Number
1063 - Saturday 7th November 2020
'Chippenham
Comedy Club presents Danny Buckler' live on stage, 29th October 2020.
Reviewed by Bob Gill. I’m one of 28 people sat in a barn conversion
behind a decidedly run-of-the-mill pub on a wet autumn evening in
downtown Chippenham: it’s the home of the town’s comedy club, which has
opened for one night only. So this is what socially-distanced comedy is
like: a real, live, breathing gig. Although having to start at 19.00 on
a Thursday to beat the curfew doesn’t look promising, it’s a good room
with a very congenial atmosphere. Onstage delivering the above words is
the object of our attention, Danny Buckler, whose journey here from his
home Guildford is barely covered by the night’s takings; but he welcomes
every slender opportunity to perform, feeling the need “to be
match-fit for when this madness is over”... To read Bob Gill's
review in full
Click Here.
7.11.20
The
Essential Hoffmann - Out Now! This new set of books contains
Professor Hoffmann's five major original works. Spanning from 1876 to
1918, the set brings Hoffmann's famous magic series back into print in
an affordable and high-quality format. The set includes Modern Magic,
More Magic, Later Magic, Magical Titbits and
Latest Magic, almost 2000 pages of magic tricks. Buy the whole set
for just £55, saving £10 on the collection when purchased individually.
Available now:
www.collectingmagicbooks.com.
7.11.20
Paul
Dabek,
Talking Shtick with Mark James. Mark writes:
Paul started his career in show business when at the age of 4, dressed
in top hat and cape (a blanket from the back of the sofa) he sold his
parents two tickets to his first one-man show held in the family's
living room. His costume may have changed, but his love for the art form
has not, and to date he is widely regarded as one of the funniest
magicians on the planet! Via your favourite
listening platform including
Podbean.
7.11.20
The
MagicWeek Video Archive. A new magic clip or show every week! This week Finn
Jon on John Fisher's 'The Best of Magic' from 20th September 1989. See
The MagicWeek Video Archive. To catch up with more from The MagicWeek Video
Archive
Click Here.
7.11.20
Gregory
Wilson’s Lockdown Lecture at the Zodiac via Zoom - 11th November at 8pm.
Learn Greg’s latest and greatest magical creations, plus see new
quarantine spins on some of his classic effects. He’s lecturing for the
Zodiac Magical Society via Zoom, but non-members around the world can
join in the fun for just £10 (which can be deducted from their £80 subs
if they choose to join later during the club year). The Society is based
in West London, but currently meets via Zoom. To watch this lecture
email
membership@zodiacmagicalsociety.co.uk or visit
www.zodiacmagicalsociety.co.uk for club info.
7.11.20
Places
by Looch - ReadMyMind.co.uk. Astound your audiences with a fresh and
unique product, specifically designed for the professional mentalist’s
tool kit. Places is a custom-designed utility product which is
brand new to the market. From the creative mind of award-winning mind
reader and mentalist, Looch, these postcards will enable you to perform
demonstrations that are guaranteed to blow minds and confound audiences
across the globe.
Comprising a special set of postcards from various well-known
destinations around the world, these postcards introduce a brand new
marking system to the magic community. Designed to be as clear as
possible to the performer, they are psychologically invisible to your
audience. In addition to this incredible and original marked set, you
will also receive a custom set of forcing postcards that allow you to
perform a 3-phase routine that Looch has been using for years to
audiences across the UK. The postcards can be configured in a variety of
ways unique to each performer. This is a cutting edge utility tool for
the modern working mentalist with no expense spared. You will love them!
Limited to 250 sets. Find out more:
www.readmymind.co.uk.
7.11.20
Ventriloquist
Ray Alan and Lord Charles in a guest spot (with magic!) on The Paul
Daniels Magic Show from 21st January 1989. Added to The MagicWeek Video
Archive on Monday. See
YouTube.
7.11.20
Peter
Pitt on John Fisher's 'The Best of Magic' from 10th October 1990.
Added to The MagicWeek Video Archive on Wednesday. See
YouTube.
7.11.20
Magic
for Humans, New: Season 3. "From baffling people on the street to
orchestrating elaborate tricks, Justin Willman blends good-natured magic
with grown-up laughs."
www.netflix.com.
7.11.20
The Amazing Johnathan Documentary. "Benjamin Berman finds the line between truth and illusion start to blur as he documents the final tour of a dying magician." Sunday 15th November on Sky Documentaries. See TV Magic. 7.11.20
The
MLM Web Offers November 2020. Valid until the 30th November, the
following two products are on special offer this month. The
Commercial Sponge Ball Routine - a classic sequence of sponge ball
magic that is full of surprises and which is suitable for commercial
close up work or even children's shows. Totally practical, no re-set,
and only requiring a set of three sponge balls, this is ideal lay people
entertainment. This comes as a downloadable TricKlip video file. The
British Close Up Magic Symposium - The First Decade - a mega e-book
featuring the magic and thoughts of 52 top line close-up performers who
deliver 80 articles for your reading pleasure. Varied close up material
is offered across the 214 pages, and contributors include Tommy Wonder,
David Roth, Michael Ammar, Guy Hollingworth, John Bannon, Michael
Vincent, Jon Allen, Andy Nyman and many more. A powerhouse of close-up
magic! Information on both of the above products is available now from
www.markleveridge.co.uk.
