Issue No.13 RRP £3.

75
www.magicseen.co.uk Vol. 3. No.1 HELPING MAGICIANS FIND A HOME SINCE 2005

p18

JONATHAN
GOODWIN
BITTEN & TWISTED
JAY SANKEY
REVIEWS
JAY FORTUNE
NEWS

MARC
OBERON
LEADER OF THE PACK
p50
magicseen TALK TO
HUGH JACKMAN OF

The Prestige!!
WAYNE EXCLUSIVE!! AUTOBIOGRAPHY

DOBSON
OUR KIND OF MAGIC
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 EDITOR’SLETTER

WELCOME TO Sankey, Canada’s top trick

creator. And to top all these off

magicseen
(OK, I’m sorry, I’ll stop that now)
we talk to Hugh Jackman and
Jonathan Nolan of The Prestige,
who tell us about all the magic
involved in this great move.
s we enter our third year effects plus an autobiographical There can be no doubt that

A here at magicseen we are

experiencing exciting times
(although we are all easily excited
account of his varied and
interesting career. We have
included a couple of extracts in
the magic marketplace has been
transformed by the ever
increasing popularity of the web,
- need to get out more, really!). this issue for you to get a feel for and so we thought it would be a
Firstly, our style guru Phil has what the book will be like, but we good time to have a look at the
developed a fresh new look for hope that many of you out there current state of online magic
your favourite bi-monthly magic will want to get the book. It will be shopping in the UK. We give you
magazine, including a new logo. available in semi-hardback and a few tips about what to look for
Everyone in the magicseen office also a limited edition hard back in a magic selling website, and
really likes the new image he’s format which will be signed by then our team of reviewers offer
given us and we hope all you Wayne himself, thereby you thoughts and comments on
lovely readers out there will too. immeasurably reducing their re- 10 such sites currently trading
Not content with re-designing the sale value! Full details are on the from the UK. If your favourite site
magazine, Phil really decided to magicseen website. Pre- is not featured in this issue, do
go mad and also give the publication orders have already not despair, because we have 10
magicseen website a total been taken from many readers, more site reveiews ready for issue
overhaul. Log on to and the book will be ready for the 14 - we just didn’t have the space
www.magicseen.co.uk and see Blackpool Convention at the end to fit them all in this time!
the difference. Many people use of February. Wayne is our cover On top of all this we have
the website so we hope you will star this month and we are proud other fun bits and pieces
find it attractive and useful. We to be associated with someone including our version of a magical
will endeavour to keep it up to who truly is one of magic’s stars! Frankenstein, product reviews,
date too. But issue 13 isn’t just about news, letters and enough other
As if all this wasn’t enough to Wayne, as it is packed full of interesting stuff to convince you
send us into paroxysms of other top personalities such as that 13 is NOT an unlucky
delight, we have the imminent Jonathan Goodwin, the UK’s top number when it comes to
release of WD40, the Wayne DIY escapologist, Marc Oberon, magicseen!
Dobson book which magicseen is the UK’s top close up competition
publishing. This is a terrific book winner, Die Zauderer, Germany’s
containing 40 of Wayne’s top top comedy nutcases and Jay Mark Leveridge, Editor

MEETTHETEAM
Editor: Mark Leveridge magicseen’s management board Copyright. The views and opinions expressed
in this magazine are those of the individual
Deputy Editor: Graham Hey consists of Graham Hey, Mark contributors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the publishers. All rights reserved.
Design Editor: Phil Shaw Leveridge & Phil Shaw Reproduction in whole or part is strictly
prohibited without the prior consent of the
Advertisement Manager: General enquiries and comments: publishers. Colour transparencies, manuscripts
or discs are sent at the owners’ own risk.
Peter Salter 07977 567424 [email protected] Neither the company nor its agents accept any
responsibility for loss or damage. All unsolicited
Website Design: Jane Stewart Subscriptions: material should be accompanied by a stamped
Circulation: Sarah Logan addressed envelope.
On-line at www.magicseen.co.uk,
Circulation Assistant: Thanks to: Wayne Dobson,
Jessica Culver or sending your details and a
Jonathan Goodwin, Marc Oberon,
Contributors: Jay Fortune, Sean cheque payable to ‘magicseen’
Jay Sankey, David Taylor, Derek
Taylor, Sean Alexander, Wittus Witt, to magicseen Subscriptions, Lever, Die Zauderer, Paul Zenon,
Nick Einhorn, Stuart Bowie, Paul 13a Lyndhurst Road, Exeter Warner Brothers/Noble PR, Hugh
Preager, Paul Kelly, Pete Firman,
EX2 4PA, UK. £22.50 for annual Jackman and Jonathan Nolan,
Graham P. Jolley, David Regal, Paul
Kenny Roberts (Kernow Magic)
Gordon, Jeremy Vine, Hugh Lennon, subscriptions, Europe £34.50,
Willans S. Lopez, James L. Clark worldwide £43.50. Published by MSUK Publications

www.magicseen.co.uk 7
 BLACKPOOL
CONVENTION FEATURE

‘‘ When it
comes to
creating magic,
I’ve only
just begun.
’’
Jay brings Joy!
There’s always a buzz of excitement when the brilliant Jay Sankey is in town -
yes, believe it or not, even magic fans have the ability to get excited! Blackpool
will be a much better place for having this Canadian fellow with the sublime
skills and sharp wit to seduce us. Jay answers a few of our questions…

8 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 Are you a fan of conventions &

5
competitions?

Absolutely. I’m a fan of anything that fans the

fires of a people’s passion for magic. (“Fans!”
Get it? Yeah, yeah, they can’t all be
winners). For many people, conventions and
competitions are a great way to focus and
fuel their interest in magic. At the same time,
I think people should be very careful that
they don’t become intimidated or
overwhelmed by these events and leave
THINGS YOU
feeling deflated rather than excited. Some
people who try to absorb too much at a
DIDN’T KNOW
convention or big competition can end up
feeling drained or jaded and that’s the worst
ABOUT JAY!
way to nurture your love of magic.
1. I have written a few
What was the last competition you screenplays as well
performed in?
dead magi over and over and over again. as a still-unpublished
I haven’t performed in a magic competition in Their names are just THAT catchy!) non-fiction book called
almost 30 years. The last competition I “The Connection
entered was as a young boy at a “magic Has there been one single thing in the Instinct” exploring the
past 12 months that has really blown
camp” organised by Tannen’s in the US. If I your mind? painful fictions that give rise
recall correctly, I did a few original coin tricks to our seminal sense of
including some sort of “coin through jacket My darling daughter Madelaine was born on separateness.
lining” effect. All I can remember is some line January 18, 2006, and she’s been blowing
about “the weave in tweed” and how I was my mind ever since. (My sweet 3-year old boy 2. I have a large scar on the first
convinced it was a funny line. Mason has been blowing my mind for years!) knuckle of my left index finger
from when, as a 9-year old amateur
What are your previous experiences of You are a prolific inventor of effects - can filmmaker, I cut off the head of a tiny
Blackpool? you sleep at night!!
plastic toy figure (an African
Blackpool is incredible. I always get a huge Some nights I simply can’t. Too many ideas tribesman to be exact) with an X-
kick out of being 1 of 5,000 magicians who swirling around in my head demanding acto knife in preparation for a
invade a small British town for a few days. to be written down and fleshed-out. So I drag post-battle scene...the knife
The competitions and performances are my tired bones out of bed, shuffle slipped and sliced me to
amazing, but I also get a charge walking downstairs, find a notepad and pen and take the bone.
through the streets and spotting some of the dictation for an hour or so. I think of myself
biggest names in magic strolling around like as a kind of servant with The Ideas as the 3. I’ve been
“ordinary people.” The whole thing has a real master. Other nights, as I lie in bed I am working on a silent act for 2 years. I
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” vibe for me. able to resist tip-toeing into the “magic sometimes feel that “I’ve been forever
mindset,” and on those nights, sleep quickly getting by on my wit” and I long to
If you were responsible for putting on a takes me. SHUT UP and let the magic do the
show - which handful of magicians would
you like to see perform? Close-up or talking.
stand-up. And why? What was the last book you read?
“Becoming Attached” by Robert Karen PHD. 4. As a teenager I
There are a great many magicians whose It’s about first relationships and how they briefly
work I admire, but the first names that come shape our capacity to love. experimented
to mind are Richard Sanders, Juan Tamariz, with a variety of
Shoot Ogawa, David Acer and Eric Mead. Last movie watched? instruments including
Sanders is just such a stellar combination of I’ve been on a bit of an Oliver Stone binge harp, timpani, violin,
funny and really magical. Tamariz is so smart, recently. My wonderful wife Lisa likes sports piano and clarinet.
subtle, warm and present/accessible. Ogawa movies (with their tense, sweaty palms Despite the fact that at
blows my mind with his heart stopping climaxes) so we watched “Any Given Sunday” this point I cannot play a single
visuals. Acer is just such a lovely person and a few nights ago and both thoroughly enjoyed song on any instrument
always makes me laugh my butt off. And it. We rented “World Trade Center” the known to man, I have a very strong
Mead, he’s a true student of the art, always following night, but it lacks the usual Oliver belief that music will be my
learning, always thinking, and it comes out in Stone bells and whistles and we experienced “last career.”
his work, every gesture, every humble word. it as slow and surprisingly dull.
(I’d also love to see a close-up show featuring 5. When it comes to creating magic, I’ve
Kuda Bux and Heba Haba Al, but that’s only Favourite UK/European magicians? only just begun.
because I groove ghosts and I’ve gone I am a big Derren Brown fan. Talk about
through periods in my life where I’ve making effects MEANINGFUL and giving them www.sankeymagic.com
obsessively said the names of both quite a credible and engaging context. Superb! ms

www.magicseen.co.uk 9
LETTERBOX
Share your random

Inbox
H@ve Your Say!!
views with the world
If you have anything you would like to tell us
whether it’s about the magazine or anything
magic related please email:
[email protected]

both versions at the know how you got on?

same time. But
subscribers also get the
Best of luck, young feller! WHAT’S
benefit of special offers
(and there will be more
INSIDE
coming up very soon) –
such as with the last
issue when our sponsors THIS
Kernow magic offered
discounts on a couple of
new release DVDs.
Subscribers receive
CRUISING FOR
BRUISING
ISSUE
details inside the Hi magicseen. My name is
envelope with their copy. Anthony Newell and I am
DIGGIN’ DYNAMO One of the joys of the We hope this makes interested in taking my
Great feature on Dynamo marvellous Internet is everything alright, Josh. magic further, by maybe
in the last issue, guys! receiving messages like working a summer
Never heard of him! OK, this, which we cannot season or on the ships. I
OK – I live in the US understand! The boy (if it WHERE’S THE YELLOW have been performing
where we don’t tend to is a boy) means well – BRICK ROAD? magic for a couple of
look beyond our own and there could be a I am 12 years old and years, but only recently
shores. I’m really keen to glorious career in comedy would like to become a bought your magazine for
see this performer, now magic ahead, if his famous magician. Can the first time. I am not in
that I know more about scriptwriting is always as you give me any advice? a magic club or anything,
him, and it seems that in funny as this. Great! Jo Underwood, Kent I’ve basically trained
the UK there are some myself using magic
good, original performers books. Do you have
around. Best wishes to all DOWNLOAD any advice on these
and well done on DISGRACE! ideas?
producing a quality mag. I am a subscriber to A. Newell, Glasgow.
I still prefer the hard magicseen and don’t Welcome 7
copy rather than the like the idea of people Editor replies: Hi Jay Sankey 8
Letters 10
download.
Martin Keshwari,
who buy the download
getting it before me. ? Anthony, well, you
could try buying Mel News
Blackpool Special
11
13
New Jersey, USA You may think I’m Harvey’s book all
Monster Bunch 14
selfish, but I believe we about working on cruise
News 15
should be treated Editor replies: Well Jo, try ships. Mel is very Jonathan Goodwin 18
ENGLISH TEACHER specially. I saw you any of the following: experienced, plus he has Wayne Dobson 24
REQUIRED! advertising in Genii and it Subscribe to magicseen – lots of Hawaiian shirts, Jay Fortune 33
Dear magicseen publish, I mentioned the PDF then you’ll look pretty all ready for those last David Taylor 34
am being as from Estonia version being available cool as image seems to minute cruise bookings! Kernow Magic Interview 38
doing magic very good. before the printed version. be just as important as Seriously, though, try Buying Online 42
Marc Oberon 50
Are you wanting to be Josh Lewson, Ohio, USA skill these days. You Mel’s book or get The
Reviews 54
doing magic performering don’t want to end up like Stage newspaper from a
Masterclass 63
from this country? I Editor replies: Hi Josh, we Graham Jolley! Next, why main newsagents – Die Zauderer 66
contacts have very good are fully aware that not join a magic club? agents and bookers The Wonderbus 69
tonight for you. It is very some readers feel this Then, simply practice for advertise in there. Be The Prestige 70
good please, yes. way, and in fact, for the about 15 years – then prepared to do some SM Magazine 73
Slonva Kichenko last issue, we released get back to us and let us auditioning. Best of luck. Back Issues 74

10 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 NEWSROUND

GOING UNDERGROUND! Nyman on the Big Screen

In 1982, Tom Craven (US Card Although Movie star and magic maestro
Expert) wrote the ‘underground’ it’s a maths Andy Nyman’s latest movie is now
classic, The 16th Card Book. In -based out on DVD. Severance, starring
2007, Tom Craven & Paul Gordon concept, it Danny Dyer and Laura Harris has
are writing a NEW updated version. has many received excellent reviews and is
With contributions from: Tom commercial currently selling for £11.97
Craven, Paul Gordon, Harry uses. If you including postage from Amazon.
Lorayne, Phil Goldstein, Nick like Even if you don’t like Andy, the
Trost, Karl Fulves, George Blake, gambling & movie is still worth getting, cos he
Roy Walton, Lin Searles, Bill betting themes, you’re sure to gets both of his legs sliced
Taylor, Hideo Kato, J. K. Hartman, enjoy it. off. It’s a no-lose
Marty Kane, Justin Higham, The NEW book will be about situation! If you like cool,
André Robert, Alex Elmsley & 100 pages long, 45+ effects, quirky horror-type movies, then
Peter Duffie. perfect bound with full-colour this could well be for you.
What is the 16th Card cover. Register your interest by
Principle? Well, it seems to stem emailing [email protected] or
back from an Alex Elmsley trick phone 01903-211785
(7-16) from Howard P. Lyons’ www.natzler.com/16cardbook.htm CRISS TAKES SOME LICKING!
Ibidem; Issue 13, March 1958. for updated info!
The
chocolate
A BIG HIT! covered Criss
Angel had a
A magic double-act in Cyprus reports The Cyprus media group: midget on his
ended up in hospital while about CYR. The only back and a
to re-create a Penn & Teller thing the dominatrix in
classic stunt. Unfortunately for magicians his face as he
the two would-be-wizards, they ended up celebrated his
both got hit by a slow-moving catching was birthday last
farm vehicle as they got out of a hospital month – and
their car to begin preparing their taxi! Andrew Mayne,
own version of the bullet-catch, publisher of the
fantastic iTricks,
has an iPod
download hit on

Exposed by Ben Stiller his hands as a

result. His
podcast of the
At a time when the exposure of event is now one of the top
magic ‘trade secrets’ has never downloads from Apple's iTunes Mr. Mayne is not just a well-
been greater, the recent hit film store. Just three weeks into respected magician and
A Night at the Museum does podcast production, Mr. Mayne's consultant to performers such as
magicians no favours by including programs are among the very few David Blaine, he has talent in the
exposure within the film itself. Ben Apple picks for their "new and field of internet radio. In 1997 Mr.
Stiller's character wants to impress noteworthy" section. Mayne got “The Amazing Randi”
Genghis Kahn with magic tricks. Mr. Mayne said in a press show on the internet. He launched
The first two go fine - a production of release, "Who knew this many his very popular Magic Radio
spring flowers and an awkward French people wanted to hear the inside Show and enjoyed a three-year
drop. The last effect, however, is exposed story of Criss Angel getting run with fans around the world.
so blatantly the ancient warrior is able to spanked by a 200 pound The combination of Criss
see the trickery. The plot certainly did not dominatrix and a midget in a pool Angel, chocolate, dwarfs and iPods
require this particular effect's exposure, but full of chocolate? Besides me, proved to be a greater success
that often seems to be the last thing film that is. Magic is big right now and than any one could anticipate. A
makers consider. We can slightly spoil the podcasting is getting bigger too. It magicseen spokesperson said:
film for you by revealing: it’s not very good. only makes sense to offer fans of “The last time we saw anything
magic a way to get news through like that, it was at Stephen
this medium." Tucker’s 75th birthday party.”

www.magicseen.co.uk 11
 BLACKPOOL
CONVENTION FEATURE

through-neck routine! He changed his act

and presented a fire-eating extravaganza
that proceeded to endanger not only the The Blackpool Magic
lives of the orchestra, situated nearby, but Convention takes a
also the audience themselves. Dresses
were singed, instruments damaged and
massive effort to
the drum was burnt! And not surprisingly, organise. We asked
that was the end of Derek’s fire-eating act! the Registration
When National Service arrived, it
didn’t mean the end of Derek’s magic
Officer, Arthur
career. He spent much of his time Casson a few
performing in different camps, and when questions…
demob time eventually came, he opened
a theatrical agency in Manchester.
Derek himself went on to win ‘New HOW MANY PLACES ARE THERE
Who is Faces’ on TV, which was one of the
country’s most popular shows at the time,
AVAILABLE IN TOTAL?
There are 3000 places available!

