Number 136 - 1st February 2003
The
Hague plays host to
FISM 2003 this Summer. So far only a handful of names have been
announced: Jay Sankey (USA), Wayne Dobson (UK), Sylvester the Jester
(USA), Irena (Moscow), and Yumi (Japan). The Dutch have produced some
great magicians over the years, and look set to produce an excellent
convention. Held every three years one of the highlights is the stage
competition which lasts some 25 hours (spread over five days) and
dominates the whole event. Lance Burton's award winning performance in
1982 has yet to be surpassed... maybe this year? Here are the details: FISM 2003, 22nd World Magic Congress, The
Hague, The Netherlands. 21st to 26th July 2003. Brochures and registration
forms, write to: FISM 2003 Registration Office, P.O. Box 107, 1110 AC Diemen,
The Netherlands. Telephone: +31 20 41 66 266. Fax: +31 20 41 66 265 Email:
info@fism2003.com Website:
www.fism2003.com
Highly recommended!
1.2.03
Charles
Gauci arrives in the UK this month for a lecture tour. On Monday,
February 10th, he lectures for The Order of the Magi at The Irish World
Heritage Centre, Queens Road, Manchester. From 8pm, admission £3 on the
door. Charles is a major TV star in Australia and will present a variety
of commercial magic in his two hour talk. For more information visit
www.orderofthemagi.co.uk or telephone Martin Allcock on 01457 839541.
1.2.03
Derren
Brown takes control tonight on Channel 4
when he attempts to sway Labour voters into supporting Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith on The Channel 4 Political Awards 2003 at
8.05pm.
1.2.03
Dale
Shrimpton appearing the musical Honk at the Norden Farm Centre for the
Arts in Maidenhead. It's a magical show for all the family, based on Hans
Christian Andersons fairy tale The Ugly Duckling. Dale plays a hungry
French cat who is set on eating the ugly duckling and plans, between the
singing, dancing and acting, to slip in a bit of magic!
www.grimmplayers.co.uk.
1.2.03
Leonardo
DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale, the youngest man ever to make it onto the
FBI's most wanted list, in Spielberg's new movie (based on a true story),
Catch Me If You Can. The real Frank Abagnale was first seen in the
UK as a weekly guest on the cult British television series Secret
Cabaret, explaining various scams each week. In a recent television
interview DiCaprio likened Abagnale's abilities to those of the skilled
magician, who uses misdirection to take control. The movie opens across
the UK today,
Click Here.
1.2.03
Alistair
Cook (aka Monkey Boy) was invited to perform for Steven Spielberg and
the cast of Catch Me if You Can at this week's London premiere. In fact
it's been a busy week for Ali with appearances on Ready Steady Cook
together with Paul Zenon, Good Food Live, and The Wright Stuff
promoting Monkey Magic.
1.2.03
Paul
Gordon Lectures at The Magic Circle on Monday 10th February at 7.30pm.
Paul will perform and teach many of his standards and also introduce some
new routines. The event is being recorded (using two studio cameras) and
will be marketed later with 10% of sales going to The Magic Circle
benevolent fund. To find out more about the proposed video, see
www.natzler.com/tmc.
1.2.03
Dave
Rawson can be seen between February 12th and March 30th at various
shopping centres across the UK performing close-up magic for the new
Peugeot 307 launch. He'll then be in Ibiza throughout the Summer with his
Comedy Hypnotic Show. Dave is also
planning to present a lecture on Stage Hypnosis in November - if any Magic
Societies are interested then email Dave for full details
daverawson88@hotmail.com
Website:
www.stagehypnotist.co.uk .
1.2.03
The
stars of TV's Monkey Magic
www.monkeymagic.tv
were in good form on Wednesday morning on Channel 4's RI:SE. Presenters
Iain Lee and Edith Bowman were treated to balloon
swallowing, dove productions, and a version of Smash and Stab in which Jonathan Goodwin
(The Colonel) "accidentally" smashed his hand right through one of the
metal spikes and had to flee the studio to get help! Alistair Cook and
Pete Firman appear live on The Saturday Show at 9am on Saturday 1st
February on BBC1.
1.2.03
Blackpool's South Beach Hotel contacted us re the upcoming Blackpool convention. "We are a family run hotel situated on the promenade between the central and south piers. All rooms en-suite with Colour TVs and tea and coffee facilities. There's a Licensed Bar, a Sun Lounge over looking the Irish sea, and a special rate for visiting magicians during the convention weekend. Special rate magic weekend £55.00 p/p b&b en-suite rooms with parking." Telephone 01253 342250 for more information. 1.2.03
Columbo
delves into the world of magic, ESP and sleight of hand, on Tuesday on
Granada Plus, and investigates the death of a magician. Columbo is still
quite watchable! • The Magic Club of Great Britain's An Evening of
Magic at The Halfway Restaurant in Dunstable is now completely sold
out • A large well-established furniture store in Aylesbury,
Buckinghamshire are looking for entertainers to regularly entertain in the
children's play area on Saturdays and Sundays with magic, face painting
and balloon modelling. The fee is non negotiable. If you are interested,
email Jez Rose jez.rose@virgin.net
who will pass your details on; you'll then be contacted by the store
directly • Your magic news is always welcomed • That's it for this week,
see you next week, Duncan.
1.2.03