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John Archer – The Handy Lecture
Aberdeen Magical Society
February 2005
Reported by Jeff Burns
On
8th February, John Archer gave his new lecture to Aberdeen Magical Society.
Entitled 'The Handy Lecture' it was 2 hours of great fun and clever ideas for
any magician!
The lecture featured about 9 different magical effects as well as many other
tricks where you could use similar techniques. It was a tantalising serving with
lots of practical ideas.
The nice thing for me about the lecture is that it was a change from the myriad
of close-up lectures. John's effects are more for stand-up or cabaret and he
effortlessly performed them with many of his jokes and anecdotes making the
whole evening entertaining as well as informative.
The thinking that he has put into many of his routines and effects is quite
astonishing. He is obviously a seasoned performer that wants to get the maximum
impact from any routine. One of the effects called 'Collard' is an adaption of
Don Wayne's Room Service effect and makes much more sense. It also uses a puppet
character and shows that puppets are not just for pre-schoolers!
His lecture notes are not the cheapest around at £15, but most of them were sold
by the end of the night, demonstrating how practical and useful people thought
his routines were. The lecture notes are well written and illustrated and John
has put the same thought and effort into his notes as he has his effects.
All in all a great night. I would heartily recommend John’s lecture to any magic
society that may be thinking of booking an entertaining lecture from a true
entertainer.
© Jeff Burns, February 2005