Number 383 - 27th October 2007
"A
little lad, Jack Gleadow, wearing his father’s bowler hat brought the
house down at this year’s Junior Day at The Magic Circle. Not only was he
adept at performing his amazingly magical wonders; he was also extremely
funny. So much so that he walked away with the top prize for the Best
Stage Act, and also the Kaymar Komedy Kup for Best Comedy Act. Look out
for Jack Gleadow, a star of the future..." Jack Delvin reviews the Young
Magicians' Club J-Day this week,
Click Here. For information about the Young Magicians' Club
Click Here.
Photo: Magic Circle President Alan Shaxon and Jack Gleadow.
27.10.07
Gary
Jones at the SODS! Gary Jones is presenting a one-day ‘no frills’
lecture and workshop, limited to 25 magicians, in Dorchester, Dorset from
11am to 6pm on Sunday 25th November 2007. The day has been organised by
the SODS (The Society of Dorchester Sorcerers) and costs £15 per head. The
venue is The Victoria Hotel, Maud Road, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2NA (Map).
Gary's 2-hour lecture starts at 11am. Lunch for £4.00 will be available
from the hotel and the bar will be open all day. Lecture notes and effects
will be on sale and the main business of the day, for magic workers, will
be Gary's hands-on afternoon workshop. To attend, contact one of the
magicians below and they will give you full details of the event and tell
you what you need to bring with you to get the most out of the day. Bryan
Cole bryan2@talktalk.net
telephone 01305 780052 or Paul Hyland
wizard@paul-hyland.co.uk
telephone 01305 257593.
27.10.07
Countdown
to the 25th anniversary special. Paul Zenon
appears on Countdown all next week. On Thursday he'll be presenting
some Halloween-themed tricks and on Friday he'll be part of the big
25th anniversary special. See
TV Magic.
A number of clips from Paul's Street Magic Specials, including some
Halloween ones, can now be seen on YouTube,
Click Here.
20.10.07
This
week sees the 20th Anniversary of Marvin’s Magic which coincided with
Marvin's Magic picking up the top prize at the prestigious
Hamleys Supplier of the Year Awards in London. Hamleys is the largest
and best known toy shop in the world. Their CEO presented Marvin Berglas,
creator of Marvin’s Magic with the award and spoke highly about
their unique in-store theatre and entertainment, as well as formidable
sales. Marvin’s Magic were also nominated for a prestigious Dream Toy
award (voted for by top retailers) for their new
Freaky Body Illusions range which has been co-created with magician
Kevin James, and is being supported by a high profile PR and TV campaign.
27.10.07
The
Barry and Stuart Magick Show. A feature length set with weird comedy
illusionists Barry and Stuart, stars of Channel's 4's Dirty Tricks
and the award nominated Tricks from the Bible. Sick and twisted
tricks aplenty in this funny, eerie, cool new magic show at The Hen and
Chickens Theatre, 109 St Paul's Road, London N1 2NA (Map).
Tube: Highbury and Islington. Time and Date: Doors 8pm show 9:30pm. Friday
16th November and Saturday 17th November. Admission: £7.00 Bookings: 020
7704 2001 “Burn the sorcerous blasphemers!” The Guardian.
www.barryandstuart.com.
27.10.07
The
USA, Japan, Iceland, Hungary, France, England and Scotland will all
battle it out for the £1000 first prize at this year's International
Close-up Competition which is held as part of the International Magic
Convention every year in London. Now rated as one of the world's top
close-up competitions, this year's line up of entrants features many top
award-winners, so brace yourselves for a clash of the champions! 23rd to
25th November, London.
Click Here to register for the convention.
27.10.07
Fay
Presto lectures for the Wessex Magical Association at 8pm on Tuesday
November 13th at the Bourne Valley Community Centre, Herbert Avenue,
Parkstone BH12 4EE (Map).
"Fay's lecture is pure entertainment that no one should miss! Table-top
magic with a big difference. The scene will be set as for a restaurant
with a table for six; the magic audience will surround. Thus we shall get
a true reaction from real people, (not magicians) at the table.
Afterwards, the six guests will leave, allowing Fay to lecture and explain
the real business of course!" Visiting magicians welcome, £5.00 door
charge. Enquiries to John Williams: 01202 396599.
