Number
1189 - Saturday 8th April 2023
Evolution
starring magician and illusionist Craig Christian and Elizabeth Best (from
Britain's Got Talent), returns to the Horseshoe Showbar at the Blackpool
Pleasure Beach for the summer (24th June - 2nd September). "An electrifying show
that blurs the very lines of reality! Join master of manipulation Craig
Christian and Elizabeth with her thought-provoking tales of the impossible as
they delve into the world of the unknown." This show is suitable for all ages.
For more information and to book visit
www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com.
8.4.23
Richard Jones: An Evening of Magic. April Tour Dates. From the promoter: Following the success of his most recent sell-out magic show, Richard Jones presents An Evening of Magic, a 25-date tour running from October 2022 to May 2023. With psychological illusions, mind-reading, audience participation and never before seen tricks for all the family to enjoy, Richard will leave audiences asking, how did he manage that?
You will recognise Richard from Britain’s Got Talent, which he won in 2016 after
securing 2.6 million votes. He is also a Lance Corporal and has starred in
Trooping the Colour and the Queen’s 70th Platinum Jubilee celebrations; Richard
Jones is a true British icon.
For his latest tour, An Evening of Magic, The Military Illusionist is set to
amaze audiences. Richard rose to fame on Britain’s Got Talent after becoming the
first and only magician to win the hit talent show, before earning the highest
honour in The Magic Circle, the prestigious Gold Star.
"I am really excited about this tour. There are some magic tricks planned that I have never shown before, and I know that people are going to love them. I can’t wait to bring the joy of magic to audiences across the UK. Magic allows people to lose themselves in the wonder of it all, even if it is just for a couple of hours." Richard Jones.
8th April Harlequin Theatre, Redhill
14th February Cheque Mead Theatre, East Grinstead
15th April Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone
16th April the Princess Theatre, Hunstanton
21st April Castle Theatre, Wellingborough
22nd April Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
28th April Empire Theatre, Blackburn
29th April Blake Theatre, Monmouth.
8.4.23
The
Magic Live Lounge, Friday May 19th at The Chapel Arts House, Ormskirk. From
the organsiers: Following 6 sell out shows in 2021/2022 The Magic Live Lounge
returns to The Chapel Arts House in Ormskirk for another evening of Magic,
Comedy & Mystery. The evening will be hosted Mind Reader & Mentalist Mason King
and will feature the following acts:
Andrew James - Funnyman & Master Magician
The Great Borrini - Italy's Gentleman of Mystery
Mark Roberts - Beyond Sleight of Hand
Chris Manucal - American Family Friendly Magician
Doors open at 7pm with close-up magic from Rick Tynan, and live music from
Stuart Belcher. Tickets are £12 per person. Friday May 19th at 8pm at The Chapel
Arts House, St Helens Road, Ormskirk L39 4QR
www.thechapelormskirk.co.uk. 8.4.23
The
MagicWeek Video Archive. A new magic clip or show every week! This
week
Paul Daniels from the top of the BT Tower on 24th January 1987. See
The MagicWeek Video Archive. To see more from The MagicWeek Video
Archive
Click Here.
8.4.23
An
Evening of Magic & Mystery, Friday 21st April at Barton Manor Hotel, Preston.
Barton Manor Hotel welcome you for a night out with a difference with Mind
Reader & Mentalist Mason King and The Great Borrini 'Gentlemen of Mystery'.
Tickets are £35 per person which include a welcome drink on arrival with
close-up magic, followed by a two course meal and a 90 minute show. Tickets can
be booked by contacting Barton Manor on 01772 862551 or emailing
sales@bartonmanorhotel.co.uk.
Friday 21st April at 8pm at
Barton Manor Hotel,
746-768 Garstang Road, Barton, Preston PR3 5AA. 8.4.23
Andy
Nyman RSVP Interview. RSVP Magic Online write: In this exclusive interview
with RSVP Magic Online, Andy Nyman talks all things magic, Derren Brown, and
reveals an exclusive link to Derren’s brand new show that isn’t even on sale yet
to the general public! This interview is only available to subscribers. Sign up
now for a free 3 Day Trial. We're confident that you'll stay, along with
hundreds of others from around the world:
www.rsvpmagiconline.com. 8.4.23
Blackpool
Magic Convention 2024. Registration is now open. Our first headliner, Mac
King, has already been announced. He'll be performing his full Las Vegas Show
for the first time outside of the USA. We have some very exciting announcements
to make over the coming weeks! To book for Blackpool 2024 visit
www.blackpoolmagicconvention.com. Blackpool Magic Convention 2023 highlights
montage
Click Here. 8.4.23
Marvin
Berglas was honoured last week to have had a private audience entertaining
HRH Crown Prince Alexander and HRH Crown Princess Katherine - the Royal Family
of Serbia during their visit to London. It was particularly poignant as it was
in the Prince Alexander Suite at Claridges - aptly named after the Royal who was
born there 77 years ago!
