Number 672 - 11th May 2013
The
Illusionists World Tour. From the producers: "Direct from a
completely sold out season at the Sydney Opera house in Australia,
William Morris Endeavour present the most important live magic show
currently touring the world. Seven of the most incredible illusionists
on earth enact mind bending acts of magic and illusion, many of which
have never been seen before. Each Illusionist is a master in their own
field. With an assembled cast of 20 sidekicks, they will perform a
powerful mix of their most outrageous and unbelievable acts. Audiences
will witness jaw dropping acts of grand illusion, levitation,
mind-reading, disappearance and for the first time ever in history, a
full view water torture escape. Performed by the acclaimed escapologist
Andrew Basso, he will hold his breath for over 4 minutes whilst
attempting to escape from his underwater cell. This group of world-class
performers take their cue from the showmanship of the great illusionists
of the past - such as Harry Houdini – and pair it with a new and updated
contemporary aesthetic, whose set and costume design lend the genre a
theatricality and artistry that has rarely been seen before. This
critically acclaimed production has played to sold out crowds in
Australia, Asia, South America, and is currently in the middle of its
World Tour." 27th September Blackpool Opera House; 28th September
Edinburgh Festival Theatre; 2nd October Nottingham Royal Concert Hall;
4th & 5th October Manchester Apollo; 8th October Wolves Civic Hall
Wolverhampton; 11th & 12th October London Hammersmith Apollo. For more
information and to book visit
www.theillusionistslive.com. Trailer:
Click Here. See The Illusionists on The Jonathan Ross Show
tonight at 9.45pm on ITV (and see
TV Magic for repeat
showings throughout the week).
11.5.13
Variety
@ UCL. London's newest variety night returns for one night only at
The Magic Circle on Thursday June 6th: "This is going to be our biggest
show to date and we've got an amazing line-up! The fantastic Young &
Strange will be hosting the show, featuring the incredible mind-reading
of Marc Spelmann (photo), The Magic Circle Close-up Magician of the Year
2012, Fay Presto; the unique Japanese artistry from Megumi Shimamura;
hilarious comedy from Lara A King and contortion from Felix. Edward
Hilsum will be performing with his little assistants, there's live music
from Holly Turton and a very special surprise is instore!" Thursday 6th
June. Doors 7pm starts 7.30pm. Tickets £16.50 (Concessions £12.50 in
advance) and full details from
www.UCLVariety.com. Showreel:
Click Here.
11.5.13
The
Magic History Gathering @ The Magic Circle. Peter Lane writes: This
friendly gathering was formally known as Collectors Day but has been
renamed to encourage anyone with an interest in our magical heritage to
attend. Non Members of The Magic Circle are welcome. On Saturday 1st
June the meeting will take place at The Centre for the Magic Arts, 12
Stephenson Way, Euston, London NW1 2HD and will commence with coffee at
10am. The speakers are James Hagy from the U.S.A. who will be talking
about a fascinating wartime tale of a magical friendship. Richard
Kaufman the editor of Genii Magazine will tell us about things that have
happened during its 75 year life. James Smith will explain the results
of his research into Breslaw, the 18th century magician. Ian Keable
purchased a print at auction and will discuss the story of the three
conjurers and the vanishing and reappearing maidservant. Finally Will
Houstoun and friends will demonstrate some surprisingly modern tricks
from the writings of Prof. Hoffmann. The tickets cost £40 which includes
coffee, afternoon tea and lunch, and can be purchased in advance from
The Magic Circle at the above address. Telephone 0207387 2222 or email
cma@themagiccircle.co.uk.
Payment can be made by cheque payable to 'The Magic Circle' or by Visa
or MasterCard.
11.5.13
IBM
British Ring Convention, Buxton, Derbyshire, September 2013.
Geoffrey Newton PRO writes: The organisers of the IBM British Ring
Convention (to be held in Buxton Derbyshire from 4th – 8th September)
have now released the full exciting programme of Lectures, Shows,
Workshops and Dealers scheduled to appear at the 77th Annual Convention.