27.10.07
Beyond
Belief - Richard De Vere. "Now you see him! Former Mystique star
Richard De Vere returns to Pleasure Beach to enthral audiences with his
all-new family magic show ‘Beyond Belief’. The Master Illusionist has been
a firm favourite at Pleasure Beach for more than a decade, and this
spellbinding show will have even the most magic-savvy fans hooked. Plus
kids will love cute canine superstar Schnorbitz who appears alongside
Richard." Tickets from £5.00 - £10.00. Call 0870 444 5588 to book and
check performance days and times.
www.richarddevere.com.
27.10.07
Chris
Hare's Birthday Detector. "I have been performing Birthday Detector
for several years with great success and I had no intention of marketing
it. When I first started performing Birthday Detector, I clearly remember
a lady exclaiming, 'You are not doing magic. You are doing real mind
reading!' Although for a moment I was slightly taken aback by her comment,
I knew that I had created something very special. There are very few
magicians who have seen me perform Birthday Detector regularly at close
quarters. Those few who have seen me perform Birthday Detector several
times exclaim that they can never work out how I know the participant’s
birthday." Read more and watch the video clip at
www.birthdaydetector.com (it looks great!). 27.10.07
Great
escape on a roller coaster. "The thought of being handcuffed and
chained to the latest Pleasure Beach ride and trying to escape while
whizzing through the park at 80kph is a frightening thought for many. But
for world renowned escape artist and seven-time Guinness World Record
holder David Straitjacket it's a stroll in the park, and so he proved this
morning..." To read the full story by Tyrone Marshall in This is
Lancashire
Click Here. To watch the original stunt, carried out by David DeVal,
on YouTube
Click
Here (this is a large file, allow time to download). Also see:
www.davidescapes.com.
Since its launch in May, the new roller-coaster Infusion has wowed
visitors with its stunning water features and 5 incredible loops and
rolls!
www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com.
27.10.07
Will
Houstoun lectures at the Bolton Magicians Club at 8.30pm on Wednesday
14th November (and not 31st October as advertised on their website). The
venue is the Doffcocker Inn, Chorley Old Road, Bolton BL1 5QE (Map).
All welcome. For further details of this event contact Steve Owen: 07951
753447. Will's profile can be found on his website, together with lecture
details
www.willhoustoun.co.uk.
27.10.07
When
the world's fastest hands meet the world's fastest feet... Andrew
Murray performs close-up magic for multi-Olympic and World Champion Gold
Medalist sprinter Michael Johnson. Watch both Andrew and Michael in action
on 'A Question of Sport' this Sunday, 28th October at 6.10pm on BBC1.
27.10.07
Magic Circle Dealers' Day
- Saturday, 3rd November, from 10am - 5pm at the Royal National Hotel,
Bedford Way, London WC1H 0DG (Map).
Entrance to members and bona fide magicians on the door (small charge for
non-members). Promotional company Monster Creations will once again be
there. They specialise in working with magicians and entertainers creating
websites, print, video, logos and artwork, and will have a designer, a
videographer and photographer behind the stand to answer any questions.
They have also booked a function room decked out as a mobile photo studio,
so people can combine some magic shopping with having those long needed
studio shots done, all at a very reasonable rate! More information email
Ade:
info@monster-creations.co.uk.
27.10.07
Tommy
Cooper Tribute Show. "Clive Greenaway re-enacts in the style of Tommy
Cooper the awesome bottle glass, glass bottle, the incredible mind reading
duck, the chaos of the Chinese linking rings and incredible card magic. A
one man non-stop hilarious performance, ideal for works parties to family
Christmas celebrations, guaranteed good clean, fun-filled entertainment
for all concerned, with audience participation and photo opportunities -
Jus like that!" December 14th and 15th. For more information and to book:
www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk. Also see:
www.tommycooperremembered.co.uk.
27.10.07
Max
Somerset lecture. Wellingborough Magical Society are proud to announce
'A Slice of Max' presented by David Penn. This is a lecture by the
Sorcerer himself, Max Somerset, on Wednesday 28th November at 7.30pm. The
club meets at the British Rail Sports & Social Club, Harrowden Road, Broad
Green, Wellingborough, Northants. Visiting guests £8.00
www.maxsomerset.com
www.wellmagic.co.uk
- and on 12th December at 7.30pm Aldo Colombini lectures, again visiting
guests welcome, £8.00 charge
www.wildcolombini.com.
