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Mark James Lecture 'The Anatomy of a Magician'
South Downs Magicians
February 2025
Reviewed by Paul Sturgess
Mark
visited South Downs Magicians this week, as part of a Lecture Tour, and provided
a thoroughly entertaining evening of magic for us all, from start to finish,
full of energy and laughter.
The first half of the evening was dedicated to some of the classics of magic,
such as the Fire to Appearing Cane and various other vanishes and appearances
(he even vanished his own elephant!) as a result of Mark's love of vaudeville.
Mark explained every single action of his routines in great detail and
demonstrated how important scripting was to deliver such a polished act. He
completed the first half with a fantastic Multiplying Bottles routine, which he
attributed to Ken Brooke.
The second half focused on the psychology of managing the audience, which he
illustrated with some very strong sleight of hand in a "Card to Pocket" routine
that he later explained and lectured on.
I would recommend a Mark James Lecture to any magic club. His depth of knowledge
and range of skills is up there with the very best magicians in the world.
© Paul Sturgess, February 2025