DEREK LEVER? and the judges included: Tony Hatch,

Arthur Askey and Danny La Rue. Derek WHAT IS THE MAJOR PROBLEM
also had ambitions to become ‘The WITH REGISTERING SO MANY
With the World’s largest magic World’s Largest Used Magic Dealer’ – he MAGICIANS?
convention just around the corner, we subsequently did so, and he is still Well, panic sets in about 5 weeks
thought we’d find out more about the recognised as such, today. before the convention. And they all
event organiser Derek Lever. Over the years, Derek has developed need the front row…
many electronic tricks – of which the best-
Born in Manchester, Derek became seller was the ‘Dynamite Illusion’. The DO YOU PUBLICISE THE EVENT
besotted with magic at the age of eight entire concept was devised by Derek, with AT ALL?
after joining a junior magic club in David Howarth designing and building the There is no need to advertise the
Prestatyn, Wales. What many magicians circuit that would achieve the effect. convention. It sells out every year –
are performing today as cool, street magic Hypnosis is another area that Derek earlier and earlier because the
– Derek was doing around 50 years ago! has embraced and he studied under the product is so good.
Penetrating his neck with needles was hypnotist Henry Blythe, going on to run a
commonplace with the young Derek, who successful business as a Hypnotherapist. ARE ANY MEDIA ALLOWED AT
claimed at the time, to be the ‘World’s He has written six books, was also the THE CONVENTION?
Youngest Fire-Eater’. However, his opening creator of The British Magical No press and no TV. They are
show at the Bolton Grand Theatre was a Championships and has performed & not wanted or needed.
disaster with the band refusing to play if lectured at the famous Magic Castle,
Derek insisted on doing his ‘needle- Hollywood, USA.

Things we lo e about

5 the Blackpool Magic

Convention:
1. Spotting well known magicians.
2. The dealers - always a great selection.
3. Grabbing a coffee while we rummage through our
carrier bag full of new tricks!
4. B&B's. These are what make Britain so great!
God bless all those greasy breakfasts.
5. Seeing magic that we all wish we could do!

www.magicseen.co.uk 13
 MONSTERBUNCH

FRANKENSTEIN’S FULL DECK

We thought it would be a good idea to put together a sort of magical Frankenstein, built with the body
parts and characteristics of some our favourite magicians. Here is our attempt to make a monster to be
proud of, a monster that would surely win the Magic Circle championships, should it get the chance to
compete. However, it would probably come second, behind Marc Oberon!

HAIR: PETE FIRMAN.

It may sometimes look like he’s been HEAD: GRAHAM JOLLEY.
living in a commune or in a place where The way the light reflects off
combs are banned – but his magic his glasses, gives the number 1
powers stem from his funky follicles! mentalist in Essex a certain
star quality.
VOICE: SEAN CARPENTER.
The voice of a choirboy,
all soft and cuddly and
quite innocent – and
reminds you of BRAIN: GUY HOLLINGWORTH.
Christmas! Not just an amazing magician,
he is also a barrister – and they
are supposed to be brainy,
aren’t they?

CHEST: PAUL ZENON.

We know Paul
attends the Porn
convention in Las
Vegas each January.
(He sets off in July in
order to get the best
view!). Wherever Paul
and his chest happens
to be, there’s usually a FINGERS: R. PAUL WILSON
scantily clad lady This ‘International man of
running her fingers Misery’ may not smile very
across it! much, but he certainly has
magical fingers. If he was a
pianist, he’d be Liberace!
Nice tune, Paul!
THIGHS: JOHN ARCHER.
They say he can peel a
melon between his
thighs purely with a
well-timed muscle-
movement!

FEET: PAT PAGE.

KNEES: DARYL.
Pat’s feet are probably better at
We’ve never actually
sleight-of-hand than most of us
seen his knees, but
are with our hands! The man is
everything he does is
a living legend and never
really impressive, so we
happier than when he has a cup
bet his knees are
in one hand, and one of his
amazing, too!
balls in the other.

14 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 NEWSROUND
Build Your Own
Perfect Body
We asked a few of the top pros, oh and Jacko Not Magic Really Exists – Official!
Paul Gordon, to choose body parts of their
favourite magicians to make one amazing So Whacko! The Turkish Government
magic dude! Stage and screen icons they has revealed that they are
may be, but Michael Jackson, considering having a
Marlon Brando and Harry Minister for Magic – ‘a
Houdini also share a lesser- representative to help
Paul Gordon: known claim to fame. people understand the
Aside from the John In between singing, importance and power of
Holmes choice of *** - acting or escaping from magic in their everyday
I’d like the wit of Johnny handcuffs, each has tried existence. He will enrich
Thompson, hands/grace their hand at inventing and their lives with magical
of Rene Levand and had their design patented in experiences’. We already
memory of Harry Lorayne. the US. have the equivalent in the
Brando, who dreamed of UK, his name is Andrew
becoming a jazz drummer as O’Connor of Objective
Sean Taylor: a teenager, developed a Productions.
I'm tempted to mention a method of adjusting the
Andrew breaking EU tie regulations.
few bits of Melinda....The tension of drumheads which
hands of Steve Forte, was patented two
the mind of Annemann, years before he
Pick a nose,
the hair of Paul Daniels died.
any nose!
(he's not using it these
days) the physique of
Pendragon and the funny
bone of David Williamson.

Sean Alexander:
Hands of Jeff McBride for
his manipulation skills,
body and looks of Criss
Angel ’cos the ladies just
seem to go for that, the
brains of Derren Brown
(master of the
psychological), the humour While Michael Jackson
and comedy of Michael Finney (one was at the height of his
funny guy!), the feet and regurgitation popularity in 1992, he
skills of Houdini for use in escapology! patented a "method and
means for creating anti-
gravity illusion".
Wittus Witt: This comprised of a
I am quite happy with my modified pair of shoes which,
own body. This is a silly through hooks in the floor, allow
question, sorry. the wearer to lean forward at an
angle of 45 degrees, seeming
to defy gravity. riverbed. Would-be inventors and contact lenses, as well
Nick Einhorn True to form, the who wish to check whether as quirky inventions such as
I would like the torso of magician and escapologist their idea is really original can eye protectors for chickens
Blain, cos my beer gut is Harry Houdini invented a now search a database, and the fire escape
starting to hang so far diving suit which enabled the powered by Google, of more parachute.
over it is interfering with diver to remove it in an than seven million patents magicseen was thinking
my feet. The brains of underwater emergency. granted by the United States of patenting a top-quality,
Jim Steinmeyer - what a Even Abraham Lincoln, Patent and Trade Office well researched and written
clever man he is, the the US president, revealed a between 1790 and mid-2006. magic magazine, but the
style of Luis De Matos, creative streak when he The database, at patenting office said that
the hands and skill of Fred Kaps, the perfected a way of buoying www.google.com/patents, only ‘Magic’ and ‘Genii’
hair of Hans Moretti, and the balls of steamboats through shallow reveals the origin of everyday magazine fulfill the criteria.
David Berglas! ms water without hitting the items such as adhesive tape Damn!

www.magicseen.co.uk 15
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£14.99 phone the screen changes to show the original screen shot website now at
of your assistant holding the chosen card but this time the
screen has the words ‘Printing Please Wait’ whilst this is magicshop.co.uk
EXCLUSIVE TO THE happening, the chosen card actually starts printing from
MERCHANT OF MAGIC the TOP of your mobile phone.

By Post: Merchant of Magic Ltd, The Corner House, Forest Road, Denmead, Hants PO7 6UE
By Fax: 0870 1169915 (Calls charged at National Rate)
 et an
If I g
r ea ction
me
extre o
o n e or tw
and ,
w a lk out
e
peopl
e
h en I giv
t
el f e xtra
mys !
ie p oints
brown

18 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 JONATHANGOODWIN

A TH A N
JON I N
OOD W
G & TWISTED!
ITTEN
B han G o o d win is q
u i t
of da
e u n
n
ique. H
g e r o
is
usly ma
d

l o g i s t , Jonat a c o llection e has no

w
s c a p o fr o m n d h
As an e pes lar a
d o x , D IY esca t re m e ly popu o st unus
ual
t ho d e x ’s m ried
uno r
s h a ve prov
e
e ro le of UK b o u t b eing bu to
n t h
situatio o r t a bly into s J o n athan a e r t ha n most
com f y as k hard
settled t . G r a ham He h y h e finds it
logis self, an
dw
escapo n g h i m
angi
alive, h c e cover
…
n exam
ple of a
u ra n s a
get ins giv e u orporate
Can you se for c u
pe you ct where
I
6, r ti c u lar esca an effe
ar in 200 pa
pe r fo rm
I’m a lr e a d y
succes
sful ye ces? “I nipple!”
a v e ry o n th s audien y o w n e m b e r of
m
o, after n ex t tw elve m
d e s c a p e from e m o re…”A m nd
a bat a

S
es the -heade tells m
what do r th e shaven w in c in g as he d fo ld e d , given floor.
store fo is blin on the
have in ts a t th e a udience ra t p o s itioned
d s –a
projec cuddly secon
enter ta
iner?
o u p le of telly c h ,” h a s to hit a ra t after 30 tied
on a c too m u hit th e is the n
orking ally say begin to bat and
“I am w a n ’t re th a t T h e y to th e
ment, b
ut I c ll you is is attac
hed
ns I hav
e 30
the mo I can te ribbon his mea
n , “ b u t what g e d ito rs to -r in g . T d c uffs – o
rI
natha issionin y nipple my han
says Jo c o m m tia lly to m fro m o n and
cult gett
ing n poten escape reacti
it’s diffi e g o -a head o a s a re s e c o nds to e t a n extreme m yself
it to g iving th ri a l! If my ide a n ip p le! If I g u t, th e n I give
comm erous m
ate for lose alk o
d dang an idea eople w
risky an fo r T V , I have th e o n e or two p ts !’”
ng n in
too stro s live o a ‘brow
nie po his own
seen as o f m y escape re e x tr s tu nts are ducing
n g o n e a ed a a ath a n ’s k of pro
d ca sti n ly A l Q A ll J o n e k n a c
broa ms tha
to !” he as th ve
t. It see ng way nd he h V and li
interne in a n interesti a c re ations a n e rv e with T reativit
y
a c
g th e medium r m e there is nts w h ich hit
y s , “ I lo ve the
usin fo re are stu e sa
course that the alike. H ideas -
and
“But of rnet in diences ith new
laughs. th e in te a u
in g -u p w
side to of com sly.”
positive ed.” aspect o seriou
la ti o n s involv e s ca pes e w h a t I do to le escape
’ in
less reg
u
w J o n a than’s
d o e s h e d on’t tak li k e th e ‘nipp h as
e ho nts im if h e
I can se ut how With stu
n te le v ision, b s re a ll y e r to ir e , I ask h n ce?
te well
o escape n’s rep g to get
insura
transla h is lo ony DIY fr o n t of a Jonatha n tr y in
e? Can atic eff
ect in ies whe V show
, the
work liv d dram f what
I do difficult king a T nI
e d e s ir e a tu re o I’ m m a – so whe
have th n c e ? “The n e le m ent “ When lf is in sured he
n s e ‘T
te audie reate a me it king of
corpora u lt . I h ave to c n e o f the program d u ri n g the ma Fro m’,
it diffic ins. “O y leg
gs to Es
cape
makes il it y ,” h e expla c a n ’t do it broke m s t T h in s ure
dictab u tupid e – so I’ m
of unpre that yo Seven S ut back
if it ’s real, is a m e b e p fo rm
aws – the s had to some
main fl ys with ed filming ceived
e r n ig ht alwa to o rehears e y w ill have re t. I can’t
ft s a
night a rw is e it see
m
il l d o a that th
p a y -o ut for th
outcom
e oth e fore, I w
of insura
nce laughs.
d ib il it y. There g e t rid of it!” e m y s elf,” he
es cre times a
nd ranc
and los get insu
la r s tu nt a few
par tic u

www.magicseen.co.uk 19
 w,
u r T V sho
n yo
t e d you o
si s ing
u r dad as n e ver to d
o anyth
Yo he? he vow
e d
lamoro
us
w is t h anged, u ally a g
ho But afte
r I g o
ment! It
’s u s
tire around
. And
ry well. out of re od to h
ave
He’s ve ’l l get him y dad is go
gain … .I t m
on T V a t – bu
elps ou
b ikini who h
girl in
eap.
he’s ch dea?
r l a test i an Ker-Plunk!’
you ed ‘Hum
What’s on an escape call row?
I’m work
ing
do tomor
t o
ing
r e y ou go nch.
a
What y Grand
ma out
to lu
ing m
I’m tak

as
u s as far
itio ke I
v e ry amb feel li
am I
I , but the
s cap es go cr at ched
e n s
a v en ’t eve
h t!
ce, ye
surfa

them!
him do
w h o will let is
get peo
ple doing th
s ib le ll y w a n t to be e I’ll
impo s rea ecaus
y s ic ally it is “I don’t o r fifty – b lf
en p h m fo r ty y s e
ear th, th nderne
ath, when I’ r ting m
o u n t fr o m u e n o u g h of hu
m pe
ssive a to esca be a tric
k. have ha
d
o a ma it has to
th in g is, I d e s , b ut it is fo re ith c e ment. e n .” know th
at
“Th e
fo r my esc
a p
I
the re
IS p o ssible w w e
by th
e o p le do not ltant
arc h li k e r, it d to it , Many p a con s u
of rese t looks Howeve t metho orks as
s o th at it jus e d o s e c re e a lso w d its
arrange
d a detail There is
n inside th Jonatha
n ting cre
d d o it. I do b e t a c amera a t w a s r – h e has wri e c ret
a n ve to p u ee wh te an’s S
turn up n t… and ha actually le could s it
and wri P ete Firm
es s m e . I p e o p ie w , o k & h a s
risk-ass roceed coffin s
o int of v on Ali C
o
show a
nd he
p p y b e fore I p h is F ro m that po : M ag ic rr e n
. f on De
totally h
a pe, whic going o
n for me World o working
h e r: 1 . I esca e r th e re o c currence s t in t b e e n a r t &
it I suff are ju also jus nd Stu
figure e o n’t, and ff was a ra s e ideas s eries, a
r 2 : I d d o s tu a ll th e tu a lly n e w
great. O I don’t usually
, was ac Brown’s show.
reated. ie. But
I time it tured it new T V ly one o
f
y I’ve c d ut this
jeo p a rd
e s c a p e , I’ ll m in d , b
tly h o w I’ d p ic B a rr y ’s
w a s p revious
I don’t here I d exac Jonatha
n ow
where if tions w conveye lt T V sh
y s e lf in situa – fo r the to g ic ia n s on cu g ic now
m the ma
do put myself on T V.” actually
got in has ma
a lly d amage th e a th a n t le ft it y M a g ic, but o f his
could re udience Jon agic, bu Monke
ed in p
ursuit
f g iv in g the a In th e lo g y b efore m k th e re s a c rifi c h onest, I
sake o e e r d ra ma – escapo he d id n’t thin s been
a re e r? “To be
t of sh t whe n ile, as e reca ll logy c ow. Very
momen ’, th e momen for a wh g h m arket. H escapo a g ic at all n e
Escap e
y nipple
, ig eno u
ology. “ I o any m -down th
‘Nipple lip p ed to m was a b d w ith escap a w . don’t d
d a y s . I dusted
on is c hey pu t ustra te ces I s ese t The
the ribb gasp. T being fr rforman rarely, th r form a
a n audible a t’s w hat
a lo t o f the pe v e d o n ic y c le s’ to pe ty at Th
e
there is
m y shoes.
T h hated in k it had m
o
ll
old ‘b b ir th day par my
lves in th a 80 th ally. A ll
themse I just did
n’t as still Queen’s out it, re
w it h i’s d a y – it w th e a t’ s a b n ts .
ut.” volved oudin . Then, Ritz, bu
t th nd stu
I’m abo h a s been in since H a n d locks l to n e s capes a a
n s k jack e ts ri a o fo r
Jonatha escape
s. I a straight- oking fo
r mate attentio
n is
to ‘wire
walk’
ra l m e morable r fa v o u rite? u c e rs were lo ric k s m agic
ju s t le arning
seve par ticu
la prod Dirty T I’m alled:
e has a d in the nor mme c n to
him if h ite include re w O’Con C progra am kee
e d w a s q u b e
ro te to A n d
m y B B
b le s ’ nd I
a -
“Being
han g
aps th e
show, s
oI w and so ld
‘Indestr
uc ta nd side
d is perh uctions l circus a
ant e ula r, a n d
for – bu
t I’ m ctiv e P ro d
ad itio n a
ple ha v e n’t
spectac learn tr
I’ve w m b e s t known
d Alive
of Obje
h im .”
form o f kil ls . A lo t of peo
tunts s in ce
a stunt I’ e Burie ideas to ecialist show s t such s
to d o rou d o f th v e ry s p
than re a lly e a b o u
quite p as the
most As a
an Jona got a clu ty!”
ie d which w ast ment, c “I am of varie ay not b
e
bu r es c a p e ,
o n E 4 in th e p
e e n te r ta in
e r in th is a re a ?
o , th e death e s capes m
s h o w e d a li v c a re p e s g th a n ’s g
d buri a s esca Jona viewin
alive e r
watche
e wanted
to do a
id ,” he
sustain
bitious
as far a
one’s ta
ste, but
t there
is still
a p e ev ye a r. I’ v
ce I wa
s a k ve ry a m
haven’t
e v e n
s. to ev e ry
ved th a
es c e v e r s in
, nobo d y h a s
e l li ke I
, yet,” h e s a y
figures
h a v e p ro
ern, is tw ted
w as escape opinion but I fe sur face ost mod
e I m y It e m for is m m s
sinc
“ In e d . e d th b le r th ty.
reveals
. d escap scratch ot a pro room fo f varie
ro p e rly – an th e o ry o b v iously n h e s a ys e d version o
. p k’. Th e
Ideas a
re ist, bu t
and wa
rp
a kid done it
a lw ays bee
n a ‘tric
y b u ried by q u irky, es
capolog
d if ficult to
h a s a ll th is is
is actu that it
meone blem is
is: if so the pro

