Andy Taylor at the Magick Lounge

An impromptu video taken by one of the Loungers at last Saturday’s session at the UK’s leading magic emporium!

 

Hare-Brained Mentalism

Chris Hare: Mind Boggler

Chris Hare is an astounding entertainer who employs unique mind-reading techniques to great effect. The routines performed in his Mind Boggler show have been created Chris himself; you are unlikely to see them anywhere else. Recently at The Magic Circle a magician offered him £1000 for the secret of one of his mind effects.

The Mind Boggler show has entertained people all over the world. Chris has also made several television appearances and is the author of Sensational Memory.

By combining his technical skills with humour and showmanship Chris Hare is able to entertain and stun his audiences. Now you have the opportunity to learn from this world-class performer in the comfort of your own local Magick Lounge!

The Chris Hare Lecture is here at The Lounge, 82 Broad Street, Sheffield S2 5TG, on Thursday 19 January at 7.30 p.m.  Admission £10, or free to members in good or excellent standing of the Sheffield Circle of Magicians. Doors open at 7.07 as usual, but ring the secret bell if I’m still having my dinner.

Come and be boggled, entertained and educated… all for a tenner!

 

Bizarre Magick?

Had a phone call earlier today from someone commenting on the strange messages I’ve been getting on the About Magick section of this blog. (Click here to have look.) They seemed to be hinting that this was some peculiar publicity stunt I was engaging in. (Me… publicity?)

I can assure you that these are all genuine posts I have received. They’re doubtless produced by some kind of poorly designed blog-posting spambot and I should of course delete them immediately. Most of them I do delete, but some have been so odd that I thought I’d reply.

No answers yet though.

 

 

Peter Wardell at The Magick Lounge

Steve Faulkner’s monthly magic nights at the Greystones, Sheffield, continue to go from strength to strength. On Monday and Tuesday 28 and 29 November you can see a great triple bill featuring comedy magician Noel Britten, gentleman juggler Mat Ricardo and the multiple award-winning Peter Wardell. Tickets are available from www.stevesmagicshow.com.

Don’t shoot off to buy tickets just yet though, we’ve got more great news for you. On the Sunday night before the show nights, through the good offices of Steve Faulkner, the Lounge is hosting a lecture by Peter Wardell.

Peter is the Magic Circle Stage Magician of the Year 2010 and Close-up Magician of the Year 2009.  He is the only magician ever to achieve both titles. And 2001 he became International Close-up Magician of the Year. So he knows his stuff.

Peter’s lecture will cover a range of material suitable for close-up and cabaret magic performance. It’s sure to be an entertaning and informative evening that you’d be mad to miss.

The lecture is on Sunday the 27th of November here at The Magick Lounge, 82 Broad Street, Sheffield, S2 5TG. It starts at 7:30 p.m. It’s a Sheffield Circle of Magicians event, extra to the syllabus, so is free to SCM Members and £10 to visiting magicians.

 

Why Steve Loves Magic

Received an email earlier from the inimitable Steve Faulkner. I think it’s worth reproducing here:

Here’s why I love magic.

Yesterday, along with a few other magicians, I was lucky enough to be performing for the Sponsors and VIPs at the ‘Manchester United Vs Manchester City’ match at Old Trafford. It was great and everybody was lovely. We tend to perform in the suites before the match, at half-time, and for about forty-five minutes after the match.

It’s that forty-five minutes that I was dreading, when I saw that the score was 3-1. Then it got worse. As I was preparing for the post-match session, I was informed by a teary-faced waiter that the score was 6-1. I obviously asssumed I had misheard and there followed a repetitive conversation which pretty much went like this:

“6-1!”

“6-1?”

“Yes 6.1… I want to kill myself.”

“You’re joking… 6-1?”

“Worst defeat here since 1926.”

“6  F*^&)ing  1!?” etc….

I then stood outside the box of one of the main sponsors, AON and was asked if I could “go in and cheer them all up”?

Brilliant.

I prepared, thought of my family, and went in. Now of course everybody was in a terrible mood and I was greeted with the usual, “If you’re that good can you change the score!?” I was honest and said something along the lines of, “If I was that good, I wouldn’t be standing here. Lovely as you are.” That got a bit of a laugh and broke the atmosphere a little.

