Number 531 - 28th August 2010
Derren
Brown Live. The acclaimed showman Derren Brown returns to Channel 4
with a brand new special in which a member of the public goes on a
life-changing journey... 10pm on Wednesday 8th September on Channel 4.
See TV Magic.
28.8.10
Barry
and Stuart will be holding an extra special post-midnight séance at
the Edinburgh Fringe due to phenomenal demand for tickets following 5
Star rave reviews from
Time Out and
AllTheFestivals and 4 Star reviews from The List, Metro,
fringereview.co.uk, hairline, The National Student and Edinburgh
Festivals Magazine. The extra late show will take place on Saturday
night 28th at 01:15am. For tickets
Click Here.
www.barryandstuart.com.
28.8.10
Derren
Brown: Confessions of a Conjuror. "The inside of Derren Brown's head
is a strange and mysterious place. Now you can climb inside and wander
around. Find out just how Derren's mind works, see what motivates him
and discover what made him the weird and wonderful person he is today.
Obsessed with magic and illusions since childhood, Derren's life to date
has been an extraordinary journey and here, in Confessions of a
Conjuror, he allows us all to join him on a magical mystery tour - to
the centre of his brain... Taking as his starting point the various
stages of a conjuring trick he's performing in a crowded restaurant,
Derren's endlessly engaging narrative wanders through subjects from all
points of the compass, from the history of magic and the fundamentals of
psychology to the joys of internet shopping and the proper use of
Parmesan cheese. Brilliant, hilarious and entirely unlike anything else
you have ever read before, Confessions of a Conjuror is also a complete
and utter joy." 352 pages, hardcover. Publication date: 14th October.
Pre-order from Amazon.co.uk and save 35%
Click Here.
28.8.10
David
Ben makes his first European magic convention appearance at
November's International Magic Convention at The Mermaid Theatre,
London. As a noted performer he has toured Canada with his one-man show
- hailed as an artistic success wherever it played, providing "...a
particularly winning, and entertaining, opportunity to ponder the nexus
of conjuring and theatre." As a protégé of Ross Bertram, Ben has a deep
understanding of the history of magic and as the author of Dai Vernon's
critically acclaimed biography, he exhibits a broad insight into the
workings of magic and sleight of hand. His appearance in London will
give you the first chance to witness his abilities in the flesh. Visit
www.internationalmagic.com for more details and to book!
28.8.10
Ipswich
Magical Society Convention, Sunday October 24th. Tickets are now on
sale for the Ipswich Magical Society’s one day convention, which will
take place at the Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe, on Sunday October 24th. This
year's line up includes lectures by Nick Einhorn, Richard McDougal and
Danny Archer from the USA. A Michael J. Fitch hosted session, 'Serious
Business of Comedy' with John Archer and Graham P Jolley discussing how
they make comedy work in mentalism, and an evening gala show, that will
star the above magicians together with illusionist Shahid Malik. Once
again John Archer will be compering the show. Visit
www.ipswichmagicalsociety.co.uk for full details.
28.8.10
Christian
Lee presents The Magic Underground. Starring a line-up of
magicians, known, unknown, new and internationally acclaimed, performing
and trying out new material including classic magic, bizarre tricks,
breath taking sleight of hand and post-recession junk! A comedy magic
spectacular hosted by Christian Lee "King of Comedy Magic" Time out
and partner in comedy crime Wes Zaharuk "Twin Peaks meets Cirque du
Soleil". This is a night you will never forget - maybe for the wrong
reasons! "There's only one thing more entertaining than a really good
magician... and that's a really bad one!" With twists and bangs along
the way, it's one night that has to be kept underground! 31st August.
Doors open at 5pm show starts at 8pm. Tickets £13. Guests are asked to
order at least one course from the A La Carte Menu.
28.8.10
Romany
to star at the 2011 Wessex Magical Association One Day Convention in
Bournemouth. Romany 'Diva of Magic' will close the evening gala show at
the WMA One Day Convention on Sunday 3rd April with her spectacular
stage act. Strongly influenced by 1950s Hollywood and the stars of
burlesque, Romany is famous for her fabulous costumes, diamonds and
feathers, as well as her highly accomplished magic skills. Time Out
described her as "a flamboyant hybrid of Bette Midler and Mary
Poppins... a fascinating razzle-dazzle mix of magic, original comedy and
intelligent glamour". Romany was honoured by The Magic Circle in 2009
when she became a Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star.
