I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first magic convention in 38 years. Yes, really. (Teenage magician. Then did other things… drumming, standup. Came back to magic recently. That’s it in a nutshell.) So when I saw that The Magic Circle was holding its first-ever convention, I thought, ‘Why not?’
My last convention was the Northern Magic Circle’s Easter Parade in Harrogate, and I went along three years running, 1982 to 1984. I have mostly good, but hazy, memories of the event: I saw Alan Shaxon perform and lecture (eagerly getting his autograph as a fresh-faced teenager); enjoyed some good close-up; and I remember a magician showing me a card spring in the bar before the evening show – the first time I’d seen someone do it. Yep, those heady days before YouTube when you didn’t often see things like that. Good times.
So, all these years later, I found myself collecting my ‘tote welcome bag’ and lanyard at London’s Magic Circle. Their Euston headquarters is a great venue. Memorabilia and posters everywhere, a bust of David Devant, glass display cases containing Robert Harbin’s original Zig-Zag illusion, Tommy Cooper’s fez, and even the straitjacket used by Tony Curtis in the 1953 movie Houdini.
Heading up the spiral staircase to the theatre, this was where the meat of the convention took place (lectures and the gala show), and, because of its modest size, numbers were limited, so the whole event never felt cramped; and the dealers were housed in the next-door Wesley Hotel, where magicians were free to use the bar and sit around jamming.
For me, the day’s stand-out lecturers were Nikola Arkane and Marc Oberon. Nikola’s in-depth thoughts on presenting her magic – her theatrical background coming into play here -as well as her use of misdirection and insights into the thought process of putting together routines, were inspirational. And some of Marc’s mentalism … wow! A spectator names any English city (there are 53, according to the book of knowledge … Wikipedia). Marc has one envelope in his inside pocket containing one piece of paper. And, yes, it has the correct city written on it. Outstanding. Literally.
Lectures were interspersed with tours of the MC headquarters, presentations (Martin and Georgia from International Magic were made Members of the Inner Magic Circle) and, of course, visits to the dealers – one of whom was The Great Kovari. I remember him doing his sawing-in-half illusion on the Jonathan Ross show, many moons ago. Good to see him still going strong. Other notable attendees included Terry Herbert and John Lenahan; the latter plucked from the audience during Tom Stone’s lecture to take part in a trick.
The evening’s gala show, hosted by Michael J Fitch, “smashed it out of the park”, as they say. Marc Oberon was polished and classy; Ryland Petty put in a fine performance well above his years; Nikola Arkane had great style (I love her cups and balls routine); Tom Stone’s ‘Whose box is this?’ routine (as seen on Fool Us) still has me scratching my head; Alan and Kat Hudson performed together, and their talking-in-unison bit was very funny; Contortionist Yogi Laser was, well, bendy; and Marc Spelmann … OK, check this out. He borrowed a deck from an audience member (who happened to be SAM president Rod Chow). Rod was asked to spread the deck on a table and choose a card by sliding it out and peeking, like a poker player. He then pushed the card back and squared the deck. Marc then put the deck in his pocket, and, after an entertaining bit of mind reading, knew the card. Mind blown. With a borrowed deck! Borrowed I tell yer!
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. The only disappointment was that expert card technician Richard Turner, who was due to appear, had to cancel. But never mind. Maybe next year, eh?
Great Passion for Magic! I also admired that you tried other careers but in the end you still went with what you love. I also love magic and am still a magician up to now! Cheers!
Thanks Scott, much appreciated! Yes, maybe Blackpool and the Session are on the cards now! [Paul]
What a beautiful description of the convention! Lovely to read the personal info at the beginning and a brief description of some of the events. Could have done with more! It certainly made me wish I’d been able to attend.