20 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

MAINFEATURE

Wayne
Dobson
OUR KIND OF MAGIC!
Wayne Dobson has achieved a massive amount of success during his
career. Most of us remember the fresh-faced young magician with the
spikey blonde hair and blue eyes performing his own brand of comedy magic
on TV. His snappy one-liners and trademark vent-routines helped viewing
figures for his shows top 11 million! That was then.
Now, despite having multiple sclerosis, Wayne is just as busy these days
creating new effects, lecturing at magical societies and performing his own
kind of magic.
Here at magicseen, we are proud to be the publishers of this incredibly
popular magician’s self-penned autobiography. In this issue, we
would like to give you a few tasters of what to expect…

Wayne talks about: Joining The Magic Circle

...The next few months were spent reading my books, and practising some of the
sleight of hand that was described within them. The One Handed Cut, or the Charlier
Pass as it is technically known, was a card flourish that I was constantly trying to
perfect. Just when I was about to give up trying to master this knuckle busting piece
of manipulation, I got it!! I’ll tell you, I felt like Archimedes when he jumped out of
the bath…Eureka!
It was then that I wanted to further my knowledge on magic; and the only way to
do this was to be in the Magic Circle. How do I do that? The Magic Circle, it all
sounded so esoteric. I remember reading in one of my books that if you would
like to further your knowledge on magic, you should contact your local magic
society. I immediately looked in the telephone directory for the local
information centre; I called them and asked them if they had a telephone
number for The Magic Circle. The lady on the telephone said that she had a
number for the secretary of the Leicester Magic Circle. I was gob smacked! She
said that the secretary’s name was Gordon Collin, and gave me his number.
I was so nervous about calling this number, but eventually plucked up the
courage to dial. I expected some Merlin type character to pick up the receiver
and talk in a mysterious voice. But a perfectly well spoken Gordon Collin
answered, and said, can I help you? I replied, “I want to join the Magic Circle,
I’ve been practising card tricks, and I do the vanishing cigarette.” I thought, I bet
he thinks I am really stupid. There was a long pause and eventually he explained

24 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

that somebody would need to ‘vet’ me, and then if he felt that I was good
enough, I could take an audition. He took my telephone number, and assured
me that a gentleman named Billy Wilson would contact me.
I was on tenter-hooks for the next few days, waiting for the telephone to
ring and my mum to say, ‘Wayne, it’s for you’. Eventually the call came and I
arranged with Billy Wilson to come over to the house, one late afternoon the
following week. On the day in question, an old gentleman arrived at the house,
carrying only a small briefcase. It was Billy Wilson. My mum offered him a cup
of tea, but he said he didn’t have time, and would like to get on with seeing
what I could do. My bedroom was where I kept my books, cards etc. So off we
went up the stairs to my room. Later in life my mum told me that she was very
nervous about me going to my room with a strange man. She needn’t have
worried; he was such a nice person. He asked me to show him what I knew, so
I did the ‘one handed cut’, and a couple of simple card tricks. He said, “It was
Wayne answers a few
very good, but do you know this?” He took my cards, waved his hand in front of of our questions!
the pack, and the face card changed from the four of clubs to the queen of Have you been thinking about doing an
hearts. I felt the same feeling that I felt when I saw Patrick Page perform the autobiography for a while?
Cups and Balls. Utterly amazed! I asked him how he did it, expecting the same Originally I was going to write my
“very well” reply I got from Patrick Page that I thought must be a ‘stock reply’. autobiography about 14 years ago when I
But no, he showed me exactly how to do it, and also showed me exactly where was at the peak of my career, and it was
it was in my book, The Royal Road to Card Magic. After a short while he had to going to be available to the mass market,
leave, but made arrangements for me to visit his house the following week. I however for various reasons I never wrote
was so excited. it, and now I am not a high profile
Luckily, my parents had purchased a small motor cycle for my sixteenth celebrity, I have edited the content to suit
birthday, so transport to Billy Wilson’s house was not a problem. So on the day the magic fraternity.
in question, fully armed with a pack of cards and a couple of magic books, I
got on my bike and made the short journey of about four miles to the house of Did you specifically want it to be an
Billy Wilson. Whilst there he showed me a couple of tricks with cards, one adult account of your career?
being a trick called ‘The Last Card’. The trick utilised a spinning five pointed Not intentionally, but it just happens that
star which held cards on each of its points. The trick involved the selection of a the truth is of an ‘adult nature’.
card, and the spectator gradually eliminated cards that he had previously
placed onto the points of the star. The elimination process was repeated until Have you kept in touch with any of the
there was just one card left. This card was then revealed as the spectator’s celebs you got to know when you were at
selection. This was a very impressive trick that left me totally baffled! Not only your peak?
did Billy explain the workings of this effect, but he also gave me the prop and Joe Pasquale has become a very close
recommended that I should use it as part of my audition for the Magic Circle. I friend. Bradley Walsh, Jeremy Beadle,
was delighted. Brian Conley, and Bobby Davro are people
The next few weeks was spent visiting Billy, where he taught me various I speak with occasionally.
tricks; The ‘Multiplying Billiard Balls’ and the ‘Cut and Restored Rope’ being
the main effects. The three tricks that I had now learnt, the ‘Multiplying Any career regrets?
Billiard Balls’, the ‘Cut and Restored Rope’ and the ‘Last Card’ were to form No regrets.
my eight minute audition act, that I would present in two weeks time, in
front of the committee at the Leicester Magic Circle. I was so excited, but In the magic world today, is there anyone
also extremely nervous. who you think is a really major talent and
As the days passed, I was getting more and more nervous about my likely to go far? (not counting Mark
audition. My mum told me to get my haircut and be smart. I didn’t take her Leveridge!)
advice as I was at that age where I felt very anti-establishment. The day for It is very difficult to break though to TV
the audition arrived and I caught the bus into Leicester town centre, nowadays, (and that’s the medium that
wearing some heavily checked trousers, a bomber jacket and a haircut like every performer needs, to obtain public
the Bay City Rollers. I looked a right scruff, but I didn’t care. My audition appeal). But if TV was a more available
was held in Roland Carr’s, (himself a magician) tailors shop. It was very showcase I feel that performers like Noel
intimidating standing before eight people, who asked me to inform them Britten, Jeff Hobson and John Archer
when I was ready. It didn’t take me long to set my tricks and say I was would make a great impact.
all set. The next eight minutes were like a complete blur. Everything
worked ok; I just couldn’t remember doing any of it. The committee 40 tricks is lot to include. How would you
then left me all alone and went up the stairs to deliberate my describe the selection you’ve included,
performance. I think they were gone for about five minutes, but it beside ‘brilliant’, obviously?
felt more like five weeks. I remember looking at the various suits Direct, Easy to Do, Commercial and
hanging in the shop, thinking to myself how smart and expensive Magically strong!
they all looked, and there was me in my tatty looking attire. It
was at that point I wished I had listened to my mum and looked Is fame all it’s cracked up to be?
smart. The committee then returned to give me their verdict. Ask Mark Leveridge!

www.magicseen.co.uk 25
MAINFEATURE
I waited with baited breath as they told me that I had passed the audition and that they
would like to welcome me into the Leicester Magic Circle. I left the shop and went straight to the
nearest payphone to call my mum and dad. “I’ve passed! I’m in the Magic Circle!” I told them.
They congratulated me, and I made my way back home. The next few days were spent basking in
the euphoria of telling people that I was a member of the prestigious Magic Circle.

Wayne on: Going Professional…

RAF Digby, Lincolnshire, December 15th 1979, was my first professional gig.
I had been thinking about going professional for a while, I just needed a push in the right

The beautiful direction. My good friend Roy Johnson persuaded me to give up my regular job, and try to make my
living from magic. I was only 22 years old, with no responsibilities, so I had nothing to lose. I only
Marianne answers a had two weeks work in the book, but I had to get it out of my system. The first week’s work was a
few of our questions! seven day stretch of social clubs in the north east of England, followed by a week in Scotland.
It was a cold Sunday morning in the early part of February; I got in my car and made my way
What is it like living with an icon? up to Sunderland. I arrived outside the back entrance of Southwick Social Club, where thick snow
(We realise you won’t know the answer was covering the ground. I was about an hour early so I had time to think about what I was going
to this, so you could just tell us what it’s to do in my act. I’d heard on many occasions from various people how tough the audiences can
like living with Wayne?) be in the north east. I didn’t care, I was fearless.
To me Wayne is just a normal person. At 6.45pm I knocked on the back door and was greeted by a little chap, who said in a
However, without sounding nepotistic I am Geordie accent, “Who are you, like?” I told him my name and he said, “You must be the turn. I
very proud of his achievements and the hope your good, ’cos they won’t stand for any crap here ya nar”. I then felt a bit scared. “The band
inspiration that he has given to others. el be ere soon, and they’re champion, ya nar.”
I went through my music with the band. I was doing two half hour spots, one either side of
How have you found the world of magic? the bingo. The concert chairman came to see me and said, “Now I’m told you are a comedy
I feel the world of magic is full of very speciality act. Are you a juggler, fire eater, conjuror or what?” I told him I was a magician. He
interesting characters and every individual shrugged his shoulders, and told me to be ready at 8.15.
has something to offer. I never get bored of On my first spot I used to do a trick where I borrowed a £10 note from somebody in the
being asked ‘to take a card’ I love to be audience, I would put the £10 into an envelope, set fire to the envelope and the money, and I
entertained. pretended that the trick had gone wrong. I would then ask somebody in the audience to throw me
a cigarette onto the stage. I would break open the cigarette and to the amazement of the
What are Wayne’s plus points? audience, the same £10 note was in amongst the tobacco. However on this particular night
He always has a very positive attitude and things didn’t go as planned! Firstly, the audience was not responding to my act. I wasn’t dying, but
always tries to see the funny side of life. there was a very strong smell of embalming fluid in the room! When I requested a cigarette, some
Nothing really gets him down. jerk decided to flick a lit one towards my brand new velvet jacket. The cigarette hit the lapel,
leaving a nasty burn. The person who flicked it stood up and said in a very loud voice: “I’ve just
What are his faults? turned his jacket into a blazer.” This remark got the biggest laugh of the evening.
He always has a very positive attitude and I carried on with my performance, trying to be as professional as I could. I also survived my
always tries to see the funny side of life. second spot. When I finished and was packing away my props, the concert chairman came into
Nothing really gets him down. (He’s a pain my dressing room, and paid me my £40 fee. He said, “Never mind son, you’ll get better! Where
in the #@*”) are you the morrow neet?” Town End Farm social club, I said, very un-confidently! “They’re worse
than here ya na, especially on a Monday, they’ll have ya for f**k’n breakfast. Anyway best of luck
Does he test out all his effects on you? lad, you’ll need it.”
Sometimes I am the ‘Guinea Pig’ for his Feeling very alone, I made my way back to my digs. In those days we had what were called
new stuff and I always give him an honest ’pro digs’, basically it was a guest house that catered for ‘Show-Business’ people. You got in as
opinion of whether I think it’s good or bad. late as you wanted, and breakfast was served whenever you felt like it. In my case it was always
about 12 noon. When I got there, two very seasoned performers were sitting in front of the TV
Who are your own favourite performers? drinking mugs of tea. They introduced themselves as Ron Delta, a comedian and Eric Prince a
Jeff Hobson, comedy musical act. “Have a cup of tea,” said one of them. “Two sugars”, I replied. All of a
Lance Burton, sudden I felt like I was amongst friends.
Noel Britten, “How was your gig?” Asked Eric.
Joe Pasquale, “Don’t ask.” I said.
Armando “That good eh?” Said Ron.
Lucero, David After explaining that it was my first time working in the north-east, Ron asked me if I had got
Sousa, Marko a night free during the week, and said that I could go with him to his show. Wednesday was my
Karvo, Paul free night, so I decided to go with Ron to Middlesborough. But first I had Town End Farm, and Red
Zerdin and not House social club to contend with. I did these gigs - and they were just as bad as the first show. I
forgetting really felt beaten, and thought that I could never hack it.
Wayne Dobson! I went to Middlesborough with Ron, and he showed me how it should be done. He had a
But not necessarily in that order. tough crowd, but he eventually won them over and had the audience eating out of his hand. It

26 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 Dame Shirley Bassey, Barbar
a
Ta dah! Windsor and some other blo
baffled ke.
hn No akes lo oking
Jo hair!
at W ayne’s

Wayne’s signature
‘invisible fish r outine.’
Nice shirt
!
artin!
end. And Dean M
A Leg

W ayne showin
g off his ne
slip on shoes. w
Chaplin on
As C harlie horne Show.
ongt
T he Joe L Back on the road.

www.magicseen.co.uk 27
MAINFEATURE
was then I realised that I had to toughen up following Sunday afternoon I made the long at the time, but the ventriloquism routine would
and be funnier, otherwise I would never survive drive home. become my meal ticket for life! I did embellish
in the tough working men’s clubs. By the end of On arriving home my Mum and Dad were the ventriloquism by adding a deep voice to a
the week I was getting better, and I felt like I waiting up for me, eager to know how it all went. second audience member, and it certainly paid
wanted to stay for longer, so I could improve my I went to bed that night thinking to myself, ‘what off, because I was soon working in Sunderland,
act. However I had to get to Scotland. do I do now? I’ve got no more work and I need Newcastle and various towns in the Teesside
In Scotland the audiences were much to make living!’ I spent most of the next day on area, at least one week in every month.
more appreciative, and I had some good the telephone hustling every agent that I could On one occasion I distinctly remember
shows. They were also very hospitable think of. Eventually, after a few months, a sitting in my digs when the agent called to
people. In fact when I arrived at my first steady flow of work was in the diary. ask if I fancied doing a late show on Saturday
show, I happened to mention to the chairman I went back to the north-east and worked evening. It was only worth £25, but it was
that I needed to fix my digs and asked him if with so much more aggression in my extra money on top off my week’s contract.
he knew of anywhere? When he introduced performance than previously. I’d also started to The agent warned me that it was a really
me, he mentioned that I had got nowhere to do a little bit of ventriloquism. I wasn’t using tough gig and that the audience consisted of
stay that night. After the show I had five puppets like the traditional ventriloquist. dockers, prostitutes, and anybody that felt
different people offer me a bed for Instead I would make an audience like a late drink. It was the Shoreline club in
the night. I took one family up member appear to be speaking in a South Shields. “Of course I’ll do it, nothing
on their offer and not only squeaky voice. This routine was scares me now!”
did I get a bed for the night, inspired by seeing a video of a 10.30pm Saturday, found me in the car
but they also cooked me a ventriloquist, Dennis Spicer, and park of the Shoreline club. I found what I
full breakfast in the this would get very big laughs. I thought was the back entrance to the club. It
morning. After I finished felt that I should embellish this was a rusty old metal door, and I could hear
in Scotland on the part of the act. Little did I know thumping music coming from the inside. I
had a very heavy microphone stand with me,
so I used it to knock very loudly on the metal
door. A small square opening in the door,
somewhat similar to a prison cell door, slid to
one side and cigarette smoke billowed out.
This was followed by the partly hidden face of
a man who said: “Who a you like?”
“Wayne Dobson”, I replied.
“Hold on lad, let me unlock this f**ken
door.”
I heard what seemed like a hundred bolts
sliding back, when finally the door was opened
by some guy who was about five feet tall. He
was dressed in a pure white suit, a bright red
opened necked shirt, white Cuban heeled
shoes and the biggest gold medallion hanging
around his very hairy chest. He really thought
he was Mr. Las Vegas. “Ya better come in out
the cold and get a warm, it’s real brass
monkey weather out there.” I went inside and
the following conversation took place.
“What sort a turn da ya do?”
“I do magic.”
“Ah, not f**ken tricks.”
“I do ventriloquism as well.”
“Ah not f**ken puppets. Puppets and
tricks, they’re gonna hate you.”
I started to explain that I didn’t use
puppets, and that I did my ventriloquism with
people out of the audience…
“Sounds crap to me. Anyway have a good
show. Be ready in 30 minutes, and I’ll
introduce ya” ms

HOW DO YOU GET A COPY?