Details appear under Articles this week (Click
Here) and a list of all artistes and dealers is on
www.magicconvention.co.uk where you can also register.
11.5.13
Chris Cox - Fatal Distraction Tour,
starts Tuesday 15th May at the Severn Theatre, Shrewsbury: "Fatal Distraction is the fifth brand new show from
the multi award-winning, five star, fringe sell-out, mind reader who can’t read
minds, Chris Cox. He’s been on TV, toured the world and is somehow still getting
away with it. Fatal Distraction has picked up a magical hat full of 5 star
reviews and won the 2011 Venue Magazine award for best comedy show. Chris will
be doing things he shouldn’t be able to do with the fringe brochure, performing
tricks nobody has ever done before, controlling coincidence, probing theories of
fate and answering the FAQ: ‘Can you use this stuff on girls?’. Determined to
deliver the most satisfying hour possible Chris will be handing control over to
his audience by giving them the power to control his actions with their minds.
Cox manages to mix a love based narrative with some of the most unique and
incredible mind-reading effects ever seen on the stage..." For more info and
tour dates, see What's On.
"The Fatal Distraction of mind reading"
Click Here.
11.5.13
Exonian
Magic Convention, Sunday 22nd September. Tickets are now on sale for
the Exonian Magic Convention. Featuring four lectures, close-up
sessions, dealers, a gala show and a three-course meal, at the
Langstone
Cliff Hotel, Mount Pleasant Road, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish, Devon EX7
0NA (Map).
Registration is just £45. There are only 5 rooms left if people wish to
stay in the hotel on the Sunday. More details,
Click Here.
www.exonianmagicsociety.com.
11.5.13
Spellbound,
the 3rd Magic and Hypnosis Convention, will be held on Saturday 25th
May from 7.30pm to 11.30pm in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. From the
organisers: With more and more people coming each time, let's make this
one a big one. For beginner, through to the professional, or even if you
just love the arts, please come along and have some fun. Hosted by
renowned hypnotist Freddy Jaquin and magician Adam Smith it should be a
great night of chat, hypnosis and magic. Contact Adam Smith on 07920 772
792 or email
info@adams-magic.co.uk. Venue: The Cross Keys Gastro, 236/238 St
Johns Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 9XD (Map).
11.5.13
Colin
McLeod The Man Who Knows... Stuff. Tonight at Smoke & Mirrors,
Bristol. How do you describe Colin McLeod? A mind reader, a mentalist, a
psychic illusionist, or a Sherlock Holmes of the mind? See
www.smokeandmirrorsbar.co.uk/may.html for information and to book.
11.5.13
Fay
Presto Lecture at The Mystic Ring. Fay Presto lectures at The Mystic
Ring on Wednesday 15th May at 8pm. Fay presents her award winning
restaurant act, which will be videoed then played back with discussion
and explanations on what happened where and why. The Mystic Ring meets
at The Conservative Club, 49 High Street North, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
LU6 1JE (Map).
Visiting magicians welcome, admission £5. For further details visit
www.mysticring.co.uk email
themysticring@hotmail.com.
Steve Milroy,
Club Secretary.
11.5.13
Peter
Antoniou - Psychic Comedium, Edinburgh preview show, Thursday June
6th, at The Hen and Chickens Theatre Bar, 109 St Pauls Road, London N1
2NA (Map).
Award-winning ‘psychic’ comedian, Peter Antoniou, returns to the Fringe
for his 5th year with a brand new show that promises to be his most
ambitious yet. Removed from all showbiz trappings this is an intimate
show featuring the most amazing and astounding demonstrations of mind
reading you are ever likely to see. Fondling frontal lobes and tickling
funny bones, he’s more accurate than a psychic, just as funny as a
stand-up and combined with his mastery of improvisation, no two shows
are alike. Whether you've pondered what the future holds, facts about
the past, secrets of the universe, or just how a psychic spends his day,
Peter has answers for you. It’s almost as if he has been possessed by
the spirit of a cosmic Google. So just sit back, think of your question
and enjoy the answers. “Prepare to be flabbergasted. Five Stars!” –
WhatsOnStage. Doors 9pm, Show 9.30pm, Tickets: £7.50 available from
www.ticketweb.co.uk.
