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James Brown Lecture
Associated Wizards of the South
16th June 2009
Reviewed by George Key
Members were entertained, informed and intrigued by our lecturer James Brown.
James is a close-up magician, pickpocket and hypnotist and his performance
contains elements of all three.
The close-up magic was skillful, I loved 'Caught three times' where three
spectators cards appear one at a time between two face up cards within the deck.
Each time the spectator is holding the pack in their own hands! The 'dipping'
was slick and the hypnosis fascinating (excuse the pun!). James uses hypnosis to
enhance his magic and at no time did he make his helpers look silly, quite the
opposite in fact! Mind you when his volunteer counted his 11 fingers, the look
on his face was priceless!
The first half of the evening was pure performance and the second half was a
'chat' covering James's philosophy for performance plus any questions, and there
were lots, regarding the first half. This format nicely got over the usual
disjointed trick – explain, trick – explain scenario that we are used to.
I cannot recommend James's lecture highly enough to other clubs who may be
seeking a great and unusual lecture for their members.
© George Key, June 2009