WD40 is available in two formats:
Semi-hardback £25 (plus P&P) and Limited
edition (500) hardback £35 (plus P&P)

Available from: www.magicseen.co.uk

28 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 HYPNOTIC
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 THINKTANK
with various props has resulted in some of my had just been served, making the situation truly

thinking
best material. problematic). I had seen it and followed it with my
This ramble raises an interesting point for eyes. The guests had seen it and followed it also.
consideration (and also casts suspicions on Now, no matter how skilled you are in
my best material). How do you go about misdirection, even if you were Michael Ammar on
creating new material? In what environment crack, trying to divert a group’s gaze away from
do you need to be in order for you to put your the flying moist projectile glistening in the glow
mind into its best receptive and creative from the table candle is nigh-on impossible. As
state? What inspiration do you look for or far as I could see, there were a few ‘outs’;
surround yourself with to motivate your Firstly, (and remembering that I had only
creative thinking? Is it a particular kind of just began introducing myself with a few

Creative
music, perhaps a certain location? Or maybe minutes of entertaining to do still) I could
just some white powder and a rolled up have ignored the moment and carried on. Of
tenner (again, I’ve not tried this, Your Honour). course, this may appear rude. I’ve turned up,
Another creative exercise often practised said Hi, spat in someone’s Blanched
during those quiet times in The Think Tank Asparagus with Hollandaise, and then not
has been to come up with ‘outs’ should a apologised and asked for a card to be picked.
trick go pear-shaped live. This is quite simple Not the greatest start.
Jay Fortune at work. with card effects or close-up. However, Alternatively, I could have simply
looking at my stage repertoire, it does take apologised. Again though, this doesn’t really
quite a talented genius to devise a successful get you off to a good start; Hi, my name’s Jay,
‘out’ for a head guillotine. I’m not sure what doing a few tricks for you* and… (this is the
elcome young (or old) magic my initial reaction would be if, in front of an moment of the disaster)… [Phlegm]…I

W enthusiast to these ramblings from

the ‘Think Tank’. Why this specific
location? Years ago I read in a magic book
audience of several hundred, a spectator had
their head secured in the chopper (my
version stands 8 feet high) and then the
apologise for spitting into your food. Anyway,
moving on, please would you pick a card sir?’
With moments to think, I actually ended
that you should leave various decks of cards blade drops and his head actually comes off, up performing the ‘Ta-Da!’ out.
around the house, so that you would be able rolls forward and perhaps continues off the Having experienced this situation, and
to practise whilst doing other mandatory stage into his wife’s lap. A triumphant shout having picked many magicians brains on
everyday tasks. So, next to my telephone sat of ‘Ta-da’ may not necessarily bring the what they would have done, I now spend time

The Think Tank

Creative thinking
The connoisseurs among you will recognise
Blanched Asparagus with Hollandaise house down. I’m pretty sure that it would trying to devise an ‘out’ for every possible
immediately. But here’s a picture for the rest bring little Michael’s 6th birthday to a situation. I’m still working on what I should
of us. Looks lovely doesn’t it? disastrous end. Although the publicity could say when I do card to wallet and, upon
be worth millions in free advertising. Your removing the wallet from my back pocket,
a deck, another one by the telly and the suggestions would be welcomed. accidentally break wind. I suppose ‘Ta-da!’
Crowning Practice Pack of them all, was Sometimes things do happen during a live should suffice. ms
neatly located in the lavatory. It was the show that you never read about in books. When
latter deck which spawned some of my best these events occur, your mind may be going as Next issue: Beef Bourguignonne with Potato
work. Moving on from cards, I have gradually fast as it can trying to recall what Ortiz or Fitzgee Galette, Mange Tout and a gratin of Wild
built an entire magic collection in the toilet. recommended you do. Ultimately though, some Mushrooms. J
Entire contents copyright Jay Fortune 2007.

Oddly, that ‘eureka moment’ has situations just aren’t covered and it’s up to you to
happened to me more often than not, during think on your feet, rely on your comic genius and This column is interactive! How terribly
one of these lavatory sessions. I know of save the situation. One event where I was exciting. If you wish to respond then log on
several creative artists who use all manner of confronted with this, I used the to www.RadioMagic.co.uk and join up for
ways to reach that creative peak: incense, ‘Ta-da’ out. Approaching a table to begin doing free. Then visit the magicseen forum
meditation, dramatic music, quietness, drugs some magic, I burst in with my opening lines and where this column appears in its entirety
and so on. Having experimented with most of then it happened: the stuff of nightmares. Having and post your thoughts.
these suggested methods for creative worked for an hour or two, my mouth had RadioMagic.co.uk – Probably the best
brilliance (all apart from the last suggestion, become dry. As I spoke, all attention was on me, online magic service in the world - is
of course, Officer) I have found that going and bang! Accidentally a bit of spittle flew from sponsored by magicseen.
about my daily private business and toying my dry mouth and into someone’s meal (which
*Obviously, this isn’t my real opening.
It’s far less comical than this.

www.magicseen.co.uk 33
DAVIDTAYLOR’S
MENTAL BREAKDOWN
...every effect went
the audience. They were literally screaming
wrong and I trudged off and howling. I couldn’t believe what I had
stage to a dismal and done, as there were children in the audience
shaking in terror. Then, I probably did the
quite depressing round worst thing I could ever have done: I went
of applause. back on stage and with a big smile and said
that I was available for kid’s parties! The
parents started screaming at me and I had to
make endless apologies to all the little
children, telling them that zombies don’t
really exist! What a night that was. Needless
to say, the routine was immediately ejected
from my repertoire.
“Another totally memorable moment – for all
the wrong reasons – was the time during an
effect where I tap five spectators on the
shoulder, telling them to join me on stage to do
my routine. This particular night only four
members of the audience made their way to the
stage, so I was one short. I thought it would be
funny to start a ‘slow hand-clap’ for the
remaining member who did not get up. So, I
started a slow handclap, and the whole
audience joined in! Unfortunately, the last person
WAS actually making her way to the stage, but
she was disabled and couldn’t walk properly! The
poor woman had to suffer the indignity of a slow
hand clap from the whole audience. I try and tell
myself that it wasn’t my fault because it was
DAVID TAYLOR’S quite dark and I hadn’t seen her. I look back and
laugh now, but at the time…
“Also, there was the time when i was

MENTAL
Breakdown
performing both the mentalist spot AND
the illusions spot at the House of Illusion. My
mentalism spot died on its arse, every effect
went wrong and I trudged off stage to a
dismal and quite depressing round of
applause. What made it worse, was that I
had to do the ‘walk of shame’ and go straight
back out again to perform the ‘sub-trunk’ to
the Arctic Monkey’s song: ‘I bet you look good
on the dancefloor’. The routine involved a
Young mentalist David Taylor spent his first “Appearing in Spain at Sylvester Oscar very flambouyant dance routine which made
summer season working in Spain and found Scary’s House of Illusion and me look: ‘really sh*t on the dancefloor!’ To
that when performing for tourists, things other hotel venues in and around Salou, has cap it all, my ex-girlfriend was in the
don’t always go to plan. But, after a few become a real challenge because many audience. No chance of a fling after that
spells on the psychiatrists couch, the mad holiday-makers opt for the all-inclusive lager shambolic performance!
fool is ready to do it all again in 2007! and sangria package – which makes “I found that using a mixture of humour
“With mentalism proving more and more performing subtleties harder to achieve. and audience interaction is essential to keep
popular - I found myself performing for British Some would say impossible! people’s attention in order to create a
holiday-makers in the many tourist hotspots “I often performed four shows per night successful show. I performed many, many
and venues around the Costs Durada, Spain. and it was a great chance to try out shows during the summer and I improved by
I have found that thanks to such great new routines and effects. Some were a hit, a million per-cent. You may think I enjoy the
performers as Derren Brown, my cabaret act - and sadly, some were way off the mark! punishment, but I’m looking forward to
which uses a mixture of mentalism and “Take for example a routine I developed, another summer overseas!”
hypnosis, has become increasingly well- involving dead war soldiers. Probably not the Despite his experiences, David still found
received as people become more aware of best subject for a family audience on holiday, time to create a book test effect that is being
what mentalism, or mind-magic actually is. but it seemed like a good idea at the time! marketed by Alakazam. We’ll bring you the
There are still many exhausted Abba acts or The idea was to give old war photos of first look at David’s new effect in a future
overweight Elvis Impersonators on the circuit, soldiers names and identities, and to end the issue of magicseen.
but their appeal is certainly not as strong as effect, I played a video pilfered off the
it once was. internet on a large screen which really scared www.davidtaylormagic.com

34 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 with...
Kenton Knepper
THE KILLER IS BACK!
Top mysterious mentalist Kenton Knepper and the enigmatic JTank are soon to appear on these shores
again, courtesy of Kernow Magic. The magicseen sponsors asked the two buddies a few questions about
their forthcoming trip...

KM: Kenton were introduced into the art of KM: With the influence of the Internet, people to read books for you. Sellers keep
magic at an early age through his attendance making magic even more readily available selling you tricks they say are “new” and that
to a magic class. Do you think that to the layperson, has this damaged the art they have invented, although I performed
youngsters today get that same opportunity? or just made the magicians work harder at these same “original” tricks when I was ten
K: I was very fortunate indeed. It used to be their mysteries? years of age. A lot of buyers are being taken
that when a young person attended any local K: Today, the Internet provides wonderful due to their own ignorance.
club meeting and showed signs of being contact with people the world over. You can But that’s not the fault of the sellers only
serious, he or she was taken under the wing research and study all manner of things on of course. Buyers need to be educated
of several mentors. the Net. The trouble is that for every bit of enough not to be taken for fools.
Many different people mentored me. I legitimate information found, there are a
worked hard and for little or no pay on my hundred bits of misinformation by false KM: How do you get that insight these days?
mentor’s shows. Why? This was one way I experts. I call these people “Internet Experts” K: Read old works and obtain at least one
could pay for learning the real work of magic because they sure sound good online, but a mentor, paying them what they ask and
and mentalism in real life situations. I was real pro can see through the nonsense they treating them with respect and honour. This
taught to honour and respect those who are touting. Still, I love the Internet! will pay off for you in far more ways than all
made it in this business before me. I was There are more ways to learn now than the tricks you buy. This is more important and
taught to respect and honour my teachers, if there used to be, but the question of quality valuable to you even than those
ever I hoped to be honoured or respected. arises. The main way I know to sift through all advertisements that say “Be Derren Brown!” I
I also paid certain teachers quite a lot of the real junk being taught and sold out there am sure he too would appreciate you not
money to learn more advanced work. The is to pay a real teacher to mentor you. trying to cram yourself into his skin. Find a
experience of just being around these people Whether you can afford to do this or not, one way to fit well into your own being, and share
was worth every penny. I often learned more thing you should do is study old magic books. that with the world – even if you think you are
than I had realised at the time. I think this is I know that doesn’t seem sexy the way DVDs an amateur only.
true of most of us who have had mentors. do. But a lot of people now are being tricked It’s easy to expose simple trick methods.
Be sure you get a teacher who is not into thinking that someone is brilliant when But to try to explain moves, to try and spell
going to harm you of course. I need to point really what those people are doing is telling out on TV how psychology works and causes
that out. Even when I was very young I had a you about someone else’s trick. They figure influence and association and such… what a
teacher who tried to take advantage of me. that most magicians and mentalists don’t bore! Those who expose tend to expose that
So be sure the person is safe and not sick or know anything about the real history of which is easy to expose or explain to the
crazy. It happens. magic, mentalism or psychology. So you pay public. Make your tricks less easy to explain

38 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 KERNOWMAGIC
INTERVIEW
and the public will have less interest in
learning about what you do. We have forced a
short attention span and a dumbing down of
consciousness in the U.S. and U.K. now too,
due to the Internet and other things. If a trick
is not obvious and easy to understand, no one
will care to learn it. That is a fine way to avoid
exposure. Exposure can also help push
performers to find new material, and that isn’t
always a bad thing either.

KM: You were a run away success at the

2005 Blackpool Convention! Why have you
not made that many appearances in the UK
and why are you coming over this time?
K: Well, thank you. Blackpool was a kick. I
LOVE being in the U.K. I so enjoy the twisted
humour here and the mix of old and new
culture. A lot of great performing art has
come out of here and you can feel it in the called “The Mystic Thirteen.” I believe it was might imagine. All of those famous
streets, clubs and buildings. I’d like to get Dr. Juris who came up with the word play of mentalists in one room, with creativity
over more often. the “Six and One Half – twice as exclusive as blazing, and fearless, made for a wild time.
I imagine I perform in the U.K. less for The Mystic Thirteen.” We had friends drop by once and a while
magicians and mentalists because people The group met once every few months. such as Eugene Burger or Christian Chelman
have to pay me to do so. I am not a touring We would brainstorm; share new ideas we when they were in the area. It always stayed
lecture magician. I don’t make a living doing were working on, and get feedback. We ate a very small and exclusive group. We officially
lecture tours. I have great friends who do fine food in exclusive places and talked about disbanded it when our fearless leader Dr.
more of that, and I think it’s wonderful! But I things in ways most others would not. We Juris moved away too.
lecture only when asked, and when our would also discuss which one of us was Those times were great, and they will
requirements can be fulfilled. I am not a acting like the “one-half” of the Six and One always be considered classic to us. Many
salesperson. Not my cup of tea. I am a Half that meeting. The goal of each meeting standards in mentalism came out of those
performer and a teacher. – gee I probably ought not tell you such inner gatherings. In fact, it was Larry Becker who
In this case, you made our decision easy. secrets, but I will – was to see how long it coined the term “Wonder Words”. My friend
Kernow Magic took care of our needs, were would take us to laugh so hard we made Jeff McBride had suggested “Magic Words”
willing to take care of our wants too, and told Becker fall out of his chair. We had more and Larry suggested the close alternative,
us to talk about things we were passionate reddened faces filled with the heartiest of which obviously stuck.
about. You also gave us a tour and time in laughter in this group than any other group of
each place to really talk about deeper things. which I have had the privilege to be a
To me, agreeing to this tour was a no-brainer. member. Literally our hearts raced with Kenton Knepper and JTank will be in the
If more people treated us this way, we’d be laughter until we could not catch our breath, UK in June for a very rare lecture tour
doing it more. and we began literally falling on to the floor. and two day workshop. This tour will
Anyone want to set up some tours this While students of mine were aware of only work with your support, so if you
way in Ireland for us? We’d love to do more Wonder Words, the Six and One Half were the need further information please contact
there too. first official mentalists that saw the rough Kernow Magic at
T: I’d have to really agree with Kenton on draft of the series. That was many years [email protected]
this. You really have shown us a level of before I began to record the first volume.
class that is often missing here in the states. We have all become very busy now and
We appreciate the respect and your most of us have scattered elsewhere around The full in-depth Kenton Knepper interview
willingness to make it work for everybody… it the country. I miss not seeing the guys the is available on the Kernow Magic website
really is the only way to do ‘show business’. way we used to do. It was very special, as you www.kernowmagic.co.uk

KM: What is the Six and one half group?

