Tim Shoesmith UK Magicians Blog

Here are another couple of reviews from Edinburgh.

 Barry and Stuart

Barry and Stuart original as ever, well possibly influenced by a Derren Brown special or two but still clearly their own work. Suffered from the lack of a proper black out, the exits signs were left on, presumably due to health and safety. Still moments to laugh and scream at were both in abundance. Another solid Edinburgh show with no hint of old material.

Barry and Stuart were appearing at the Underbelly

Ali cook was a bit clunky between comedy and magic sections but the lines were hitting hard the night I was there. Clearly some money had gone into the show consequently some of the effects were incredible. The performances were slick and Ali always knows where he is going on stage. The final effect was a startling combining of two well know illusions unfortunately those off us at the back did not have a clear view but the impact was not lost on us.

Ali was appearing at the Gilded Balloon

Having spent five days at the Edinburgh Fringe, I thought I would post a few reviews of the shows that I saw.   There was a lot of magic this year, all with good houses, so it appears magic is not dead.  Even the great Gazzo was to be found performing on the street this year.  With over 2,000 shows to choose from I was greatly encouraged to see how well magic was received.  The first two shows I have reviewed here are Pete Firman and Paul Zenon, both established acts with good producers but up and coming acts were also present this year.

Pete Firman

Pete Firman is sharp in every way; the suite, the look, the comedy and the magic are all blended perfectly. His start is very confident, with strong gags and comedy persona, the audience are immediately put at ease. Yes it is a little. “old school” and probably not to everyone’s taste but the delivery is excellent.

Although the pace did drop in the middle section of the show, his audience is still on side. Pete gets a great deal out of very little, tricks that are bland in other magician’s hands come alive in his.

Last year Pete was in a much bigger space, I preferred this more intimate venue. It’s not that his character can’t fill the larger auditorium it’s just that he is very good when directly relating to the crowd, something that was difficult last year.

For me there was more imagination and originality in this years offering. He finished with the paint ball bullet catch, which got audible gasps. Shamelessly engineering an encore he followed this with his tongue in cheek rope trick set to cheesy music. A really fun hour!

Pete is at the Pleasance Dome for another couple of nights

Paul Zenon

Paul Zenon a seasoned comedy club professional seemed in his element in this low ceilinged basement bar. The magic was surprisingly strong for a stand up act and there were some nice comic interludes, my favourite commenting on airport security.

The tricks are well-constructed classics, chop cup, bill in lemon and card to impossible location. However the room never goes dead during a trick, he is able to weave comedy and magic seamlessly.

He handles microphone, stand, trick and helper with ease. The climax was his familiar pint on pool triangle, finishing by downing the drink in one, the best applause cue of the fringe.

Paul Zenon is at the Fringe al Le Monde for two more nights.

A few weeks ago I was asked to perform at The Conference Awards  hosted by Ruby Wax.  This is a prestigious award ceremony covering all aspects of event organisation held at the Artillery Garden at the HAC in London.  With 120 entries for 14 awards and over 400 people attending it was a vibrant afternoon.  Ruby was perfect and there was some great entertainment including the magicians of course.

No doubt event organisation has been hit by the recession but on this particular afternoon it was hard to believe.

A few weeks ago I was asked to join the team of examiners at The Magic Circle, which I was delighted to accept.  Prospective members are asked to attend an interview and if successful are invited to perform at the Head Quarters before those members who arrive early for the evenings meeting.

Three magicians mark the candidate on different aspects of performance and like any other examination if the pass mark is reached they are invited to join.  I remember going through the process some years ago and it is definatly an experience that I wasn’t likely to forget.  It’s rather like a driving test, at the time you feel terrified but years later you wonder what all the fuss was about.  Performing for magicians is one of the hardest environments in which to work, I’m glad to say members do try and behave in a supportive way.

 I’m looking forward to meeting new up and coming magicians in the months to come.

