.
26.8.23
The
Magicians' Podcast Network Launches! Richard Young writes: We launch
with the Derren Brown Notes From A Fellow Traveller interview and Q&A,
from the book launch last month, and also, subscribers will not only be
able to listen to it as a podcast, but also watch it as a full movie, as
a welcome gift.
Subscribers will receive multiple magic based podcasts each week from
topical discussions with special guests, to nostalgia based shows,
insight, opinion and coverage of special events going on in the magic
world. Our first week not only includes the Derren interview but also a
two and a half hour podcast which features 8 interviews with magicians
who are currently at The Edinburgh Fringe with magic shows including Ben
Hart, Mario The Magician, Dom Chambers and more. Find out more and sign
up at: Spotify
www.spotify.com Apple
www.podcasts.apple.com.
26.8.23
Happy
90th Birthday Donald Bevan! (Tomorrow, Sunday, 27th August). Donald
was Abracadabra's Associate Editor from 1965 to 1984 and then Managing
Editor from 1984 right through to 2006 when he retired. For many of us,
'Abra' was a major part of our magic lives, so thank you Donald for so
much, and here's wishing you a Very Happy 90th Birthday! Duncan.
26.8.23
The
IBM British Ring No.25 85th Annual Convention 7th-10th September 2023 in
Eastbourne. From the organisers: Less than two weeks to the start of
the Convention! The Registration Desk is located in the Welcome Building
on Compton Street and will be open from 9.30am each day, except Friday
when it will open at 10am. For those who have already pre-registered and
are arriving early, your convention packs are also available at an
informal get-together in The Stage Door Pub between 7pm and 9pm on
Wednesday 6th September - so on Thursday morning you can go direct to
the Devonshire Park Theatre for the official opening at 10am and avoid
the queue for registration!
The Stage Door is the ‘unofficial hang out’ of the Convention as it is
conveniently located on the walk between the Welcome Building and The
Devonshire Park Theatre and is open till late each evening. It is also
the real world setting for the Ali Bongo Micro-Marathon on the Friday
evening. Since the late and much revered Ali Bongo introduced a Micro
Marathon of close-up magic at the Eastbourne Convention in 2008 it has
continued to be a popular and well attended part of every convention.
British Ring members of all magical levels of experience are encouraged
to enter to showcase their skills to their fellow magicians and a real
life audience, in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The winner is decided by
the votes of the audience. To be part of this unique and exciting
convention, book on our website
www.britishring.org.uk or contact the registration officer
ibmbritishring25reg@gmail.com.
26.8.23
Edinburgh
hasn't fallen! "I am here to say hello to you because I thought the
show was fantastic. Blew my mind... it was a blast... you are incredibly
incredibly talented; the audience loved it too, my family just left and
they had such a great time. It's amazing man, your energy’s great!"
Gerard Butler. Chris Dugdale and Gerard Butler:
YouTube.
26.8.23
Ben
Hart on Loose Ends. Clive Anderson and Michelle McManus are joined
by Eddi Reader, Sumayya Usmani, Ben Hart and Kieran Hodgson for an
eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. Today, 26th August on
Radio 4 at 6.15pm
www.bbc.co.uk. Ben Hart: Jadoo tickets:
www.tickets.edfringe.com.
26.8.23
Ed
Fringe Reviews...
Sam Hurst: Magical AF! Broadway Baby review by Frodo Allan ★★★★ www.broadwaybaby.com
Magical Bones: Soulful Magic Volume Two. West End Best Friend review by Rebecca Wallis ★★★ www.westendbestfriend.co.uk
Liz Toonkel: Magic For Animals. Get The Chance review by Hannah Goslin ★★★ www.getthechance.wales
Colin Cloud: After Dark. Broadway Baby review by James Macfarlane ★★★★★ www.broadwaybaby.com. 26.8.23
The
MagicWeek Video Archive. A new magic clip or show every week! This week, Vik
& Fabrini on John Fisher's The Best of Magic from 26th September 1990. See
The MagicWeek Video Archive. To see more from The MagicWeek Video
Archive
Click Here.