Later that evening Marvin performed on stage for their 175 guests at The
Lifeline 2023 gala dinner in the ballroom, which besides including the Royals
also included a host of dignitaries, ambassadors, lords and ladies. Said Marvin
"I shall treasure their reactions and comments from my show and was delighted to
help be part of a truly magical evening which raised significant funds for the
Serbian humanitarian effort". 8.4.23
Kevin
Quantum on Craig Petty's Magic TV: 'Talk Magic'. Every
week Craig Petty sits down and chats with a well known magician; a creator, a
performer, or someone who has had a positive impact on the Magic Community. This
week: "Kevin Quantum, The Magician, Scientist and Adventurer"
YouTube.
8.4.23
Bertie
Pearce lecture at the Kent Magicians Guild, Tuesday April 25th. Mike Ingham
writes:
We are very lucky to have secured the services of the excellent all-round
magician and fun entertainer, Bertie Pearce.
Bertie is a born Entertainer. His shows are remembered years afterwards for all
the right reasons:
Dazzling Close Up Magic; Original and Waggish Cabaret; A Member of The Inner
Magic Circle; hilarious audience participation.
Bertie is bringing his unique style of magic and comedy to the Kent Magicians
Guild.
Bertie has
performed all over the world in weird and wonderful places including: The Magic
Castle in Hollywood; The Kulm Hotel in St Moritz and The Bertie and Boo Cafe in
Balham, London.
His Soiree Fantastique Show at The Magic Circle in 1999 was a sell-out and in
2003 he put on All Aboard The Comedy of Cruising at The Bridewell Theatre in
London which sold out for 11 nights.
This lovely man is steeped in magical history. He inherited a fascination with
conjuring from his maternal Grandfather Charles Derek Hill who was a classic
amateur conjurer of his day, building illusions at the family firm, Higgs and
Hill.
Do come along and witness what will be another one of our top lectures at the
KMG.
Guests are welcome; ticket price on the door is only £5. Definitely not one to
be missed! Tuesday April 25th at 8pm at Kent Magicians Guild, The Stag Theatre, London Road, Sevenoaks, Kent.TN13 1ZZ
www.kentmagiciansguild.co.uk. 8.4.23
Roy
Noakes Lecture - Merlin Magical Society, Potters Bar. Secretary & Vice
President John Clayton writes: On the 20th April the Merlin Magical Society is
having a lecture by Roy Noakes entitled "Matrimonial Miracles, How 'I Do'
Weddings". Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. £10 entry for non-members.
Merlin Magical Society, Little Heath Parish Hall, Thornton Road, Potters Bar,
Hertfordshire EN6 1JJ. Here is a link that takes you to our web page with full
details:
www.merlinmagicalsociety.com. 8.4.23
The
April/May 2023 E-Video Newsletter. Mark Leveridge is pleased to announce the
availability of his latest online video magazine programme. This edition is a
bumper 45 minute version, featuring: The Teach In – Mark goes through the
handling for a neat routine called Irritating in which a selected card keeps
misbehaving! Pro Peeks – lifted from The Vintage Vault in the E-Club Pro
Archive is a magical Okito Box Routine with some lovely subtle handling touches.
Keeping Control Unplugged – part 30 discusses how to deal with
interruptions when working mix and mingle or tables. The Trick Box – this
time you can learn an entertaining blank deck routine that was an early
forerunner to Mark's classic Brainstormer routine. Web Offers – if you
love your card magic get one of my Collected Card Magic e-books for less as well
as pick up a parlour effect at a bargain price. 60 Seconds To Success –
all children’s entertainers have battled against chatting adults at the back, so
here are some ways to deal with it.