7.11.20
Star
Maker - Mr E Enterprises: You show the children a spelling list and
a number of picture cards and demonstrate that by spelling all the
letters from an animal on the list, a letter at a time and moving a card
below the packet as you do so, you always arrive at a card that shows a
picture of that very animal. So if you spell c a t the next card dealt
will be a picture of a cat and so on. You allow a boy or girl from the
audience to try but time after time they always end up with a clown
picture no matter how careful they are, yet you are able to produce
their animal by the simple spelling process, even after they have failed
to do so.
This premise has your audience in fits of laughter throughout this very
entertaining routine, leading to a stunning fun finish when the
participant becomes the star of your show and you end up as the clown!
If you enjoy excellent entertaining magic, and like being at least one
step ahead of your audience all the time, you will love Star Maker. Only
ten picture cards are used, no extras just fabulous easy to do visual
magic and superb entertainment from start to finish. Comes with giant A4
sized cute animal picture cards, Spelling List and instructions. See
www.mreenterprises.co.uk.
7.11.20
New
and 'as new' books added weekly at Merlins... Merlins have a large
selection of books on their website, with weekly additions. See
www.merlinswakefield.co.uk/books.
7.11.20
Merlins
of Wakefield. We have had to close our Magic Shop due to the virus
lockdown. We are still sending out mail orders and can be contacted by
email merlins@btconnect.com.
We will be having special offers and deals during lockdown, so if you
don't want to miss out, sign up to our free newsletter -
Click Here.
7.11.20
The
Collected Card Magic of Mark Leveridge - Volume 3: The third of a
four volume set featuring the varied card magic of Mark Leveridge. The
third volume of this good quality card magic set features a further 12
of my highly workable card routines. There is a lot of variety offered
here, and the standard of the magic is high. The book runs to 74 pages
with both line drawings and greyscale photographs used to supplement the
text. There is magic for close-up shows, for mentalism, for parlour
shows and also for commercial walkabout work. As with the others books
in this series, here you will find only workable routines, not endless
sleights and minor finesses. It’s a book of practical ideas for those
who simply like to perform good card magic. For full contents see
www.markleveridge.co.uk.
7.11.20
Christmas
Magic in the Air! Magic is more popular than ever according to
Marvin Berglas - creator of the world’s biggest and best known magic
brand Marvin’s Magic, who this week celebrate 33 years of their
professional magic, made easy. Marvin highlights the incredible upsurge
of interest in magic this year. "It’s a combination of factors including
more and more families wanting to be entertained and learning new skills
in these difficult times. Our award-winning magic combines traditional
family values with cutting-edge technologies to give innovation and a
contemporary feel to this cherished art form. Parents love seeing their
children enjoying learning and growing in confidence through interacting
and performance rather than merely being attached to their screens."
This was highlighted by retail and online giants, Argos, who chose magic
as the theme for their highly acclaimed Christmas TV ad campaign. Says
Marvin "We were thrilled that our Marvin’s Amazing Box of Tricks
was chosen to be the main featured item in this prestigious advert,
highlighting the fun young Daisy and Lucy had entertaining their family
with a magic show. The sound track is Gary Barlow’s catchy new single
'Incredible' and again we were prominently featured in their social
media campaign". Also see
www.thesun.co.uk.
7.11.20
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). That's How Murder Snowballs. Series 1, episode 5. "Jeff enlists the help of ghostly partner Marty to find out who switched a stage magician's blank bullets for the real thing, turning a harmless illusion into a horrific and highly public killing." Comedy drama, starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. Monday 16th November on Sony Channel. See TV Magic. 7.11.20
"Broadway
World Interview: Street-style Magician Nathan Earl on why West End
Busking must be saved."
Click Here and "Save London Buskers Campaign Takes On Westminster
City Council To Block New Busking Laws"
Click Here • "High Flyers: The fire-breathing Yorkshire magician who
calls Northern Ireland his home"
Click Here • "What if They Could Make the Pandemic Go Poof?"
Click Here • "Debbie McGee details secret 'code' she used with late
husband Paul Daniels for first time"
Click Here • "Bill Watson remembered for his caring nature and love
of magic"
Click Here • "Uri Geller to predict when Covid-19 pandemic will end"
Click Here • That's it for another week - see you next week, Duncan.
7.11.20