I then went into the magic and the unexpected happened. They loved it. They laughed, gasped and reacted in the usual way that one would expect from good, strong magic (if I do say so myself). But more importantly, they forgot. For that eight or so minutes they forgot about the heartache, they forgot about the disappointment, and they pretty much forgot about everything. And when it comes down to it, isn’t that the point of entertainment? Whether it’s magic, comedy, dance, theatre, movies, Coronation Street or opera, we need those sacred moments when we forget. It’s easy to get jaded when you are a performer as we get so used to doing what we do. So I’m glad I’m a magician.

It’s nice.

Just a little shared thought.

Steve

A good thought to share. Thanks Steve. (Couldn’t you have cheered them up by reminding them that it’s just a game after all…?)

 

Memory Lane…

Recently moved some boxes from storage and in going through them I came across several packs of old photographs. There are quite a few taken at various magic conventions and events I’ve attended over the years. I’ll probably post the odd one here from time to time as I have a moment to scan them. Here’s one of me giving some up-and-coming magician a few tips on his cup-and-ball routine…

 

Mysteriosa Miscellanea

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A few frame-grabs from the video of Ashton Carter’s Mysteriosa presentation at The Magick Lounge.

 

Things That Go Bump In The Lounge

It’s been a busy few weeks here at the Lounge with the IBM British Ring Convention and magical vistors from Germany and Canada, but more of that later. For now, a quick reminder that we are hosting an appropriately seasonal performance and lecture by Andy Cooper under his stage persona of Ashton Carter on Thursday 6 October.

Ashton will be presenting his Mysteriosa show and then talking through some of the effects and presentations. The show has been well received by audiences around the country including several nights in a London theatre and is Andy’s own take on Bizarre and Storytelling Magic.

Ashton Carter takes you on a strange journey into the paranormal and the bizarre. Blending storytelling, magic, theatre and illusion, Ashton will raise goose bumps and send shivers down your spine. Could you be the most psychic member of the audience? How do you gain entry to the most secret of secret societies? Can a bell really foretell disasters? Where did Ashton’s Great Great Aunt meet her final moments? All will be revealed by this spooky entertainer. Warning: Contains dark humour and may make you question reality!

Start time is 7.30 pm at The Magick Lounge, 82 Broad Street, Sheffield, S2 5TG.  Admission £10, but free to Sheffield Circle members.

 

Parodic Grandeur for Magic Monday

A little while ago  I mentioned Steve Faulkner‘s Monday Night Magic events at The Greystones in Sheffield. They continue to go from strength to strength. Here’s a recent audience pic (Loungers will probably recognise a few familiar faces).

The next show is on 19 September and features Rob James (award-winning sleight of hand), Jon Hicks (a true original), and Danny Buckler (international tv performer: “…An endearing air of parodic grandeur” -  Metro).

All in all a show not to be missed. Grab a ticket while you can. For more details see Steve’s new website (click here).

 

Learn How To Perform Magic Like Criss Angel!

“Learn How To Perform Magic Like Criss Angel and David Blaine..” Like most magicians with any kind of online presence I get loads of emails with this sort of heading. And I’m getting pretty sick of it. I have nothing again Messrs Angel and Blaine (in fact one of them has bought books from me in the past). It’s the sad concept behind the email headline that upsets me

It really is nonsense! Seems to me that if there’s a problem with magic today it is that people want to perform like Angel, Blaine, Dynamo, whoever… Surely those who take their teaching responsibility seriously should teach would-be performers to find their own style and ‘perform magic like’ THEMSELVES. There are already too many carbon copies of these people and not enough original artists.

Of course we all begin to develop an interest in our chosen art or craft because we are inspired by seeing leading performers. And perhaps it is natural at first to wish to emulate them. Although I would hope that, through our own good sense or the wise counsel of others, we quickly grow out of the ridiculous urge to copy them.

We can learn by watching the ‘stars’; and we should study them carefully. But we must aspire to move beyond copying their style or their tricks. We have our own particular strengths and weaknesses, our own character or persona. The character we play as a magician may not be our everyday self (all performers are actors to some extent?), but I would argue that it has to be grounded within and arise from ourself.

What do YOU think?

(PS. If anyone wants to learn to perform like Derren Brown, give me a ring. We’ve got a couple of books on NLP in the shop….)