Do you still get together? Has the group
grown in size over the years?
K: The Six and One Half was a group started
by Dr. Juris (Robert L. Bluemle). Larry Becker
had moved to town and that meant that Dr.
Juris, Larry Becker, Docc Hilford, Lee Earle,
Mark Strivings and some other guys including
myself all lived in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a
very tight and very exclusive club. There is
another club on the east coast of the States

www.magicseen.co.uk 39
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WEBSITES
BUYING ONLINE

WEB OF DECEIT
A Guide To Buying Magic On The Internet
Part 1
by Mark Leveridge
When I first starting selling magic back in common, so a site needs ideally to have pages 5. Online video - since magic is essentially a
the late 70's the postman was a very which download quickly. Pages which have lots performance medium, it is helpful to a
important person in my business life. Until of large graphics will take longer to appear and customer to be able to see a demonstration
he had come and delivered the day's mail, I are therefore more cumbersome to view. of the tricks for sale. Websites are able to
had little idea what orders I would need to offer this with either imbedded video or
deal with that day. Magicians relied on the 2. Good navigation system - one of the big streaming video and although this is not very
mail to get their orders through because advantages of online shopping is that you common at present, it is a trend which will
most people at that time paid for things by should be able to link to the various pages of undoubtedly accelerate in the coming
cheque, as credit/debit cards were not very the site quickly and easily. But this relies on months and years.
prevalent, and so you had to get your the navigation links being well organised and
payment delivered physically. Now, over 25 easy to understand. Some sites can get you 6. A search facility - some sites carry a large
years later, with card payments being the 'lost' so that you find it difficult to get back to inventory and so it is very helpful if they have
norm, the postman rarely brings orders as where you started, whereas with good ones some form of search facility on offer. It saves
the vast majority of customers choose to you always feel you are in control of where you having to trawl through endless pages
buy via the internet. you are. trying to find a product or type of product.
While there are some people who stoically
refuse to embrace the online revolution, more 3. Secure online ordering - the most common 7. Interactive advice - being able to contact the
and more people have now come to realise the form of electronic purchasing is via the people behind the online shops for advice via
huge benefits that shopping via the internet ubiquitous shopping basket system. This allows email or through a blog is helpful, and so a good
can bring, and as a result the magic you to collect items you wish to buy and then site will make it easy for you to communicate
marketplace is having to adjust to this new go to the 'checkout' to finalise the purchase with them and will get back to you quickly if you
way of trading. This being the case we thought and to pay using a credit card or via third party make an enquiry. Online forms that you can
it would be a good time to have a look at what paying organisations such as PayPal. Some complete and submit either to place an order or
the UK online magic community is currently payment systems are very complicated and to make a request for information are also a
offering for customers looking to browse and require you to go through multiple stages to bonus if the site offers them.
purchase electronically. complete the purchase, whereas others are far
In total, our intrepid reviewers visited 20 more streamlined. To my way of thinking, 8. Pleasing to view - with so many different size
UK magic selling websites. Below you will customers need to be able to complete their screens available today, how a site looks when
find comments about the first set of 10, the purchases as smoothly and swiftly as possible, you log on may vary. While you would expect to
remaining 10 will be included in issue 14. and sites which enable this are more likely to scroll down on some pages, you would
The idea was that the reviewers were asked be popular, I would suggest, than those that hopefully not have to scroll across. Ideally a
to go to specific sites and to assess how actually make the process difficult. Online site should be easy to read with a pleasant
effective they considered they were at shops that do not have any online purchasing overall design or 'feel'. Some sites insist on
achieving their goal of encouraging you, the facility I find hard to comprehend - having to using all manner of flashing images and
customers, to buy from them. Of course, as write, fax or call after browsing online is surely moving graphics and combine this with
with any review, the opinions expressed are putting an extra barrier between the desire to dazzling background styles or colours, and this
only those of the individual reviewer, and for purchase and the actual purchase. can be tiring on the eyes or just plain irritating!
customers much can depend on whether Of course, what is pleasing to one person is
they already regularly buy online or whether 4. Regularly updated - one of the great boring to another, so it's often a case of seeing
they are new to it all. To help those who advantages of having an online shop is that it which sites you find the most attractive to visit.
might not be totally used to the whole is possible to keep it up to date. Good sites There is a huge amount of variety with
process, here are a few suggestions for use this to give you real time information magic selling websites. They range from
what can help to make an online magic such as whether an item is in stock, or how those that look rather amateurish through to
website an effective selling tool. many of an item are left, or news of special slick all-dancing-and-all-singing sites. We all
time-sensitive offers etc. New products and have our personal favourites, but to get you
up to the minute information can all be started we offer you now our straw poll of the
1. Quick download - while Broadband is displayed as soon as they are available, and first set of 10 UK current sites. Read the
becoming the standard bandwidth for most so customers should always be getting the comments and then pay them a visit and see
people, 56k modem dial up is still very latest news. what you think.

42 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 items’. Just about everything is on offer, from basic magic sets
through all the classic categories to ventriloquism and illusions. The
home page carries a central panel listing the ‘new to Alakazam’ items
and two side panels are packed with information. A very busy design
with lots to take in and potentially confusing. It took eleven hits of the
page down button to get to the end!
Hitting a category button takes you to the detailed product list,
which is well presented and easy to absorb. Full product information,
photographs and plenty use of space. After a shortish scroll down,
each page gives you the option to step to the next page. Usefully the
right bar, standard to all product pages, carries the search window and
a summary of your order to date. The search facility was excellent.
Looking for a specific effect by name took me directly to the appropriate

8/10 page. Similarly, the results for a general ‘torn and restored’ inquiry
brought up a list of appropriate effects.
Hitting the order button brought up the shopping cart, which was
ALAKAZAM simple to use and to amend. The site felt very current with lists of
www.alakazam.co.uk super savers, the hot list and the Alakazam blog. SB
This site offers a very wide range of magic from the company that bills
themselves as selling and manufacturing ‘well over 10,000 magical Overall Score: 8/10

the site menu. The all important home page layout is certainly a bit
confusing because the eye doesn’t know where to go first. It has an
easy ordering system for purchasing with ordering details and the
location of the business and all the contact details are clearly visible.
Whilst there isn’t a search function it does have an alphabetical
index of all products with prices, which helps finding a specific trick or
book. Clicking on the Magic Catalogue opens up another menu of
magic categories, including children’s items, books, DVDs, circus and
juggling items, puppets, close-up, miscellaneous, etc. The website

6/10 incorporates the Terry and Norma range of classics and Wayne
Mattox’s small selection of hand crafted items.
The site has a slant towards children’s magic, which has the largest
section, and a small range of juggling items. It carries a greater
proportion of generic props and items than the more routined type of
tricks. A news and special offers section provides some reduced items
but not much news, and no clues as to how often the offers are updated.
Overall it’s a functional website that does the job without any frills
THE ALBION MAGIC COMPANY but doesn’t leave the potential customer with an impression that the
www.albionmagiccompany.co.uk website design was of great importance. PP
The first impression of Albion Magic Company’s site is of a do it
yourself design which has a somewhat cluttered home page Overall Score: 6/10
containing adverts for tricks, a convention, a car boot sale as well as

BLACK HART
www.blackhart.co.uk
This was the best site I reviewed. Uncluttered and visually appealing
it gives an immediate sense of what this company offers with a
design that is consistent with the ‘spooky’ image without resorting to
clichéd gothic.
Half the site is devoted to the fortune tellers, the black magick
theatre show, séance, and other entertainment services offered by Black
Hart. One click on the image of an old leather book labelled ‘Black
Artefacts’ takes you to the on line catalogue. Here you can browse the
range of bizarre magic, tarot, palm reading and similar products.
Each category links to a category front page giving a clear

9/10 explanation of what you will find in that group. The products each then
have their own individual page with options to return to key points in
the site. This made navigation so easy. Browsing the site was largely a

www.magicseen.co.uk 43
WEBSITES
BUYING ONLINE

BLACK HART CONT.

matter of right clicking, thus avoiding long pages of endless scrolling. The simple, there were latest releases and special items on offer and the
design throughout was consistent, making use of a lot of white space designer had thoughtfully built in a currency converter and a link to
and photographs which made reading the descriptions easy. Skype. A really good site. Worth a visit whatever your magical interest. SB
There didn’t appear to be any search facility but with the clear design
I’m not sure that this mattered. Ordering and reviewing the order was Overall Score: 9/10

In place of a search function a full index of all items can be called

up and because the full list only consists of around a 100 items it is
quite easy to find anything from the index list. A nice idea to entice you
to return to this website is a fortnightly free trick contributed
alternatively by Aldo Colombini and Peter Duffie and there are currently
eight tricks on the site that can be viewed.
The range of products is exclusive in a lot of cases and consists of
tricks, books, CDs, CD roms, the Aldo Colombini and Peter Duffie
ranges and a second hand list of books.
The CDroms include a unique selection of digital magazines in
complete print runs including the Gen, Pabular and Pentagram. The
book section contains well established classics that have long been in
8/10 print with authors like Al Koran, David Britland, Basil Horowitz, Billy
McComb, Chan Canasta, Stephen Tucker and Peter Duffie. The trick
section has an emphasis on mentalism and cards, while Martin’s
unique selection of Magic CD recordings includes such names as
Robert Harbin, Billy McComb, Chan Canasta, David Berglas and Terry
BREESE INTERNATIONAL Seabrooke. There are also teaching tapes on ‘cold reading’
www.abracadabra.co.uk techniques, ‘bizarre’ magic and mentalism.
Martin Breese is a well established dealer familiar to older readers Making contact with the site is easy but with a page announcing a
since the 1970s and is the man behind the abracadabra website. The new Fred Robinson book to be published in 2006, dated 30 October
site has a clear uncluttered appearance with an easy to use menu 2005, one wonders when the site was last updated! PP
which takes you to each of the thirteen sections without a problem and
if you want to buy from the site the usual ‘add to cart’ system allows any Overall Score: 8/10
item to be purchased simply.

Having chosen a section to look at you are linked through to a long

page of boxes each of which contains a trick description and usually a
colour photo. In the case of the larger stage effects, there is an
unusual added bonus in that you can click on an arrow on the product
photo and you will be scrolled through a further two or three pictures
showing the essence of what happens in the trick. In the absence of
any online video, this is not a bad compromise.
The background colour of the site is black, and although this helps
the colour photos to stand out, I did find trying to read the various text
colours used in the trick descriptions soon made my eyes feel tired and
slightly strained. It felt a bit like trying to walk around a room at night

6/10 with all the lights turned off!

This site has no shopping basket system. Customers are invited to
browse and then ring, fax or email their order through. Since any credit
card information would not be encrypted when using a standard email, I
suspect this might lose a few potential customers.
This is another of those sites which uses very long pages of
DON’S MAGIC STUDIO products, which is fine for Broadband users but not so clever for dial up
www.donsmagic.com customers. Also, with no search facility on offer you have to be patient
The homepage for Don Quest’s site is attractive and the navigation when scrolling through looking for an item. Regular customers would,
options along the top make it clear what sections await inside the site. however, soon get used to the site and would find it generally very
You can either use one of these navigation links to get straight into the accessible. ML
special offers, the magic gallery or any of the other choices, or you can
just click on the large ENTER button sited at the foot of the page which Overall Score: 6/10
defaults you to the list of trick types in the magic gallery.

44 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 people who do not have Broadband may find the pages take a long time
to load because of the many pictures, but Broadband users will find the
pages load very fast.
There are only very brief product details on this long page and most
times a colour picture. However, a button next to the product links you to a
full description of that item being opened in a separate browser window.
The site has a search facility enabling you to simply type in either
key words or specific trick names. This brings up a list of all relevant
items, each one being a link to the product on its long page. Personally
I think it would have been better if that link had taken you to the full

7/10 description page, thus cutting out an unnecessary extra link.

The site also has a separate section dealing with their annual
convention weekend in late November/early December, plus other
lectures which are held at their studio. This section had not been fully
updated over a month after the convention and so visitors were still
being invited to attend the 2006 event after it had already taken place.
INTERNATIONAL MAGIC Ordering can be done online using the shopping basket system
www.internationalmagic.com which keeps a running total of your online order and payment can be
This is a big site which has illustrated details of the large range of magic, made by all major credit and debit cards.
books, DVDs and general apparatus carried by this long established This site manages its large inventory well. It has generally good
London dealer. With a consistent navigation menu down the left hand side navigation in place, a useful ‘search’ facility and shopping basket
of all pages, getting around the site is very easy. You can choose which online ordering. While not a particularly pretty site to look at, it does
type of magic you want to find out about and select that from the menu. what customers want it to do reasonably well. ML
On clicking, it takes you to a single very long page which contains every
trick they carry in that category. Because everything is on one long page Overall Score: 7/10

through to the homepage. This is a busy and interesting page which

features a scrolling section on the right of the latest items he has in (full
descriptions included here without having to link elsewhere), top of the page
navigation links to all the various types of product that he sells, a search
button, a link to sign up for his newsletter, a section on the left with three
featured items, plus details of free gift incentives for buying something.
One big feature of Mark’s site is the number of online video dems
he offers. Of the 1217 items he carries, currently 244 have video
dems. The quality of the video player is variable – but it just about
does a job and helps you to see what you are getting for your money.
The long page listing the range of JB magic is organised
alphabetically, but you can re-organise it to list things by price, from Z-A or
with the newest first, all of which is very helpful. The site has a shopping
cart system for online ordering, but you do need to register and create an

8/10 account before you can buy anything. Oh good, another password!
One unique feature of the site is the VIP idea. One customers is
chosen each day and receives a personal discount for 24 hours. This is
JB MAGIC an excellent way to encourage customers to return on a regular basis
www.jbtv.co.uk to see if they will get the discount today.
Mark Mason is a consummate business man who knows how to dem Of the five sites that I have personally reviewed this is by far the
and how to sell. Watch him at any convention and you will buy from him most professional. It’s easy to navigate, has loads of interesting things
– he’s very persuasive and has a load of great close up magic and DVDs! going on, has video dems and you are encouraged to return regularly. ML
His website is very professional too and has much to recommend it.
Having got past the marginally irritating ‘flash’ opening, you get Overall Score: 8/10

between detail and clutter. By restricting the top bar to just five items,
KERNOW MAGIC of which three are the current Best Sellers, New Items and Specials, the
www.kernowmagic.co.uk site is easy to navigate and feels consistently familiar. Key information
In common with many other sites Kernow have adopted a standard on the home page gives five ways to order and five ways to pay.
design with the top bar and two side panels remaining constant for each The left hand button menu is conveniently divided into Product
subsequent page. The difference between this and other sites, and what Categories and Help and Information, while the right hand side shows
makes this work, is that Kernow have managed to strike the balance the shopping cart, message button and search facilities. There are at

www.magicseen.co.uk 45
WEBSITES
BUYING ONLINE
KERNOW CONT.
least three ways into the product lists, which makes finding what you
want fairly easy, though, like other sites, I found the search facility
problematic.
If you know exactly what you want you can get there, more general
enquiries seem to generate a long list of unrelated products.
Clicking through to the product lists generates either a further
short menu and/or thumbnails of the product and full details. This
makes it easy to navigate and to find the details of the products.
Ordering was simple and straightforward and I liked the opportunity to
write a product review. The ‘Monthly Competition’ looked a good idea

8/10 although in January 2007 this still showed August 2006! SB

Overall Score: 8/10

catalogue!). The only contact information on the site is a telephone

number and a link to create an email.
So the Catalogue section is where you will end up. There are three
separate links to the catalogue depending on where you live (UK, Europe
or Elsewhere). I couldn’t spot any difference in the product pricing with
each one, so it may simply be to do with the P&P pricing.
The catalogue consists of a long page listing all of Kovari’s range. Here
you get the trick title, price, whether it is in stock, the type of show it is useful
for, a very small picture and an opportunity to add it to the online shopping
cart (with payment via PayPal) if you wish. If you click on the picture of the
product you are taken to a separate page with a longer description from
where you can also order using the shopping cart if desired.
6/10 Although quite basic in its appearance, this site is actually really
easy to find your way around because it is so uncluttered. There is no
search facility so you will have to scroll through the main catalogue
KOVARI MAGIC page to find what you want – arranging the items in alphabetical order
www.kovarimagic.com would have been a help with this. There are no special offers or other
George Kovari sells a fairly unique range of mainly stage and platform time sensitive hooks to encourage customers to return regularly.
props and effects. On entering his site you are offered just three options If you want to buy from George Kovari this site will get you through
on a left hand side navigation bar – Home (a page with details about the process efficiently. ML
George himself), Catalogue (where all the products are listed) and New
Items (where said new releases are simply mentioned as being in the Overall Score: 6/10

DVDs/videos, books and magazines, jokes and novelties etc. The home
page explains very cheerfully the nature of the business – e.g. the Loony
Bin is a high street joke and novelty magic shop in Leeds. The home page
told me the site was updated regularly with the date of the last update.
The nature of the shop business meant it listed a lot of non-magical
items e.g. jokes, fancy dress, hats and masks etc, as well as a very full
section of tricks (26 pages) listed alphabetically or according to price
whichever you wanted and a search function could find a listed item
quickly saving browsing every page.
Ordering online was straightforward with the ‘add to cart’ click
system and if I had any questions all the appropriate contact details
were there including a name and a map if I wanted to visit. I found the

8/10 range of products interesting from the up to date latest items from say
Jay Sankey and Stephen Tucker as well as more traditional items and a
THE LOONY BIN variety of tricks for all ability levels. The book section was verging on the
www.loonybin.co.uk nostalgic with a variety of booklets that I hadn’t seen for a few decades!
The Loony Bin’s site had a nice straightforward layout with an easy to follow This was a very functional and unfussy site overall which I found easy to
menu that led you around the site. It didn’t have an overly contemporary use with interesting items that were different to the usual market place. PP
look to it but was easy on the eye and very easy to navigate from section to
section, with a clear list of sections covering tricks (all in one section) Overall Score: 8/10

46 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

MARC
OBERON
Leader of the Pack
Marc Oberon, the European
Close Up Magical Champion
has had a great few years.
With glowing reviews, the
winner of several magic
championships has been
described as a ‘World Class
Act’ – and he undoubtedly is.
He levitates himself ten feet in
to the air – and then vanishes,
performs a stunning act with
ultra violet lights, has a
ground-breaking ‘floating-
spheres’ act and is well-known
for his amazing card-in-crystal-
ball effect. On top of this, he
has been called laid back and
charming! Just when we
thought he was perfect, Marc
reveals that he has yet to
master ‘contact juggling.’ Oh
well, there’s still hope for all of
us then! We asked this magic
master a few questions…

50 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 MARCOBERON
I have performed in every competition. The know. One of the questions I ask is:
Master Deck is a new system that allows you "How good is this effect? Top, middle, or
to locate any named card instantly, without bottom drawer?"
even looking at the deck. I will have these There are two types of effects that I use.
and more on my stand at Blackpool. I use These are: Good and conversion magic. >>
every effect that I sell, it is all workable
material that plays big as well as in a closer
intimate setting.

