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Jasper Blakely Lecture
Ipswich Magical Society
February 1st 2010
Reviewed by Simon Shaw
Jasper
Blakeley’s lecture was like a breath of fresh air. It strayed from the more
conventional approach of teaching tricks and concentrated on making us all look
at how we can become better performers. Of course for this sort of lecture to
work well, the lecturer has to have proven that he knows what he is talking
about, and I believe Jasper established that very early on.
The first part of the lecture began with a discussion on Confidence and
flexibility. It included approaching tables, handling difficult spectators and
getting the most from the people you are performing to. There were even some
nice tips that included bananas and jelly babies that bizarrely made perfect
sense.
Jasper was keen to get everyone present involved in any discussions which gave
the lecture the intimacy of a workshop. A lot of the time this sort of format
doesn’t work, but in this case it did, and wonderfully so, probably because the
subject matter was something we had all experienced and it wasn’t long before
the whole group were actively getting involved.
I know this lecture worked well because the members were still talking about it
for days afterwards. In fact not just the lecture itself, but the subjects
covered. This proves to me that it brought up important topics and it was nice
to know the “workshop” was continuing even without Jasper’s presence.
Before getting into Magic, Jasper Blakeley was amongst other things an actor and
this certainly held him in good stead for everything he had to impart to us on
his next topic which was all about character development. It is an undeniable
fact that he has invented some amazing characters, including “Unlce Al, The
Kiddies Pal” and perhaps the most famous “Kockov, the Russian Mentalist”.
Under the guise of Kockov, he has produced a couple of DVD’s (The plunge of
Death and Diabolical) that feature some of his strongest routines.
We got to see both Uncle Al and Kockov on the night, which meant that as well as
a lecture and workshop, we also had a little bit of performance which in itself
was worth a hundred trick explanations. In fact I am sure that most people who
bought the DVD’s afterwards, did so not just because of the routines but because
we wanted to see the recorded show that is included on them.
He ended the meeting proper with Kockov performing his Russian Roulette. It
certainly had me on the edge of my seat and was undeniably an excellent piece of
theatre.
Unfortunately we have to be out of the building by 10 o’clock which was a shame
as he was just getting into full flow, but luckily for us we adjourned to a
local pub where Kockov reappeared and performed the Plunge of Death, some close
up magic and even some hypnotism to some of the unsuspecting locals. To say this
went down well is a huge understatement and was a highlight of the evening as we
got to see one of Jaspers characters working in the real world.
The lecture and performances were very much levelled towards over 18’s, but I
think Jasper sized us up at the beginning and gave us what we wanted. I am
confident that he would adapt equally well to any audience young or old. He had
some good things to say and he says them in an entertaining way.
The lecture is thoroughly recommended, and I would love to see Jasper at
Blackpool one year. A lecture and Kockov in the gala show would be perfect.
© Simon Shaw, February 2010