26.8.23
Bank
Holiday Specials and more at Merlins. Merlins of Wakefield are proud
to announce their latest effect by Mark Lee, Pep-Silk-Ola. Available
from the end of August, you can preorder yours now. This is from the
Merlins Premier Range and will be handmade in limited numbers. To order
yours, or for more details
Click Here. Also, check out our Bank Holiday Specials with 50% off.
Many are just one-offs, or have limited availability,
Click
Here for details. We are closed on Bank Holiday Monday, and reopen
on Wednesday as usual.
www.merlinswakefield.com.
26.8.23
Graeme
Shaw Lecture - York Magic Circle, 4th September. Gren
Dowson writes: Graeme Shaw from Magicbox of Newcastle will be holding a
dealer demonstration at York Magic Circle on Monday 4th September. This will be a free event for York members and a £5 entry fee for
visitors.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start at York & District Indoor Bowls
Club,
302 Thanet Road, York YO24 2NW.
26.8.23
Top
Secret: The Magic of Science is reviewed by Philip Partridge this
week,
Click Here. "This is a great family show which is both educational
and entertaining", writes Philip, see
What's On for upcoming dates.
26.8.23
Trevor
Duffy Lecture - South London Magic Society, 5th September. Simon
Rosselli writes: Trevor Duffy from South Africa will be giving his lecture on the
5th of September at 8pm to South London Magic Society. Trevor has been
performing pro for 30 years and has a wide range of experience between
Close-up, Family and Corporate work. He shares freely and his new
lecture, Thinking with Intention consists of several Close-up and
Parlour routines using banknotes to impossible location, Cards,
Diminishing Cards, and his favourite Rocky routine. The lecture is
extremely user-friendly and woven together with meaningful gems for
anyone wanting to add more value to their art.
He has toured the world for 20 years, lecturing and exhibiting his numerous events, many of which came about through a need for more excellence in performance. £10 for non-members which can go towards Membership if you decide to join on the night. Doors open at 7.30pm and the lecture starts at 8pm at South London Magic Society, Clock House Methodist Church, Beckenham, BR3 4JP. 26.8.23
Steve
Spill Dublin lecture, 5th September. From the organisers:
An evening with Steve Spill focuses on stand-up magic - a genre Steve
has worked professionally in for five decades on theatrical, concert,
casino, and nightclub stages, as well as in his own 150 seat theatre,
Magicopolis, in
Santa Monica, California.
The lecture encompasses advice he would give himself as a beginning
magician, as well as the presentation and instruction of several of his
original versions of modern classics with principles that can be applied
to all performances.
Autographed copies of Steve's most popular books, including the highly
rated Assassin, will be available. Tuesday 5th September at 8pm at
Academy Plaza Hotel, 10-14, Findlater Place, Dublin D01 X2X0. Visiting
magicians welcome, admission 10 Euros.
26.8.23
Wayne
Fox All New Knockout FX Lecture. Nick Richmond writes: Description:
In addition to the brand-new lecture, also on offer is this unique
chance to experience the Light/Heavy Pen Workshop. For your spectator,
objects become too heavy to lift from the table, a bottle a mobile
phone, car keys, in fact anything which sits on the table will become
too heavy to lift. It's like real magic. This workshop is limited to 10
people and is one hour long, and starts at 6.30pm before the lecture
later that evening.
Along with the one-to-one tuition, each student receives the light/heavy
instant download for them to look back on everything they've learned
from Wayne earlier that day, plus their own Light/Heavy Pen. The price
of the workshop is £25 per student payable on the night. This takes
place at 6.30pm to 7.30pm. Interested persons must book your place for
this in advance by emailing the DMC Secretary, Nick Richmond:
darlingtoncircle@gmail.com
Thursday, August 31st, from 7.30pm. Venue: The Railway Institute, 93
North Road, Darlington DL1 2PP.
www.facebook.com.