Romany, who performs professionally as a close-up magician as well as in
cabaret and on stage, will also be one of a number of star lecturers at
the convention with a lecture entitled 'That Thing You Do!'. She says,
"It's mainly about presentation, about how we treat props, about how to
know who you are before you set foot on stage, and of course a couple of
tricks too. It's pulled from what I've learnt from teachers of magic
such as Bob Fitch, Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger and John Carney over the
last twelve years."
The WMA One Day Convention will feature lectures, workshops and
performances. The WMA will be celebrating its 80th year in 2011 and the
long running bi-annual convention, which will be attended by the usual
wide variety of magic dealers, will be one of the highlights of the
year. Full details of the other top magicians who will be participating
will be announced later. Full day tickets (Gala Show included) will be
£18 if booked in advance or £20 on the door. The location, as in
previous years, will be the Kinson Community Centre, Millhams Road,
Kinson, Bournemouth BH10 7LH (Map).
www.wmagic.co.uk.
28.8.10
Pretty
in Pink. Magician John Danbury added another top brand name to his
CV last week when he was asked by GHD Hair to put together a
presentation and performance to launch their limited edition Pink &
White hair stylers in Selfridges London store. Each year GHD create a
new product that helps to raise awareness and funds for the Breakthrough
Breast Cancer Charity. “I was over the moon to be approached to help
such a worthy cause while promoting such a strong brand, the brief was
to create a theatrical experience and soft sell the product; and charity
fundraising through the magic. Oh and they also wanted everything colour
coded and branded in a 48 hour window, luckily this is something I do
regularly for major brands although usually have a little more time. But
with the help of
Merlin’s in
Wakefield and
The Card
Collection we pulled it off and the whole promotion went very well”
said John.
www.johndanbury.com.
28.8.10
Kidology
- the UK convention dedicated to Children's Entertainment, takes
place on Tuesday September 7th, in Wolverhampton at the Civic and Wulfrun Halls in
Wolverhampton. Registration is
£35.00 per person and includes a buffet lunch and access to all events.
This year there will be three main lectures, and four mini-lectures. The
main lecturers are: Gary Dunn: 'Entertaining with Nothing…Almost!' How to
entertain with virtually no props. Gary has a wealth of experience in
holiday camps but there’s a place for some of his ideas in everyone’s
show; Craig Petty 'Close-Up Magic for Kids' - perfect for
entertaining guests at weddings and entertaining children at any 'grown
up' events. Items will be demonstrated on the large video screen; and Alan Shaxon:
My Kind of Kids’ Shows.
Former President of the Magic Circle, Alan Shaxon will be presenting classic
magic for children. The four mini-lectures will take
place in rooms off the main hall. Registrants will be able to
select two of each to attend, and the magic dealers
will remain open during these mini-lectures which feature Dov Citron: What a Character!
or character-driven entertainment for your parties; Steve Dimmer: Taking Utility Props off the Back Burner or
how to get the most from these props; Mike Bradshaw: Christmas Winners with Tricky Micky –
competitions and games for Christmas; and Olly Chaston: So You Want to Use a Puppet? or puppetry
for beginners. Always an excellent day. Visit
www.practical-magic.com for more information, the full list of magic
dealers that will be attending, and to register.
28.8.10
Blackpool
Convention 2011 update: "Time is running out if you want to be part
of the world’s greatest magic convention. There are now less than six
months to go to the Blackpool Magic Convention on Friday, Saturday and
Sunday 18th, 19th, & 20th February 2011. The Convention, organised by
Derek Lever, will be bigger and better than ever for The Blackpool
Magicians’ Club are hosting the First FISM European Championships of
Magic. The competitions will start on the Friday morning and will be
split across two theatre venues. The Grand Theatre (100 yards away from
the Winter Gardens) will host the close-up competitions and the Opera
House (within the Winter Gardens complex) will be the venue for the
stage competitions. Add to these competitions the usual exciting shows,
lectures and enormous dealers’ showcase and you are in for a
never-to-be-forgotten three days of top quality magic - all for the
amazing price of just £85 per person! Register before 31st December 2010
and you will receive a free book ‘The World’s Most Ingenious Magical
Apparatus’ by Derek Lever." To book your place for this fantastic event
contact Arthur Casson, 44 Bryan Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, England FY3
9BE or telephone 01253 393688 (Int: +44 1245 393688). A registration
form is also available via the Blackpool Magicians’ Club website
www.blackpoolmagic.com.