11.5.13
Piff
the Magic Dragon Show, Saturday 15th June, Jacksons Lane, 269a
Archway Road, London N6 5AA (Map)
at 8pm. Back on home soil after a hit season at Sydney Opera House and
an Adelaide Fringe debut, Piff the Magic Dragon comes to Jacksons Lane
with his own brand of absurd magic and comedy. As seen on Penn & Teller:
Fool Us, and racking up more than 6 million hits on YouTube, Piff has
appeared with The Muppets at Radio City Music Hall, NYC, and performed
to over 150,000 people as opening act for Mumford & Sons on their recent
UK tour. But it’s not all about the dragon. Mr Piffles, the World’s
First Magic Performing Chihuahua™ will be cheating death nightly as he
is laminated live on stage, confronts the Strait Jacket of Insanity and
pits himself against the Cannon of Certain Doom. Will Piff find his
princess? Will Mr Piffles survive? Will you be there if he doesn’t?
“A stunningly good magician” Penn & Teller. Details:
www.jacksonslane.org.uk.
11.5.13
DVD
"Product Creation Day" for children's entertainers. Mike Clarke is
offering a one-to-one video day for children's entertainers, to make a
custom "Learn Magic" instructional DVD. Limited to 15 people, once the
places are gone, they're gone! Full details can be found at
thekidsmagician.com/video-day-for-childrens-entertainers.
11.5.13
Mat
Ricardo: Showman, Saturday 22nd May, Jacksons Lane, 269a Archway
Road, London N6 5AA (Map)
at 8pm. Mat knows what you think of juggling. He mostly agrees. But he's
also pretty sure he will change your mind. Mat Ricardo: Showman
is packed with tricks, with genuine displays of danger, of understated
dexterous elegance, of thrills, skills, spectacle, slapstick and wit. He
presents some old favourites, signature routines, tricks that haven't
been performed for decades and some that have never been performed
before at all. Oh, and one that killed a juggler in 1936. The star of
the British cabaret revival, winner of Best Speciality Act in the London
Cabaret Awards, and the UK's most successful juggler, Mat Ricardo
delivers a show packed full of the evidence of what you can achieve if
you devote all of your adult life to showing off. “Mat Ricardo is the
best of both worlds – a genius juggler and a gifted comedian” Time
Out. Details:
www.jacksonslane.org.uk.
11.5.13
East
Kilbride Summer Fest culminates with a Variety Show. "A brand new
music and arts festival is set to launch in East Kilbride this summer.
The all-new EK Summer Fest culminates with a Variety Show finale on
Saturday, July 13th and Sunday, July 14th. The show will feature STV’s
Michelle McManus, Britain’s Got Talent finalist Ed Reid, Scottish
comedian Eddie Devine, along with Safire Illusionists, The Magic Light
Puppet Company, dancers and much more. South Lanarkshire Leisure and
Culture, working in partnership with East Kilbride Arts Council, have
extended and re-branded the town’s annual Artburst festival as EK Summer
Fest. The previous outdoor weekend event in the Village will now spread
over nine days and will showcase professional and local talent in
multiple venues across East Kilbride. This new look festival, running
from July 6–14, promises to have something for everyone." East Kilbride
Village Theatre, Maxwell Drive, East Kilbride, G74 4HG (Map).
Box office 01355 248669.
www.eastkilbridenews.co.uk.
11.5.13
John
Carey lectures for The Chester Guild of Magicians at 8pm on Monday
13th May at The Bull & Stirrup, 8 Upper Northgate Street, Chester CH1
4EE (Map).