Is this something you see yourself doing

“The context
more of?
Yes, definitely. However, these will be limited must be mystery
to effects that I actually use myself.

Is there a possibility of a DVD or a book on the

- I want them to
horizon?
First there will be a DVD teaching various
feel that I have
effects with the Master Deck, then later a
lecture DVD. I have begun writing a book, but sold my soul!”
this may take a while as writing does not
Out of the acts that you have produced for come easily to me.
competitions, which has given you the most
pleasure? What is to you the most useful theoretical idea
The think of a card routine, particularly the in magic?
any card named appearing in a crystal ball. The larger action conceals the smaller.

You have performed several different kinds of How do you develop your ideas?
acts - what kind of magic is really you? It could be a method or technique that I am
Magic that is magical. It is ok for an effect to interested in, so then I create a mind map to
be fun, and people comment on how clever generate as many possible applications as I
the magician is, such as: "What quick hands can, the focus here is quantity. Next, it is time
he has!" None of that interests me. The to evaluate what is feasible and which
context must be mystery - I want them to feel speaks to me. Other times I have a vision of
that I have sold my soul! an effect, something that I would like to see
happen. I love this type of daydreaming,
What were you doing before you turned creating a mind movie, believing that a
professional? method will arrive sometime in the future,
I have always been a professional magician. trusting the subconscious to alert me of
My first two seasons in Greece and then Spain information in the world that will assist the
did involve extra duties like calling bingo and creation of the effect.
meeting guests from the airport…It was a bit With a loose idea for a method, I
"Hi De Hi," and a lot of fun for a 17 year old. consult my friend Nik Hull, who builds
most of my props. He has a
Is there anything that you would like to master, background in movie special effects
but you never got round to devoting time to it? and for the last 15 years has been
Yes, contact juggling. The crystal ball effect a great help.
would benefit theatrically from 3 to 4 seconds
of that. Come to think of it that's not a lot of What do you look for in an
work, I’ll crack on with that! effect?
Direct magic which
Which lectures by other magicians have you engages people and
really enjoyed and been impressed with? gets to the point
Jeff McBride, Lossander and Jon Leclair. quickly. It must play
big enough to work at
Tell us about your plans for 2007… a round table of ten
I will continue to develop the Midas act, and people, even better
marketing my effects… if it will also play to
100 or more in a
Can you describe some of the effects you are cabaret situation. I
planning to market? run new acts and
"Bang On" is my thought of card in wallet that effects by everyone I

www.magicseen.co.uk 51
 “Night clubs became
my sole source of
income for about 10
years, but as the market
started to shrink I began
to look at corporate
events - and this meant
toning down the weird
and increasing the
wonderful.”

country. This is where the UV black art act

evolved. The clubs were desperate for acts
that were weird, sexy or horrific. I specialised in
the weird.
Night clubs became my sole source of
income for about 10 years, but as the market
started to shrink I began to look at
corporate events - and this meant toning
down the weird and increasing the wonderful.
>> Conversion effects are top of the top drawer - well. This is obviously useful when designing The close up was something I threw in for
they will generate responses like: "I didn't effects and methods. Also choreography and free with the black art just to get the
think I liked magic, but that, well.....can I have practice - by being able to see how something experience.
your card?" Once converted they will be looks from a different location, kind of a
content to watch material that is merely good! deliberate subjective out of body experience. Do you perform the black art act in night clubs
anymore?
How do you test out new effects for your act? Do young magicians today really need to know Not so much, in recent years. I have done
I offer a layman friend a free one hour show at about magic history? some raves, which can be fun.
his house, asking him to invite an audience of Knowledge of magic history can be useful
around ten people. I perform the new material and inspiring. But it's not necessary and Are there really enough venues and audiences
somewhere in the middle when my confidence telling young people that they should be in the UK if you want to perform regularly to get
is high. Afterwards I ask people questions interested in it will have the opposite effect. experience?
such as: What they liked best? What did they It isn't easy, but if you are determined then
think was weakest? How did you feel when...? The stage newspaper does not give rave- getting experience is possible. One idea is to
Did you expect that...? How do you think I reviews lightly, but said your UV Light act was choose close up that will play big. When
might have done it? I ask them anything I can outstanding. Where do you begin to construct working at a reception learn how to build a
think of to gain an insight into their experience an act like that? crowd and have close up turn into stand up.
of the effect. Sometimes I even ask each Imagining and experimenting. For example
person to mark each effect out of 10. playing eerie music in my car full of stoned Do you have any tips on how to build a crowd?
friends in a dark forest while making luminous It is all about eye contact, body language and
Do your children think you are cool? creatures appear to dance around the car! rhythm. Maintain the connection with your
Not always! At times they are brutally honest. It all started by painting a dancing cane UV existing spectators by periodically looking and
After seeing a magician at the school and performing it in UV light for a group of smiling at them, pull in new people on the
Christmas party one of them told me: "Sorry to friends. Next came the white gloves, face paint periphery by asking them something and
have to tell you this Daddy, but Peter Presto's and luminous Mohican wig. I used to perform communicating with eyes, body and tone that
linking rings routine is way better than yours!" it at the end of my stand up act. It went well, so they are welcome here too. Use your eyes to
I added to it and it eventually became a short rhythmically scan the audience and draw
What advice can you give to people new to magic? act itself. (I intend the same to happen to the them in. ms
Don't be willing to settle for a nod of approval Midas theme). I was about 20 years old when I
from some respected card guy, learn to answered an ad in The Stage newspaper
entertain real people in the real world. looking for bizarre acts for nightclubs (then www.marcoberon.com
called discos). After auditioning I was taken on See Marc on YouTube:
What are your own strengths as a magician? by Alan Whitehead's entertainment agency www.youtube.com
My strengths as a performer are that I visualise which booked my act into clubs all over the (search: marc oberon)

52 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

WHAT’SHOT - WHAT’SNOT

Reviews
★ - poor
★★ - OK, but could be better
★★★ - reasonable middle of the road value
★★★★ - good product
magicseen takes a look at what’s hot and what’s not! ★★★★★ - outstanding/exceptional

to the classic routine where the at of the same routine performed

card repeatedly returns to the by Brad - this is also replayed,
top. The second half consists narrated and dissected in detail.
more of moves that can take your The overall footage and look
routine in different directions, i.e of this DVD is great (not produced
the card vanishes and appears in in a stuffy old studio) and the
your shoe, etc... What’s good disk is easy to navigate making it
about these additional moves is a joy to watch. This is yet another
that you could quite easily take well produced DVD from the guys
any one of them and create a at Ellusionist. Recommended! PS
whole new routine from them - or
they could just as effectively be WHAT’S HOT: Over 2 hours and 18
incorporated into your current moves that can be utilised in any
Ambitious Card routine. Here are card routine - not just the
a few examples of what you get: Ambitious Card!
Lepaul Bluff Pass, Tenkai WHAT’S NOT: Nothing really - other
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO Production, Tilt Colour Change, than this DVD may be overlooked
AMBITIOUXS CARD One Hand Top Palm, Woodfield’s by some who have dismissed the
Brad Christian Torn and Restored. Ambitious Card routine as old “The sense of humour in
Available from www.ellusionist.com What’s nice about this is DVD fashioned. magicseen and the overall
Price: $39.99 (approx £20.00) is that you can take as much or STAR RATING: ★★★★ feeling of not taking yourselves
as little from as it as you require. too seriously is a refreshing
At one time or another every If a move doesn’t suit your style breath of air compared to some
magician who works with playing then don’t use it - but I think that writers in magic whose politics
cards will have included the there is probably something for and intensity can be very
Ambitious Card routine in their everyone here. irritating. It also makes me feel
repertoire. It has to be one of the Also included are Brad’s happy that again the world is
classics of card magic. thoughts on ‘Breaking Down A able to discover the quality of
What Brad Christian and the Move’: how to watch an magic around in the UK”.
Ellusionist team have done here explanation or effect and dissect Sean Taylor, Australia
with this DVD is take the it to get the most out of it and
Ambitious Card routine to the make it easier to learn.
streets. Interwoven between the ‘Routining’: a look at putting
moves and studio explanations together a solid routine that flows “What a fascinating read.
are real world performances by and that’s right for you. These are I keep finding out things.
Brad to a host of different types just two of the offerings from Good luck to you guys and
of spectators. Each clip produces Brad that will help you develop as keep the magic flowing!”
varied reactions and are a performer. Jeremy Vine
repeatedly played back with
narration from Brad pointing out
I think this DVD will
unfortunately be overlooked by
RADIO MAGIC – BBC TV/radio2

the subtleties of each routine - at many performers who think that

THE INTERVIEWS:
what point he performs a certain the Ambitious Card routine is old SEASON ONE
move and why. hat and not for them. However, Available exclusively from
The DVD kicks off with a this would be a huge shame as www.tvmagic.co.uk
detailed look at the Push Off what this DVD has done is bring Price: £25.00
Double Lift - a great technique this great routine back up-to-date.
that requires no get ready and At the end of the DVD is also Jay Fortune’s weekly Radio Magic
can be performed in an instant. a performance by Nate Staniforth Show was a gem of an idea which
The whole first half of this who won Ellusionist’s first used the technology of the World
DVD is geared towards what Brad competition (with the footage Wide Web to broadcast an hour
calls the Ambitious Card Purist; shown). What this gives is long show through your computer
performers who stick religiously another performing style to look specifically about magic and

54 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 WHAT’SHOT - WHAT’SNOT

magicians. This was a unique continue the chat. The This book is not a light read.
venture in magic which ran for a conversations are therefore There is a huge amount of densely
year and proved very successful. varied according to each person’s packed text and to make the most
Each show included a ten minute area of magic. of it you will have to absorb it all
interview with a well known name Whilst the interviews are carefully. There's no real short cut
from the magic world. Many of certainly interesting, the depth of or quick fix here, and that's how it
the interviewees were inevitably information is limited by the ten should be. You're not learning the
performers although others minute interview length (anything latest self-working packet trick
included specialists including from three to eight pages in print) here, you are endeavouring to
magic consultants, TV producers and some of the questions which produce a substantial wooden
and directors, dealers, a are e-mailed by listeners are along prop, and that requires effort, time
hypnotist and so on, giving a the lines of “what’s your favourite and a willingness to put into
broad range of views from those trick, book, DVD”, “are you going practice all the wonderful advice
who work in the world magic. to retire?” etc. A few others such given by David.
If you missed those interviews as “can magic be accepted as an In total there are 23 different
or want to re-capture them again, art” and “how do you create a the other hand, you fancy having props to choose from. Tables,
here then is Radio Magic’s first lecture,” provoked a much more a go at making your own illusions production boxes, small scale
product on the market, a collection interesting response from Jeff and you have already survived illusions, large illusions and more
of interviews from Season One of McBride and Eugene Burger. the badly translated and barely are all given the Designerplan
Radio Magic. What I find very The overall production is illustrated instructions often treatment. Each item has
strange is the format in which Jay outwardly very smart with the supplied with DIY furniture from carefully drawn plans which
has chosen to market this product. distinctive Radio Magic logo on a MFI, then this book will show you include all the major dimensions
Having used 21st century white dustcover. It’s also how instructions should be and then an exhaustive
technology to broadcast live available as a downloadable E- presented! explanation of how to construct
interviews through the Web, Jay book for £15 or an offer on both David Hemingway has been the prop in text. It's all very
seems to have regressed 500 years for £35. A follow-up, Radio Magic designing and constructing stage thorough and professionally done.
to Caxton’s method – printing! Okay - Season Two Interviews is also in illusions and other sundry props In a modern world where so
this hasn’t rolled off an ink press, the pipeline – on CD please! for over 45 years and has been, many people seem to want
but a printed transcript of the Further details can found on at times in the past, close friends instant gratification in everything
interviews in the form of a desk-top www.radiomagic.co.uk. PP with that small band of top they do, this book is going to
self-published hard backed book quality craftsmen which included have, I would suspect, only a
doesn’t quite capture the WHAT’S HOT: Interesting such luminaries as Gil Leaney limited interested audience. This
spontaneity of the conversation! conversation from some of the and Jack Hughes. The pearls of is not a book of blueprint
Why the live interviews weren’t interviewees. wisdom gleaned from these sketches which you can flick idly
transferred to CD for us to listen to WHAT’S NOT: I would prefer to hear experts have stood David in good through simply in order to find out
I’m not sure, but it seems odd to the original interviews rather than stead since then, and he sets out how various illusions are done, it
me to transfer live interviews into read them. now to pass on that wisdom to is a serious text book designed
print. Books are nice to own but the STAR RATING: ★★★ readers of this book. for those who really want to roll
conversational chatty style of the Designed Illusions and their sleeves up and get their
interviews doesn’t transfer well to Design Delusions sets out to hands dirty! If that is you, then
the written word on the page and show you that "it really is much you can't go far wrong with this
we have to be given additional
DESIGNED easier than you think" to make first rate publication. ML
directions as to when somebody ILLUSIONS AND your own wooden props. By
laughs for example. DESIGN DELUSIONS following David's carefully drawn WHAT’S HOT: professional advice
The format apart then, what David Hemingway Designerplans and Sketchplans, given in great detail
we have is the transcript of Available from David Hemingway, anyone who already has at least WHAT’S NOT: you will need some
twelve interviews with a variety of 270 Gregson Lane, Preston a rudimentary understanding of basic carpentry knowledge
well known personalities that PR5 0DP which end of a hammer to hold STAR RATING: ★★★★
includes Paul Daniels, Simon 131 x A4 wire bound pages with can make a fist of constructing
Lovell, Luke Jermay, Anthony board covers their own props. David's book is
Owen, Duncan Trillo, hypnotist Price: £35.00 + £2.00 P&P brim full of helpful tips, advice
Matthew Sterling and Russ (in the UK) and helpful 'rules' to ensure that
Stevens. Even our Editor is in readers have the best chance of “Good luck
there giving the low down on If you are the sort of person who success, and provided that you on your fund
becoming a magic dealer! There would never consider buying a are prepared to assemble good drive for a
are also longer interviews with flat pack piece of furniture from quality tools and materials and capital ‘M’!”
Eugene Burger and Jeff McBride Ikea, then the chances are you take the necessary time and David Regal
which are in two parts as they will not have much interest for trouble, the results should be
both returned a week later to this book of illusion plans. If, on highly satisfactory.