I was lucky enough, or funny enough, to get through to the Final of the Bedfordshire New Comedian of the Year last month.  The semi-finals took place at comedy clubs in the area; mine was at The Pad in Luton.  Comedy competitions are always tricky with an audience judging one comedian against another, which creates a rather tense and unnatural atmosphere.

Still I enjoyed the experience and was delighted to get into the Final.  It makes a change from magic where you are confined by the effects you perform.  With comedy you can talk about anything you like as long as it’s funny.  For ten minutes I talked without a magic trick in my hand and found it quite liberating.  I don’t think I will be leaving the props at home though, I have been a professional magician for twelve years now and it is certainly my true vocation.

Unfortunately I was unable to make the final due to prior commitments.  It took place at the Luton Arts Festival on the 30th of April.  I don’t know the results but there were a number of talented young comedians in my heat with a future in this tough but rewarding art form.

I have been booked to perform at a number of trade shows.  These jobs require a considerable amount of preparation and the hours can be long but I have found them very rewarding.  Most companies do not consider the option of using magic to advertise or promote their company which is a shame because when done correctly it can create a unique and powerful message.

This link  shows how KLM (with the help of an excellent magician) modernised a classic of magic to create a profound and lasting image relating to their company.

There are two questions that a professional magician is likely to be asked while working.  The first is “how did you get into magic?”  The second is “are you a member of the magic circle?”  People are very interested in the mechanics of The Magic Circle and the way that people gain admission to this rather secretive organisation. 

A rather interesting article appeared on the Internet this week, which gives many insights into this historic clan.  In it I found that I was one of only 300 members of The Inner Magic Circle.  The full article can be found here.

This week I attended a meeting at the Watford Association of Magicians, my local magic club. The evening was entitled “Desert Island Tricks”; the basic premise is similar to Desert Island Disks. The magician is asked which tricks he would take with him, were he to be marooned. There was a certain irony, given that several members were absent due to the volcanic dust hovering above, although as far as I’m aware none were actually stranded on a small island.I have to say neither records nor tricks would be on my mind if I was to find myself in such unfortunate circumstances but it provides the forum for a relaxed anecdotal evening.

On this occasion Terry Seabrooke interviewed Jack Delvin the president of The Magic Circle. Jack is very relaxed and with over sixty years of professional experience had some great stories to tell. His tricks included the linking rings and sympathetic silks, two classics of magic.

For those magicians browsing the site Terry Seabrooke is selling off a vast collection of books at the moment, a full list can be found at www.terry-seabrooke.co.uk

I’ve been off cruising again, flying into Lisbon on the 4th of April and leaving on the 9th from Palma. I was aboard the Wind Surf  a lovely ship with a capacity of 300 passengers and 160 crewe. 

This was a great little cruise, the boat is small and personable and the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful.  Mark Cotter was a great cruise director, making contact with me each day to make sure everything was ok.  With one cabaret magic show and a close up performance it was a relaxing week and I met some really nice people.

This was the first time they had a magician on the boat so the crew and guest were equally as enthusiastic.  I was a little sick on the first day, it is a few months since my last cruise and I had to get my sea legs again.

I also managed to spend 20 Euro’s on four envelopes and a bottle of water in Tangier! That’s what happens when you have a clever guide and no knowledge of currency of language.

During one of my Christmas Cabarets I got a teenage boy up to help, he was typical for his age and consequently was both fun and challenging at the same time.  As he went back to his seat he whispered to me, “Did I win?”

It occurred to me that he must have felt our time on stage together was an intellectual duel, for which there must be a winner and a looser.  As a performer I had never felt this way, always trying to make the performance a partnership rather than a contest.

It is hard to create this shared experience in cabaret, much easier in close up magic.  Most magicians are well mannered and although there was a trend whereby the performer constantly tried to embarrass their subject this is now considered to be old fashioned.

However the anxiety with which most members of the public stand on stage can lead to aggression and it takes a considerable amount of experience to deal with this little problem.  I hope my teenage helper didn’t win but I also hope I didn’t win either.  As in real life a fight is hard to ignore but for most impossible to enjoy.