28.8.10
Luke
Jermay is presenting a lecture for International Magic on Wednesday
8th September. Those who wish to attend should contact Martin MacMillan
on 020 7405 7324 or email
martin@itnernationalmagic.com the cost is £15 per person. The venue
is 2nd floor of 'Casa Italiana', 136 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5DL (Map).
The lecture starts at 7.30pm and should finish around 9.45pm.
28.8.10
The
Care & Share Balloon Fun Days have a special event taking place in
Birmingham on Wednesday 8th September, the day after the Kidology
convention, and email: "We have the third memorial lecture for David
Grist with Colin Myles lecturing for the whole day with four sessions,
over 5 hours of balloon tuition throughout the day. Colin has travelled
worldwide teaching and winning numerous awards along the way so this
will be an excellent day with Colin promising to show for the first time
in the UK how to make his stunning weaved heart. This is a link to
Colin’s portfolio,
www.colinmyles.balloonhq.com The day is confirmed and at only £25 to
attend and with personal tuition is an absolute bargain, the price
includes a buffet lunch and a £10 voucher to spend on balloons at the
day, so please try and come along to support the care & share days which
are now being sponsored by Qualatex Balloons." To book visit:
www.qualatexballoons.co.uk.
28.8.10
Alakazam
Magic Bank Holiday Sale! 15% off your entire order! As a special
Summer treat and as a way of saying 'thank you' for all your orders and
support Alakazam Magic are offering everyone 15% off all orders placed
over the Bank Holiday Weekend (Saturday, Sunday, Monday). You can still
use your Loyalty Points in conjunction with the discount code and you
will still be earning more Loyalty Points on purchases you make during
the sale! The all important coupon code to enter when ordering is:
'monster15' (without the quotes). Visit UK -
www.alakazam.co.uk USA -
www.alakazam-usa.com.
28.8.10
Charity
Fun Night for all the Family, in aid of Fleetwood Royalettes trip to
the USA. Saturday 28th August at The Legion, Fleetwood, from 7pm -
Midnight. £3 admission, on the door, featuring Chubbz (balloons,
close-up magic, game show, magic act), Disco inferno (Disco) and George
McDowall (sensational Michael Jackson tribute act) with other act to be
announced.
28.8.10
Kidabra.
Eight entertainers went through to the semi finals in the children's
entertainers competition at the Kidabra convention in Pigeon Forge,
Tennassee, last week. Four made it to the final including England's
Julie Carpenter (photo). Julie performed a traditional set of children's
effects and used a new animatronic Teddy bear instead of a puppet,
YouTube. The winner was American Tommy James. Jimmy Carlo,
Dave Andrews and John Kimmons all performed in the gala show.
28.8.10
Richard
Leigh launches a new website to coincide with the start of his 13th
season of Magic and Illusion shows in London which runs from 1st October
2010 - 2nd January 2011. Shows include The Magic Cavern, The Magic
Cavern Christmas Show, The Side Show of Wonders, Late Night Magic and
also the return of Jay Fortune's Magick and Mayhem show. A special day
of shows for Halloween is planned and the long awaited return to the
West End of one of the strangest magic shows you will probably ever see,
The Twilight Ballrooms, featuring the infamous and notorious 'Malcolm
Marvelle - Master of Mystery and the lovely Rita'. The Magic Cavern
heads into its 8th year at The Barons Court Theatre (every Sunday at
3.00pm. Booking to 17th April 2011). Richard has three shows scheduled
as part of this year's Magic Moments Day. Full details at the new
website
www.falseimpressions.co.uk and a new website for The Twilight
Ballrooms
www.thetwilightballrooms.co.uk.
28.8.10
News
Flash from Magic Nevin... For a limited time only MagicNevin.com are
having a half price sale on all flash papers, flash pads, flash cotton
(wool), flash cord and flash notes. That's 50% off! Visit
www.magicnevin.com
today (select 'Fire Magic').
28.8.10
Marc
Spelmann was seen by millions of television viewers across Indonesia
on channel RCTi on a magic show filmed live for the channel's 21st
anniversary last week. Marc performed alongside seven other magic acts
including, Omar Pasha, JC & 'Magic Babe' Ning, Peter Marvey, Deddy
Corbuzier, Romy Rafael, Limbad and Joe Sandy.