www.magicseen.co.uk 55
WHAT’SHOT - WHAT’SNOT

gaze that is welding your eyeballs

to the back of your skull. No, it’s
his two tone suit that would make
a matador look drab!
Although this latest volume
from his collection yet again gives
the viewer an overall view on magicseen
TELEPATHY which you really do need to try trance states, the vast bulk of is a beautiful
Mitchell Staffiej out in order to give a definitive the10 dvds concentrate on the magazine
Available from opinion about it, so it's a very therapeutic teachings of N.L.P. Henry Evans
www.youngmagicians.com/telepa difficult one to assess cold. I have (Neuro Linguistic Programming).
thy.html to say that my feeling is that an Most courses teaching N.L.P.
Price: $15.95 (approx. £8.00) intelligent spectator would rumble usually last anywhere between EMBARRASSING
What you receive for your money
here is a PDF file. It consists of
this straight away, or would at the
very least ask some very awkward
questions. A totally gullible
1 to 3 weeks - depending on how
long the master practitioner can
string it out for, leaving you
MOMENTS
by Nick Einhorn
several pages of 'instructions' spectator would, on the other feeling like your blood has been
which explain how you can give the hand, think you were a miracle swapped for horlicks. Now, our So many to choose from - how
appearance that one spectator has worker and that they were really lad’s got no time to muck about - about the time I arrived for a
transmitted the name of a playing hearing voices in their head. These and condenses 3 weeks in his performance at Monday Night
card to another. The instructions are the same people, however, mental microwave and bangs the Magic. I arrived just before I went
are very poorly written due to badly who would also be impressed by a whole course out in 10 hours. on in the second half as I had an
laid out and constructed spiritualist seance! As we’ve come to expect from earlier gig. Literally 5 mins before I
paragraphs of text which are Having learnt the secret from Jonathan, he takes no prisoners went on I was told that the entire
produced in such a huge font that it the supplied PDF you will need to when describing the inner first half was pretty much
stretches to an unbelievable 14 assemble a gimmick from some machinations of some N.L.P. everything I was planning on
pages. A normal font size would equipment which you may have course organisers. Yet while performing myself, so I walked on-
have reduced the page count down at home or which you can buy lambasting them for being sleazy stage with almost no material to
to a more realistic 2! In fact you reasonably cheaply. Personally, I con men who should be soundly perform. My one big trick was the
could explain the actual method in doubt whether you will bother. ML horse whipped, tarred and vanish of a signed note which
one sentence - the rest is just feathered, you do get the feeling ended up inside a helium balloon
repetition under the guise of WHAT’S HOT: good for easily he likes to run with the hares and 15ft up in the air. I was in such a
'variations', but really it amounts to impressed spectators hunt with the hounds! state I forgot to get the note
little more than padding and waffle. WHAT’S NOT: very hard to 'sell' the Amongst the multitude of signed so by the time I got to the
So, a major thumbs down for effect topics covered in his trademark reveal of the note in the balloon it
the PDF, but is the trick itself any STAR RATING: ★ lingo are: could have been any note inside!
good? Well, it reads like the worst • Sports psychology And the balloon just refused to
sort of untried pipe dream. I • Past life regression burst, even when set on fire! It was
actually wondered at first if it was JONATHAN ROYLE’S • Pain control a nightmare and from then
all some sort of joke! But by the N.L.P. AND HYPNOSIS The latter demonstrates a full on onwards John Lenahan always
time I had spent the three
EXPOSED! (MASTER screen hand piercing with a introduced me as 'The Much
minutes required to read the PRACTITIONER COURSE) syringe under hypnotic Improving Nick Einhorn!'
instructions, I realised that these anaesthetic. Cue Carry On style
people were actually serious Available from double entendre: “You may feel a
about this idea, and so I tried to www.hypnotherapycourse.net little prick … oooh, Matron!”
make an honest evaluation as to or Prospect House Publishing, For those who are squeamish,
whether it is practical or not. P.O. Box 12, Huddersfield. UK yes, there is blood. Performers out
Having watched the online Price: £147.00 there need not worry, your shaven
video dem for the trick on headed shaman has included a
YouTube, I accept that it will just Therapists beware! For Jonathan few juicy stage hypnosis
about work and that it might, just Royle is ensconced in the witness techniques, including the classic
might, fool somebody if enough protection program and has full body catalepsy and a foul
care and presentational skills squealed like a stuck pig about tasting cigarette to use as a
were applied. It is probably best all your little secrets. hypnotic convincer.
suited to street performing where No stone is left unturned in An illuminating insight into
everything is very free flowing and this handy hypno boxset. Right N.L.P. methodically translating
random - I'm not sure you would from the off, your eyes will burn psycho babble into easy terms we
get away with it in a more formal and your vision go fuzzy. This isn’t can all understand, but with
show. This is one of those ideas Mr Royle’s penetrating hypnotic language so foul, it traumatised

58 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 WHAT’SHOT - WHAT’SNOT

my dog Fido, and he is now The group of magicians I be miraculous. It must be pointed very excited – until I opened the
seeing a therapist. Thank you watched it with said it was: “OK” - out that there is a fair bit of package and saw that it was
very much Mr Royle! PK and all wanted to see more preparation involved with this magic routines and effects using
magic. Maybe that’s the trouble effect and a couple of the moves finger rings. Disappointment set
WHAT’S HOT: Some useful/dodgy with magicians – they don’t want rely on you having your angles in and I took two weeks to put it
tips on how to become a legally to hear people talking about it – covered. If you are the type of into my player. However, when I
recognised doctor. they just want to see it. However, magician who wants instant finally got around to watching
WHAT’S NOT: His suit was so loud as well as the documentary, there gratification, then this is not for this, I really was blown away by
that my ears bled. are some fun extras – notably a you, but if you want an excellent the amazing effects. Using a non-
STAR RATING: ★★★★ commentary that possibly has effect which gets a great reaction – gimmicked finger ring, De’vo
more highlights than the plus you have the patience to put stuns on-lookers with fantastic,
documentary itself! in the effort – this could prove to lightning fast movements that are
No doubt Paul worked hard to be one of your killer effects! There then explained in detail through
get this documentary produced, are 72 pages, containing lots of on-screen text, with music. A ring
but I can’t help feeling that it could photographs on the moves and mysteriously jumps from the tip of
have been so much better. PK variations, and the instructions his thumb right on to his
despite being in broken English are finger…and not just on to the tip
WHAT’S HOT: A great selection of quite easy to follow. of his finger, but right on past the
well-known magicians and There are a couple of handling second join. I suspected a
mentalists variations to help make the effect gimmicked ring ( even though I
WHAT’S NOT: No direction, will easier to accomplish, but I would knew otherwise ) because the
leave you asking: what was the suggest that this effect is not really effects are so visual and
aim of it? for the beginner. The gimmicking of amazing. Not only is the ring
STAR RATING: ★★★ the real egg is where the crafty moved from finger to finger faster
secret lies and all is explained well. than the eye can see, but then a
EVER SO SLEIGHTLY You could easily prepare a couple spectator can try to remove it –
DVD documentary by Paul Squires of dozen eggs in advance, as they and it’s really difficult to get off!
Available from: will keep for quite a long time. There are sections on
www.eversosleightly.com You’ll need a few things to help you choosing the right ring for you,
Price: £16.99 plus £2 p&p set up this effect, but nothing that and all the subtle tips to make
is expensive. Just in case you were your practice thorough and
Paul Squires has produced a well- wondering- this trick can be effective. From having no initial
made documentary with an performed with either white or interest in this product, I found
impressive cast of magicians brown eggs. myself wanting to rush out and
giving hints, advice, and in Joe You need to give this quirky, buy a ring there and then! That is
Pasquale’s case, a few minutes THE HATCHING original effect the time and the power of this DVD. Most DVDs
of impromptu banter. The vague by Nefesch respect it deserves, or if not, you for magicians are traditionally
title of the documentary really Available as a instant PDF could end up with egg on your card-heavy, and to use a few ring
sums up this DVD for me. It download from: face. Literally! GH effects would be a great way to
doesn’t really have an angle. As a www.magicshop.co.uk break-up your close-up act with
window in to the UK magic scene Price: £12.99 WHAT’S HOT: Strong and unusual something sensational. This is a
it is informative – in a simplistic effect with a killer ending. highly recommended product,
way, but most, if not all magicians The magician either borrows an WHAT’S NOT: Preparation needed, and I must dash, as I have to go
already know what that entails. egg (even at the national and how many eggs will you need to the nearest jewellers to further
Ever So Sleightly only really gets Farmer’s union Xmas bash it’s for close-up? Possibly a better my magic career! GH
going when magicians begin to unlikely anyone will happen to effect for intimate audiences and
perform to camera. Paul Gordon have one with them!) or provides a small stage. WHAT’S HOT: Another top quality
finds the temptation all too much an egg of their own to be STAR RATING: ★★★★ DVD from Ellusionist. Unusual
and cannot resist getting his inspected and signed by a and highly entertaining.
cards out, and Simon Lovell also spectator. A coin is also borrowed WHAT’S NOT: No real negative
performs a quick trick to the lens. and signed. The magician then DE’RING DVD point to report…
These are the highlights of the appears to push the coin into the by De’vo STAR RATING: ★★★★
programme, which, although egg itself! And it really does Available from Ellusionist.com
means well, doesn’t really say penetrate the egg. You show the Also available on download in
anything. I would say that this egg and then proceed to crack it high resolution
documentary is more suitable to open to reveal the signed coin Price: $29.95 (Approx £16.00)
youngsters who have an interest really is INSIDE the egg.
in the art - and would like to take This effect sounds incredible I must admit that when this DVD
it a step further. and if performed well really should arrived through my door, I was

www.magicseen.co.uk 59
 MASTERCLASS#1

DESERT ISLAND
FLUKE
by Wayne Dobson
DVDs
Paul Gordon
MAGICSEEN:
Name three DVDs
the blue deck face up across the Toss the four of spades face you'd like to have
Before we start, you’ll
table and point out that you have up to one side, case the rest of for company should you find
need one red and one previously reversed one card and the cards and pocket them. Turn yourselves deserted on a far away
blue-backed deck of one card only. The double backer to the person with the red deck isle! (no pornography allowed!)
Bicycle cards plus a shows up in the otherwise face up and ask which number he These can be magic ones or
spread. You should now be looking thought of earlier... he replies that anything else for that matter!
Bicycle blue/blue
for the face up four of spades. he thought of the number 27. Ask PAUL GORDON:
double-backer. Don’t panic if you don’t spot it him to carefully remove ALL of Any Billy Connolly DVD. Best is
immediately. You have plenty of the cards from the red card case "Live 1994" one. Frank Sinatra in
time, as you prove that there are and count down to the 27th card. Concert 1970. Planet Earth DVD.
Set-up: no other reversed cards in the Miracle of miracles... the 27th
Set the red backed deck in the deck. You do this by separating card is ALSO the four of spades! magicseen is as cool as its
order shown on the playing card any small groups of cards to make owners. A good-looking
sized crib-sheet printed at the sure that each and every face up Note: bunch...apart from Peter Salter
foot of this page. Please note card is seen. Once you spot the At the finale, when the spectator (advertising) who looks like Fanny
that, on the crib-sheet, X four of spades, push the reversed deals (in this example) to the Cradock in drag! magicseen
represents the value 10. This card out of the spread, away from 27th position, you could ask that needs more classy card magic.
means that XC represents the 10 you, and scoop up the rest of the they deal the cards into a face up I'll contribute!” Paul Gordon
of clubs). Once the red backed cards (starting at the face card of pile (looking all the time for, in
deck is set, case the cards. the spread) up to and including this example, the four of spades)
Set the blue backed deck in ANY the four of spades. Pause...then as they deal. This not only builds
order then insert the blue/blue use these cards to scoop up the suspense, it allows you to re-set
double-backer near the centre. rest. The required card (in this the deck for your next
Case the deck then photocopy case the four of spades) is now at performance as follows: Once the
the crib-sheet shown below, and the bottom (rear) of the face up 27th card has been dealt onto
glue it to the blue card case on deck. Flip the deck face down, the face up tabled cards and the
the side bearing the image of the pick up the double backer and set routine successfully concluded,
back design. Pocket the cased it momentarily on top then you only have to take back the
decks side-by-side so that when immediately make a double face down cards from the
you later remove them, the crib- turnover. The four of spades spectator, pick up the tabled
sheet will be hidden by the red appears to have been the card you cards and place them, face down,
card case. previously reversed and the double onto the cards in your hand. The WITTUS WITT ON MAGICSEEN:
backer blends in with the rest of deck is now completely re-set! To be quite honest I stopped reading
Performance: the face down deck, making the mag after the first year!
Remove and show the two decks. everything appear as it should.
Separate them and hold one in
each hand, with the crib-sheet
toward you. Hand the cased red
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
deck to someone on your left to
2H XC AD AS 2C KC 3S 9S 7C 7S 8H AC JS
hold or pocket for the moment.
Ask this person to THINK of any
number from 1 to 52 and then 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
NAME it. Let’s assume that they JD 6S QC XH QS 8C 4H KD 5C 6D 5S 8D 5H
say 27. As you open the blue card
case and remove the deck, you
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
have ample time to spot the card
4S 9C 4C JH 7H QD 3D XD KH JC 3C 3H XS
on the crib-sheet which lies at
position 27 in the red deck. In
this case it is the four of spades. 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Table the card case, crib-sheet 5D 9H 2D 7D 8S KS 2S QH 9D 4D AH 6C 6H
side down, to one side. Spread

www.magicseen.co.uk 63
 MASTERCLASS#2

LOCKED
by Wayne Dobson

This is an updated version of my original The coolest magician

CardLock routine from my Pro-File book. alive is: David
Copperfield without a
doubt! Sean Alexander
Required
“The most entertaining magic
A small draw-string bag, two they have stopped you at the six else to enter the numbers 7, 5
magazine in the world - with the
small suitcase-style combination of spades, by widening the break and 3 into the lock. It won’t open.
ability to laugh at itself.”
padlocks, a deck of cards a little more, effectively hinging Apologise saying, “Sorry. I used to
Hypnotist, Hugh Lennon.
(without a card case) and one open the gimmicked card. work for Directory Enquiries and “Grrr Grrr!” HypnoDog.
gimmicked card, made as follows. Collapse the break, flip the deck I’m used to giving out the wrong *We think he was trying to say 'Great!'
Take a duplicate six of spades face up and spread the cards number!” Ask the person with the
and on its face, apply a 1” band across the table. Suddenly realise deck to deal off three cards onto “As publisher of MAGI, the Brazilian
of super-glue (or double-sided that you haven’t removed the your hand. These will be a 2, a 4, magazine for magicians, I know
tape) across the central area of joker. Make a comment to this and a 3 but they could be in any that magicseen is one of most
the width of the card. Next place effect then remove and pocket order. Deal them into a face up important magazines in the world.
magicseen has very good quality
a joker face up onto the face up the gimmicked card, which looks row in the correct 2, 3, 4 order
magic and is a quality product.”
six so that the two cards stick like an innocent face up joker! and have these numbers entered
together. Trim a tiny sliver of card On with the show. Drop the into the lock which ... opens! ms Willians S. Lopez, Magician &
off both narrow ends of the joker. rest of the deck into the bag. Publisher of MAGI magazine, Brazil.
Finally, with a paper punch, Appear to drop the lock into the
punch a single hole through the bag but, simply retain it in your
lower right corner of every card hand as you shake up the bag.
including the gimmicked 6S/joker The cards within do not mix.
card. Reach into your pocket, with the
hand palming the lock, and dump
Set-up it. Pick up the gimmicked card
Open one of the locks and thread again. Bring it out and show the
the six of spades from your deck face of the joker as you say, “By
onto the hasp. Snap the lock the way, you didn’t choose the
shut. Let’s assume that the joker did you?” Once they’ve
combination that opens this lock replied that they didn’t, replace it
is 2, 3, 4. The deck is stacked as in your pocket.
follows: 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, twenty You are now home and dry. It
cards, gimmicked card, rest of only remains for you to, carefully,
deck. Place everything into the tip out all the cards and their
bag, with the locks at opposite chosen one has been discovered
corners. by the lock, which has mysteriously
locked itself through the card!
Performance Now to discover the
Hold on to the lock (that is combination of the lock.
through the card) through the bag Take the cards and hold
and dump out the deck and the them in an overhand shuffling
loose lock. Set the bag aside. grip. Cut off half and shuffle off
Have a card selected. In reality the top three cards (reversing
you force the 6S/joker gimmick their order) onto the lower half of
by simply riffling down (or up if the deck. Separate your hands
you prefer) through the cards and table the two half decks face
until told to stop. Time this so down side-by-side. Ask someone
that you are stopped as the short to riffle shuffle the two halves
card halts your riffle. Show that together as you ask someone

www.magicseen.co.uk 65
BLACKPOOL
CONVENTION FEATURE
1. Have you appeared in England before?
Yes – a very successful pupil exchange
program in the year of 1982. It was good fun
and we found out that British have no
prejudices against Germans!

2. You have achieved great things at FISM

- what else would you like to achieve?
We would like to prove that German humour
is much funnier than English humour. If we
don’t achieve this we would like to prove
that English humour is much funnier than
German humour.

3. Which other performers are your favourites?

We love Gaeton Bloom, David Blaine and
Tony Blair.

4. What sort of venues do you play in Germany?

Mostly we perform for a major German bank
called “Volksbank”. Not funny, but true. The
rest of the year we perform in Las Vegas. Not
true but funny.

5. What is the magic scene like in your

home country?
The magicians from Stuttgart in the south of
Germany are not funny but have a lot of
success. We from the north of Germany are
funny but have no success.

6. Who are your influences?

?

7. Tell us three things about you, that

people will not know!
a) Martin Sierp has an extra nipple.
b) Sascha Grammel has an extra belly button.
c) Guess what Timothy Trust has extra!