Visiting magicians welcome. £10 door charge.
www.chesterguildofmagicians.org.uk.
11.5.13
The
Cabinet of Leopold Thorn. Written and Performed by Darren Gooding.
An extraordinary true story of ambition, loss, scandal and deception set
within the obsessive, clandestine and occasionally downright ridiculous
world of 19th Century Stage Illusion... Prepare yourself for an evening
of sleights, misdirection and Steam-Punk Science in the beguiling,
eccentric and enigmatic company of Leopold Thorn: Illusionist
(professionally), Murderer (reputedly), Visionary Genius (quite
possibly) and Strutting Dandy (unquestionably), as we attempt to answer
the question of how a man who invented the greatest illusion ever known
was so comprehensively erased from the history of stage magic...
Tickets: £8, £6 (conc). Thursday 16th May at 7.30pm. The Headgate
Theatre, 14 Chapel Street North, Colchester, Essex CO2 7AT (Map)
www.headgatetheatre.co.uk. Box Office: 01206 366000.
11.5.13
Zane's
Magic Shop will have a stand at the Bristol Day of Magic tomorrow,
and email: "I look forward to seeing our regular customers and hopefully
new customers there at our stand. ZMS will be bringing a large variety
of products with us this year - so something hopefully for everyone!
Also, a fair few of the products will be reduced on the day. We will
still be trading online on our user-friendly website over the weekend so
please still visit the website and make any orders if you would like.
Many thanks from Zane."
www.zanesmagicshop.com.
11.5.13
Attention
magic clubs! Paul Gordon's new commercial card magic lecture is now
available to book: "The magic is all Gold Dust; which also happens to be
the title of his new blockbuster 'best of' book and which is also the
focal point of the new lecture. Each and every trick is a worker and
Paul's lecturing style is fun and fast-paced. Boris Wild said: 'It is
rare to see a magician who can entertain an audience that much with just
a deck of cards. But Paul Gordon is one of them! His lectures are as
funny as the magic he performs is strong. Paul knows perfectly what the
spectators enjoy and delivers it to them with great humour and killer
effects!'" Visit
paulgordon.net/lectures.html for more info.
11.5.13
Care
& Share Balloon Days. From the organiser: There are two more balloon
"Care & Share" days coming up in May. On Monday 13th May in Bristol and
Wednesday 22nd May in Manchester. The Bristol day is after the Bristol
Day of Magic and the Manchester day is after the Trix in the Stix day,
so you may fancy staying an extra day to include the Balloon Days that
will have two lectures and a fun competition. Contact Graham Lee for
more details and to book:
Click Here. Both days are kindly sponsored by Qualatex Balloons.
11.5.13
Magician DMC gives away £5,000 to children with dreams... and DMC could give you £1,000 to spend on making your dream come true! dmcmagic.com/competition. 11.5.13
Interactive Magic Tricks. Sean Heydon emails: "I am conducting a study of ‘Interactive Magic Tricks’ and how they can be used on TV, Radio and the Internet. I will be posting videos most days - it may be of interest to some magicians and mentalists: www.theinteractivemagician.wordpress.com. 11.5.13
The
Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of The World's Greatest Mystifier. Available from Amazon.co.uk
Click Here • "Teenage magician has magic touch"
Click Here •
"Magician up to new tricks at Theatre Project"
Click Here •
"Magic doesn't suck anymore - honest"
Click Here •
"Illusionist integrates art into rehabilitation"
Click Here • "‘Now You See Me’ Trailer and Movie Speculation"
Click Here •
"PC Sorcar, daughter Maneka celebrate 100 years of magic"
Click Here • "Edoardo the Illusionist"
Click Here •
"World's Most Wired Magician"
Click Here •
"Magician Derren Brown: The only thing I can promise audiences at
Edinburgh show is deception"
Click Here •
Your UK magic news is always welcomed - see you next week,
Duncan.
11.5.13