26.8.23
The
Four-midable Magic Series from MLM. Launched earlier this year, this
series of e-books presents collections of four previously unpublished
Mark Leveridge routines extracted from the E-Club Pro archives and
dedicated to specific types or themes. The first volume, Four-midable
Card Magic, offers the following effects. Royal Flush – the
magician uses magic to produce a Royal Flush from a shuffled deck of
cards. Big Deal – a spectator shuffles a deck and cards are dealt
face up onto the table until a spectator calls ‘stop’ (no force). The
card stopped at turns out to be the number and colour mate of a
prediction card placed aside at the start. It’s Not What You Think
– two selected cards are discovered in two baffling ways, with a kicker
ending that comes as a total surprise! The Reds And The Blacks –
four black suit cards and four red suit cards are used in a pleasing and
magical sequence in which one at a time the red cards penetrate up
through the black cards. Clean handling, no gimmicks and only 8 cards
used. For more info go to
www.markleveridge.co.uk.
The second volume, entitled Four-midable Mental Mysteries, contains the following. Psychic Selection – a parlour routine in which a spectator cuts to a card that he has in his mind. Mental Coins – three times a spectator successfully guesses which of four different coins the magician has put in his pocket. ESPeriment – a participant selects any of five ESP symbols and it matches a prediction in full view on the table. Spectator Intuition – an onlooker manages to find at random which of six coins on a table has a sticker bearing his initials on the underside. For further details go to www.markleveridge.co.uk. 26.8.23
The
Order of The Magi Close Up Competition. Reported by Mike Sharples.
On The 22nd August, The Order of The Magi (Manchester’s Magicians’
Society), held its first close up competition since 2019, the delay is
for obvious reasons which I’m sure that I don’t need to go into. The
competition was held at the Irish World Heritage Centre where the
society holds its meetings (2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month). Both
the overall competition winner and the John "Sly" Smith best card trick
shield was won by Peter Jones. Peter is one of the Magi’s newest members
but that didn’t stop him shining and performing brilliantly in order to
win both trophies. Congratulations Peter on a well-deserved win.
If you are interested in joining the Order of The Magi, or would like
more information on the society please contact Mike Sharples Secretary/
Treasurer and Life Member at
secretary@orderofthemagi.co.uk or by phone on 0774 8833666. You can
also download an application form, from
www.orderofthemagi.co.uk.
26.8.23
The Invisible Man - Eastbourne - final day! More than 50 magical illusions and stage effects make up The Eastbourne Theatres Devonshire Park‘s theatrical telling of the H G Wells classic The Invisible Man, adapted by Ken Hill. Directed by Chris Jordan, a cast of West End talent provide songs, comedy and mayhem interspersed with magic and drama to deliver a show where "not seeing is believing". Past president of The Magic Circle Scott Penrose designed and constructed the illusions for the theatre's summer spectacular, that runs until 26th August. Tickets can be booked here: www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk. 26.8.23
Book
a magic lecturer for your club today. Visit the MagicWeek
Lecturers
page!
"Magician
Ben Hart set to perform in Aberdeen"
Click Here • "Britain's hottest magician Magical Bones arrives in
Northampton on 20th September!"
Click Here • "Review: El Mago Pop Is a Great Magician but a Poor
Underdog"
Click Here • "Magic Play: Desperate magician tries to charm his ex
back into his life"
Click Here • "Special honour for Williton magician Pete Rawlinson as
reward for Covid support"
Click Here • "A Magician's Tricks of the Trade on Running a Small
Business"
Click Here • "The West End Magic Show at Maddermarket Theatre in
Norwich"
Click Here • "Illusionist and escapologist Paul Cosentino on growing
up 'shy and introverted'"
Click Here • "A 'half tank holiday' to a magical
museum in Marshall"
Click Here • "Inside the life of a Las Vegas
Performer (Murray the Magician)"
YouTube • That's it for this week, your UK magic news is always
welcomed, see you next week, Duncan.
26.8.23