Die Zauderer
The Funniest
Thing on Six Legs!
8. When you are not performing, what do
you like to do?
We love to watch magicians from Stuttgart
trying to be funny.
For the past ten years, Die Zauderer has proved to be one of the
best comedy magic acts in the world. For the past four FISM events 9. Best show ever?
they have been placed either second or third in their respective Blackpool 2007

category. At FISM 2006 they received a standing ovation and also

10. Worst show ever?
collected the prestigious award for ‘Most Original Act’. This
England v Portugal at the FIFA World Cup 2006.
sensational three-man comedy team are ready to set Blackpool
alight with their own special brand of entertainment and we 11. What are you working on at the moment?
decided to rudely interrupt their preparations by asking them a few We are still working on question number 6 at
questions. They didn’t seem to take the questions very seriously… the moment. ms

66 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

 PAULZENON
NEWSROUND THE WONDER BUS

"It's still going???"

Peter Firman

Tired of seeing older people in the UK pushed to one side or written off, TV trickster
Paul Zenon is setting up The Wonderbus with the intention of providing some of them
with a bit of fun and companionship. Getting the show on the road, the Wonderbus will
take older people in homes or sheltered housing out on trips to see live entertainment,
giving them a good old-fashioned day out. The long term aim is to purchase and
customise a coach so that the vehicle itself can also be used as a mobile venue, with
retired performers being persuaded to get their gladrags out of mothballs, and some
new kids on the block given a chance to gain some valuable performing experience.

PrestiDigital! Zenon was around six years old when he had

Following its launch at Blackpool last year, his first taste of showbusiness. In the small
issue 5 of multimedia magic quarterly town of Earby (formerly in Yorkshire; now
PrestiDigital is due to make its shiny Lancashire), factory worker Dorothy (‘Dot’)
presence felt at Blackpool 2007. Crawshaw arranged a coach trip for the
Issue 4 closed the first year in fine style children of the local factory workers to see a
with an illustrated interview with Charlie Frye pantomime at the Bradford Alahambra
(including his superb bill switch) and Zakary Theatre, some thirty miles away. This was the
Belamy; ESP with Darren McGee. Real World first of several he would be treated to and
Review on Richard Roth. A Survival Guide to Zenon became hooked on the bright lights of Local pensioners taken to cleaners by conman.

Conventions with interviews with FISM showbiz. In February of 2006 he bumped into
personalities. And in The Vault: the first ever Dot at his Gran’s funeral (the two of them were
Wizard; Hugard's 1937 Magic Annual; more long-term close friends) and, on giving her a
posters, clipart, gag ebook... lift back to the sheltered housing in which she
Seems the PrestiDigital team have been now lives, it occurred to him that it would be
on their magical travels again as the next nice to return the favour that she had done for
issue features Keith Barry In Dublin at the him and many other kids some thirty-odd
start of his recent sell-out Ireland tour. years previously, and if he could sort that for
There's an in-depth interview plus extracts Dot, then why not... (fade to dream sequence). With showbiz golfing chum Billy Pearce.
from the show. PZ arranged a benefit night called 'Paul
Plus, of course, some golden oldies (and Zenon's Grey Matter' at the London Comedy
not-so-oldies) in The Vault. "We're aiming at Store last September to raise funds for the
the thinking magician," claims Tim. project, hosted by himself and featuring
"Something for everyone," Russell quickly comedians Stewart Lee, Lucy Porter, Ray Presto
interposes, with a quick glance at the and Ida Barr (Old Time Music Hall Star and
bottom line. purveyor of 'artificial hip 'op'!). On the back of
News, back issues and subs online at: that, the maiden voyage of The Wonderbus took
www.prestidigital.tv place in January of this year. On his arrival in his
former home town of Earby, Paul was amazed to
learn that the sheltered housing where Dot and
Billy’s snogging seems to have made the lady at the
her friends now live was exactly exactly the front a bit queasy.
same location that the coach with Dot, Paul and
friends left from in 1970 and, furthermore, she had gone to see all those years before. The star
“magicseen had a photograph to prove it! There was a toast of the show, comic Billy Pearce, came aboard to
is a brilliant with a glass of sherry to launch the bus, a quiz sign autographs and 'snog' the passengers (his
magazine.” on the way with fabulous (okay, pound shop) words!) after the show before its return journey
Graham P. prizes, a meal at a posh Italian restaurant in home to Earby. The day was a big success and
Jolley Bradford (the rather-too-exotic menu resulting in hopefully the first of many. The next fund-raising
a draw between scampi and lasagne), and the event will be at the Brighton Theatre Royal in
main event - Aladdin at the Alhambra Theatre - July, featuring Paul, Harry Hill and Lee Mack.
the same panto in the same venue that they www.thewonderbus.org

www.magicseen.co.uk 69
THEPRESTIGE
INTERVIEW & COMPETITION

What’s It All About?

From the time that they first meet as
young magicians in Victorian London,
Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred
Borden (Bale) are competitors.
However, their friendly competition
evolves into a bitter rivalry making
them fierce enemies for life and
consequently jeopardising the lives
of everyone around them. Full of
twists and turns, The Prestige, based
on the highly acclaimed novel by
Christopher Priest, explores the
darker side of magic where fantasy
and reality become inextricably
entwined and illusion prevails.

Magic in
The Prestige
Magical movie, The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring mortgage their youths to work in front of a
Hugh Jackman & Christian Bale is released on DVD, March 12th. mirror doing sleight of hand because it takes
Graham Hey asks Hugh Jackman and the movie’s screenwriter Jonathan years of practice. An actor can’t do it on his
own. They’re very much dependent on each
Nolan a few questions about the magic content of the hit movie.
other for their work, which is something I like.

MS: Do you have any fond memories from

Hugh Jackman... familiar with this world at all? the time you spent researching magicians?
MS: Was part of the appeal of The Prestige Hugh Jackman: I’m not familiar with the world Hugh Jackman: Very briefly, Christopher
finding out how these illusions were done? of magic at all. I went to Vegas and met a encouraged me to go and see David
And, was there concern about how far you number of magicians and it was fascinating to Copperfield’s show. Afterwards he took us
went in revealing the mechanics of a trick? me. In terms of being on stage, the role from Vegas in a car and said: “Come back to
Hugh Jackman: I was fascinated and there is seemed fairly tailor made for me. For my part, my place.” We went to this street on the
a lot of material about how tricks are done, Angiers is a very good magician but he’s not outskirts of Vegas, to this sex shop! I was with
but it really spoils magic for you after you the world’s best, in terms of the craft of magic, my wife so there were the three of us, at a sex
know that. As Cutter says in the movie “You but he is a great showman. Ultimately, the shop, and he pulls out his keys and opens the
don’t really want to know.” It’s very tempting. audience will decide who’s the greatest door. We walked in and I’m thinking “Alright
Reading a little bit about this world, what magician but he knew how to sell a trick. I’ve what have we got into here?” Then he says:
was fascinating to me was how far magicians done a lot of stage and I’ve always felt quite at “Push the nipple on the manikin over there.” I
would go to perform the trick. In the world of home on stage because that’s sort of what my pushed the nipple and these doors open and
our film, the magicians were the rock stars of background is. If I can be honest about my film you enter this museum, the size of four
their day. It was the golden age of magic. career, it’s probably taken me a few years to football fields, of magic memorabilia. It was
Magic has changed a lot now but Houdini feel as at home on a set as I do on a stage. 12.30 at night and he did a 90 minute show
used to literally cut himself open and hide for us, until two in the morning.
lock picks inside his flesh and sew himself up, MS: Did you notice many differences
so he could reach inside himself if he needed between being an actor and a magician MS: Did David Copperfield reveal any of his
them, and he’d regurgitate things. There are a while doing your research? secrets?
lot of amazing things that people did to try Hugh Jackman: Having met a number of Hugh Jackman: Nothing! He has that
and pull off a trick. That is fascinating to me. magicians preparing for this role, I realise that museum of memorabilia and he showed me
the huge difference for me is that it’s a very exactly how Houdini got out of his water
MS: Your character is more showman than solitary profession. Even Penn and Teller, who escape thing and how old tricks were done.
magician, essentially. You’ve also been have a double act, are very different in their But he’s the consummate showman and
known to tread the boards. Was that styles and have comedically worked out how there was no revealing of secrets whatsoever.
something you could relate to? Were you to go together. Most magicians pretty much But he’s a fascinating character.

70 magicseen Issue No.13 March 2007

MS: Did you pick up any tricks that you
could use at a kids’ party in the future, for
your children perhaps?
Hugh Jackman: I started off as a clown at
kids’ parties about 15 years ago and I retired
when a six-year-old got up in the middle of my
routine and said: “Mum, this clown is really
crap.” [laughs]. That’s word for word. That’s a
bad thing for a clown to hear. So, when I
came to do this, I thought it was great
because we had Ricky Jay and Michael
Weber helping us with our routines, only to
find out that their byline to their business is
‘on a need to know basis’. So, they’d teach us
what we needed to film but Christian and I
came out really under done on tricks. We had
a couple.
Actually, the very first trick I had to do
involved me having a flower that I had to Hugh Jackman on-screen with
make disappear. I was working on it for a between the other world and this world. leading lady Scarlett Johannson.
while and practised on my son the night People bought into the magician’s shtick,
before filming – he was five at the time – and really, whereas now they don’t. I think the
he said: “Daddy, it’s in your other hand.” It only thing that is really similar now might be
didn’t bode well for filming and it’s been cut mind-reading. The magicians who do mind-
from the movie. I’ve never been so nervous reading stuff...I think people are genuinely secrets because they’re invariably
acting, by the way. My hands were shaking. I amazed by that, and might actually think that disappointing, you know what’s impressive is
said to Chris afterwards: “How did it look?” there’s something real going on there. But the skill of the performance.
He said: “Not spectacular!” most stuff, people know it’s a trick. They’re This is the sort of skism between the two
just sort of interested in how it’s done.” characters in the film. Christian Bale’s
MS: Which scenes were more fun for you to character understands intuitively the gimmick
perform in The Prestige? behind a trick, the gimmick in a sense that
Hugh Jackman: Actually, I did love the stage Prestige screenwriter the actual mechanism by which the trick
stuff. I loved it all. I did a lot of work with Jonathan Nolan... would work. So he’s the sort of servaunt, he’s
Ricky Jay and Michael Weber on the style of MS: In getting into the world of the novel the guy who can understand...that’s very
performance. I really modelled my character, and creating/adapting to the screen one of important. And then Hugh Jackman’s
in terms of style, on a guy called Channing the things that had to be opened up to you character is the showman, he understands
Pollock, who was a magician of the ‘50s and was the world of magicians and they are very that just to have that innovation isn’t enough,
actually became a movie star in France later. secretive. How did you get them to, and what you’ve got to sell it to the audience. ms
He was American, I think - or maybe English. did you get them to reveal in your research?
That’s sort of who I modelled him on. But I Jonathan Nolan: Well the easiest way to do
enjoyed it a lot. that is to hire them [laughs]. So Ricky Jay and
his engineer and business partner work on
MS: Did you master any sleight of hand? the film and those guys are fantastic, but will
Hugh Jackman: Yeah, there’s one trick I did. only let you know as much as you need to COMPETITION
You know, the one where the lead shot know. What was great is, the book that proved magicseen have
disappears. That one I did. I can do. But I to be such a valuable resource. I tend to think teamed up with
have to have that particular bullet. (Laughing) of research as being helpful only to a point, Warner Brothers and
I couldn’t do it with anything else.” and if you tend to do too much it makes you have five DVDs and
think that there are rules...you know, it tends books to be won! All
MS: I read that you admire magicians… to get in the way of the imagination. I did just you have to do is
Hugh Jackman: I was reading about Houdini enough research to realise just how much answer the
just for my own pleasure before this, so research Priest had put into his book. One of question below
maybe there’s something serendipitous about the important things he stresses in the book and email your
that. I find the world fascinating, particularly, is that there is only a handful of basic answer to:
actually, this era - which is that Houdini era - techniques that go into every illusion.
because magicians were the movie stars, Once you’re familiar with these and you [email protected]
rock stars of the day. There was an incredible watch magic, and I’ve watched a lot of magic by March 15th
contact with the audience at that time. I don’t in the last couple of years, you can begin to
know if you’re aware, but in America, break apart how almost any illusion works. Question:
spiritualism was an even larger religion or And then you’re just left being impressed by Who wrote the novel that The Prestige
way of thought than Christianity. Magicians the skill of the performer. That’s really what it is based on?
were seen as very real kind of mediators comes down to. You don’t want to know the

www.magicseen.co.uk 71
 STREETMAGIC
MAGAZINE
How much
do you know
about Magic ?
Are you a sleight of hand student or a
professor of prestigitation? See how much you
really know by answering these five questions.
Why? Because the magic community is
not the microcosm many seem to think it is
anymore; there is a massive emerging market
out there of young men, and yes, women want
to be represented.
But it isn’t just for the younger crowd
either—James’ goals for the new title are
broader than that. Think of this nearly 100
Q1 Tommy Cooper was well-known for his page full colour glossy printed magazine as an
tricks going wrong at different times. eclectic mix between all the quality magic
Name three? magazines and newsletters that proceeded it
A1 A quarter past six, five to nine, and over the last hundred years, blended with
20 minutes past eight. cutting edge periodicals like Maxim, GQ,
George, FHM, Men’s Vogue, Entrepreneur, and
Q2 Paul Daniels was on TV more than any Thrasher all rolled up into
magician alive and he always like to one! Magic has the ability to
perform magic in different locations. He transcend culture, so why
performed at The Taj Mahal, The
Sultan’s Palace and The Acropolis.
Name something all these venues have
in common?
A2 They are all restaurants in the Hull area.
STREET MAGIC
Q3 David Copperfield walked through the
Ready To Deliver!
Great Wall of China without injuring 2007 could well be a big year for James Clark of Black’s Magic
Group as he has just launched Street Magic magazine in the US.
himself. Name something that he
We talk to James about his exciting new venture…
COULDN’T walk through without
sustaining serious personal injury?
A3 The Moss Side area of Manchester. The term “Street Magic” used to be identified keep it bottled up and
solely with those brave souls who busk for stale? Since we all live and
Q4. There are many unusual things tips on the street by performing magic for a perform in the real world,
associated with magic. Sawing a lady gathered audience—rather than with the why not tap into that real
in half, the torn and restored legions of young copy-cat ambush magicians world where power drinks,
newspaper and swallowing razor blades who emerged in droves after David Blaine’s fitness, fashion, and
are three examples. Name something first television aired on ABC in America over a technology reside?
else that is hard to believe? decade ago. Listen, it is okay if you want
A4 Graham Jolley’s fees. The realty is that this so-called “fad” isn’t to focus on your little red sponge balls, but if
going anywhere. Over the last decade it has you want to read what underground legend
Q5 Wayne Dobson does a famous invisible proved itself (just as busking has for centuries De’Vo has to say in each and every issue; if
card routine and Mac King has a before it) to be a bona fide sub-culture of the you want to read personal interviews with
famous routine with an invisible cloak. magic community. Sure, it could be argued people like Cyril in a way never approached
Name something else from the world of that it is chalk full of adolescent magician before; if you want to keep your finger on the
magic that doesn’t exist? wannabe’s, but let’s not talk about James’ pulse of magic in the real world around the
A5 John Archer’s Fan Club. shortcomings; let’s focus on the new globe from New York to San Francisco,
magazine he is launching worldwide! London to Edinburgh, Bern to Frankfurt,
Enter Street Magic Magazine (SM). Tokyo to Bangkok, or even Baghdad—then
How did you do? Firstly, James’ plans are to put it in the you can only get it in Street Magic Magazine.
0 correct: hands of everyone who has an interest in James says he doesn’t play politics; he
If you were a magician, you’d have the magic. Aside from the absolutely insane deals and his team believe in real leadership.
audience glued to their seats – otherwise he is giving to shops around the world, To him, that means getting off your butt,
they’d leave! Rubbish. including handing out 10,000 copies for free, taking action, and doing good things—with
1-3 correct: SM will be hitting the public market in a way integrity and direction. And as the old
You are the Mark Leveridge of magic. You nobody has ever dreamed of before. That’s saying goes, “Lead, follow, or get out of the
are certainly no genius, but what you lack right—you’ll see SM at major US book and way!” Dynamic, fast-paced, trend-setting—
in magical knowledge, you make up for in department stores right next to all of your where magic meets the streets; that’s Street
facial hair. favourite magazines from Tattoo to Model Magic Magazine!
5 correct: Trains, Oprah to Men’s Health. Granted, the It will be interesting to see what
You are the Jonathan Goodwin of magic. plan is to put it in plastic just like those happens next.
You know quite a lot, but you probably need magazines on the top shelf you keep your kids
your dad to help you! away from, but nevertheless, it’ll be there For further details, check out:
basking in the glory of these periodical leaders. www.streetmagicmagazine.com

www.magicseen.co.uk 73
LASTBUTNOTLEAST

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