28.8.10
Magician
and mind reader Chris Stokes will be bringing his own special brand
of supernatural illusion to one of Staffordshire's most haunted
locations this Halloween. Chris has been hired to conduct two days of
Ghost Tours at Stoke-on-Trent's Gladstone Pottery Museum on October 29th
and 30th and he's promised ghost hunters a genuinely unnerving
experience! Said Chris: "Gladstone has a long history of unexplained
sightings and even featured on an episode of TV's 'Most Haunted'. It's a
perfect location for Halloween ghost tours and I will be using my
knowledge of magic, illusion and story-telling to create some really
spooky effects. There'll be no room for typical Halloween props, like
plastic skeletons and rubber bats. I want to make this an unnerving
psychological experience that visitors won't forget." For more details,
contact the museum, or email
info@chrisstokesmagic.co.uk.
www.chrisstokesmagic.co.uk.
28.8.10
Extreme
Clowning (JJ Lucia-Wright) will be performing live magic especially
adapted for people with a dual sensory loss (Deafblind, both deaf and
blind) at the Acquired Deafblindness Conference 2010 Denmark. JJ emails:
"My act will consist of magic for hearing sighted - followed by the same
tricks adapted and demonstrated with Jimmy my assistant who is both deaf
and blind - and then finally shown on a one-to-one basis to over 50
deafblind members of the audience. This is an honor to be able to bring
back magic to so many people who may no longer have access to it, or who
even may have never experienced it before. The research for this has
been done over a period of years at the Blackpool Convention by myself
and my small team. These trips have been funded by Uri Geller, The David
Berglas Foundation, Derren Brown, and Beard Magic. I am always on the
look out for any unwanted magic (not card tricks) - so I can recycle it
and adapt it and use in my act, so if anybody would like to donate any
magic please email me at
instantmash@hotmail.com. I am particularly after magnetic linking
rings, magic funnel, and the bell that rings and then doesn't ring when
the audience member tries it!" JJ Lucia-Wright.
28.8.10
Magic
Night goes Mental on Friday September 17th... "With killer mind
reading, bonds of steel, the fastest predictive tune this side of a club
night, public mind control and a future you just can't escape from!"
Starring Chris Cox, Luke Jermay, Max Somerset, AJ Escapologist, and MC
Neil Henry. So come along to legendary Madame Jojo's, and see why Magic
Night continues to be one of the best contemporary cabaret nights on the
circuit - with incredible and cutting edge magic acts and some of the
best cabaret in town." Magic Night at Madame Jojo's in the heart of
London. Friday September 17th at 7.45pm (doors open at 7pm). Tickets:
£12 (or £22 including meal)
www.ticketweb.co.uk
or 08444 77 1000. Madame JoJo’s, 8-10 Brewer Street, London W1F 0SP (Map).
Tube: Piccadilly Circus.
020 7734 3040 - More info: www.magicnight.co.uk.
28.8.10
Beach
Magic. The Bournemouth Air Show attracts thousands of enthusiasts
every year. At this year's show Glen Neckles was invited to perform his
close-up magic live on TV. Working for Air Festival TV, Glen's studio
performances were seen live on numerous giant screens along
Bournemouth's seafront. "It was a real thrill to perform for so many
people simultaneously. I particularly enjoyed performing on the beach
for families and the big screen certainly added a new dimension to my
magic" said Glen.
28.8.10
Jack
Kodell. Jeff Pierce Magic is looking for video footage, photographs
and programs for inclusion in a autobiography of Jack Kodell, 'The
Original Bird Manipulator'. Jack Kodell played most major theaters in
the UK in the 50's along with a couple of appearances on British TV. If
you have anything please contact Jeff Pierce direct at
jeffpiercemagic@aol.com.
(Photo: On the cover of
Genii, March
1957).
28.8.10
MagicWeek
links. To add a MagicWeek banner and link to your website - see the
MagicWeek Banners page,
Click Here.
28.8.10
"The
Illusionist - In homage to Jacques Tati, French animator Sylvain
Chomet has crafted an exquisite, gently comic and elegiac film"
Click Here • "Pete Firman - Jokes And Tricks"
Click Here • "Magician Rob wows audience with spot-on
prediction trick"
Click Here • "Mike Weatherford: Magician gets a little help
from friends"
Click Here • Gordon Astley sends on the happy news that
following treatment Tom Mullica is now free of leukemia • There's
more Eastbourne convention news this week from British Ring PRO Bob
Hayden,
Click Here • Geoff Newton's Mathematical lecture is reviewed by
Stuart Brown this week,
Click Here • Ultimate Reflections by Tony Griffith is reviewed
by A E Smith this week,
Click Here • "Jillette Splits With Long-Time Companion "
Click Here • That's it! Please remember the strict 12 noon
Friday deadline for all news submissions - see you next week, Duncan.
28.8.10