Access to the full 45 minute presentation is free, you simply have to be signed up to Mark's no cost E-Club Lite, which delivers a monthly email newsletter containing the link to the E-Video Newsletter. To join now go to www.markleveridge.co.uk/product/e-club-membership. 8.4.23
Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician. Showcasing the very best magicians from Got Talent shows globally, as we see Britain’s Got Talent favourites competing against the very best magic acts from around the world. Stephen Mulhern will host this special edition of Britain’s Got Talent with Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams returning to the famous judging desk. For this one-off special edition, they will be joined by Las Vegas legend Penn Jillette – of Penn & Teller fame. Ten magical acts will perform, and the winner will be chosen by the theatre audience – but who will be crowned the Ultimate Magician and take away the £50,000 prize? (Repeat) Sunday 9th April, on Virgin Media Two. See TV Magic for details. 8.4.23
Care & Share, Balloon Days.
Birmingham and Bishops Stortford. Graham
Lee writes:
Birmingham, 10am till 5pm, 25th April and
Bishops Stortford, 10am till 5pm, 6th June.
Join us for this full day of mini-workshops, jams, and help with your balloon
projects and designs, together with a fun competition if you would like to join in. The Care &
Share Balloon Days are designed for everyone at all levels. Come and expand your balloon
knowledge of non-round balloons in a fun and friendly environment. Any questions
then please email graham@balloonartwholesale.co.uk
or to book visit
www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk. 8.4.23
Just a Minute. King Kong, Harry Houdini and Snake Charming. Series 91, episode 3. Sue Perkins challenges Paul Merton, Jennifer Saunders, Julian Clary and Lucy Porter to speak for 60 seconds on King Kong, Harry Houdini and Snake Charming. Monday 17th April on BBC Radio 4. See TV Magic for details. 8.4.23
Tribute
to Harry Lorayne. In 1975, my mother plucked Harry Lorayne's Secrets of Mind
Power off the bookshelf and urged me to read it to help calm my anxiety. I read
it and never looked back. It was, and still is, my favourite non-magic book. The
year after, in 1976, I won Close-up Card Magic in a raffle at my local magic
club. I read it and never looked back. It was, and still is, one of my favourite
magic books. At the time, I was amazed that there were two authors called Harry
Lorayne who wrote in a similar style. Harry laughed about it years later.
I started corresponding with Harry in 1979 and he always replied with charming
letters. This went on for fourteen years, and then in 1993, we met for the first
time in London. He treated me and my ex wife to a lavish meal in Park Lane. At
the end of the meal I showed him about ten of my tricks. Most were published in
Apocalypse between 1994 and 1997. In 1997 he asked me to perform and lecture at
Tannen's Jubilee in New York. What a thrill. The experience opened lots of doors
for me. Subsequently, I gave him various routines of mine for his various books
and DVDs.
We talked often on the phone and during the covid lockdown, I interviewed him.
It's still available on YouTube. Harry turned 90 in 2016 and I flew to New York
to attend the party. I flew home immediately after and arrived home the next
morning. It was a get-together to surpass all get-togethers. In 2022, Elizabeth
(his daughter in law) asked me to help proofread his last book. His 'last book'
rhetoric was legendary in magic, but The Essential Lorayne was genuinely his
last book.
I'm writing this tribute just hours after his death and my hand is trembling as
I write. I've written more eloquent things over the years but none as heartfelt.
I'm truly heartbroken. The truth is that if it wasn't for Harry I wouldn't be in
this racket. I wouldn't have my hobby, my profession, my writings and my
friends. Harry once said we should have written a book together. Now we never
will. Thanks for everything Harry. And I mean everything. My thoughts are with
Robert, Elizabeth and Vivi at this saddest of times.
Paul Gordon, Friday, 7th April 2023. 8.4.23
"Illusionist
Antonio Díaz's El Mago Pop will come to Broadway this summer"
Click Here • "How does a magician trick other magicians? We went to find
out." [requires sign-up]
Click Here • "'If it happens it happens': Debbie McGee, 64, reveals she is
open to finding love again"
Click Here • "A Magician Did a Famous Trick For Monkeys, But The Real Magic
Was Their Reactions"
Click Here • "Them’s the breaks"
Click Here • "Music as Misdirection by Jason Leddington"
Click Here • "How a magician-mathematician revealed a casino loophole"
Click Here • That's it for this week.
Hope you enjoyed my Magi-Tok™ April Fool last week. Your UK magic news is always
welcomed. See you next week, Duncan.
8.4.23