27.10.07
Paul
Kieve's Hocus Pocus was officially launched at The Magic Circle last
Wednesday. The evening was a great success and even included a magic show
starring current Magic Circle Stage Magician of the Year Romany (seen here
with Paul), current Magic Circle Young Magician of the Year Ben Hart,
current Nice Guy of the Year Pete Wardell (I couldn't leave you out Pete)
and Paul himself as compere. MagicWeek had planned to be there, but
unfortunately couldn't make it at the last minute. To read a review of
Hocus Pocus
Click
Here, or to order a copy from Amazon.co.uk
Click Here.
27.10.07
Paul
Gordon's Corner of Picadilly is now available in a beautiful set of
long antique-looking cards, designed by Christian Schenk of Germany.
"Gaff-free and easy to do!" For more information and to watch a basic
video demonstration visit
www.paulgordon.net.
27.10.07
Far
from being jinxed High Jinx have done it again! Hot on the heels of
their Shield win at the IBM British Ring convention, the couple have just
been awarded the annual George Powell Trophy for Comedy by the Leeds
Magical Association. "The highlight of this talented brother and sister
act from Huddersfield was the hysterically funny double straightjacket
escape performed to the music of ‘Duelling Banjos’. Runner up in the
competition coming second was Rex Stott from York." In the photo from left
to right, Rex Stott, Anne Powell wife of the late George Powell, Colin Fox
president of the LMA and High Jinx.
27.10.07
Sheffield
Circle of Magicians are holding an Open Night on Thursday 1st November
at 7.30pm at the Three Cranes Pub, 74 Queen Street, Sheffield S1 2DW (Map).
All welcome. Their annual President’s Dinner will be held on Friday 9th
October (7pm for 7.30pm) at Tapton Masonic Hall, Shaw Lane, Sheffield.
Entertainment will be provided by Peter Greenwood and close-up magicians
will be performing at the tables throughout the three course meal; with
music from 'Scuppered'. Tickets are £20.00 each (dress: lounge suits) and
all are welcome. Contact Craig Frith (Entertainment Secretary) 01142
014770 or 07816 989 946 or Dave Chambers (President) 01302 537720 07740
404 948.
27.10.07
Magician
and TV Presenter Paul Metcalfe will bring his own brand of magic to
the live tour of TV's popular game show Family Fortunes later this month.
The brand new series of 'All-Star Family Fortunes' returns to ITV1 this
autumn. October 26th - Wood Green Mall, October 27th - Ilford Mall,
October 28th - Galleries Broadmead Bristol, October 29th - Romford Mall,
October 31st - Sutton Coldfield Mall, November 1st - Norwich Mall,
November 2nd - Barnsley Mall, November 3rd - Blackburn Mall, November 4th
– Preston Mall, November 7th - Camberley Mall, November 8th - Southampton
Mall, November 9th - Maidstone Mall, November 10th - Ashley Epsom Mall,
November 12th - Gloucester Mall, November 16th – Walthamstow Mall,
November 17th - Arndale Luton.
www.paulmetcalfe.com.
27.10.07
Magician wanted for Charity event in Somerset. Fran White emails: "I am looking for a magician to perform for our local Charity event in aid of St Margaret’s Hospice. I am a member of Eastern Promise Belly Dance and we are producing a show called 'Eastern Promise Present a Variety Xtravaganza'. It will be held in our small theatre called The Warehouse in Ilminster, Somerset (between Taunton and Yeovil). We are putting on a variety show and have plenty of singers and dancers and would very much like a magician. Unfortunately because profits are going to the Hospice we can not offer a fee. The show is being performed for one night only on Saturday 5th April 2008." If you would like to offer your services please email fran@divacottage.wanadoo.co.uk or telephone 01460 54356. 27.10.07
The
Tommy Cooper Hour - 3 disc DVD set just released! 450 minutes of pure
Cooper, available from Amazon.co.uk
Click Here • "Magician 'Levitates' In Front of White House"
Click Here, video:
Click Here • "Copperfield axes shows after raid"
Click Here • Anthony Pearson reviews Jay Fortune's Magick and
Mayhem show this week,
Click Here • Phill Smith reviews Paul Brook - Open to Influence
this week,
Click Here • "David Nulty's up to his tricks!"
Click Here • "Detroit native works magic on Vegas"
Click Here • "NBC’s ‘Phenomenon’ shouldn’t make magic disappear"
Click Here • Your UK magic news is always welcomed - see you next
week, Duncan. 27.10.07