12 days of Christmas - the final day!

In the run up to Christmas 2012 I take great pleasure in sharing with friends, colleagues and contacts a selection of fine magic tricks and Christmas cracker jokes that have the groan control turned up to at least 11. 

Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman MIMC (Member of the Inner Magic Circle) says that jokes have to be bad jokes because it is impossible to tell a joke that will appeal to all age groups within the family; with bad jokes, however, it becomes a case of ‘us against the joke’, so it unites everyone.  So if it has to be bad jokes, you might as well go for the best bad jokes available – which are all available for the legendary Tommy Cooper.  Finally, a tip: Jokes from the Cooper canon do not have to be told or read in a Tommy Cooper voice, but it often helps!

A trick from a member of The Magic Circle and a joke from Tommy Cooper will be posted here every day in the run up to the Christmas break, so keep coming back and have a terrific festive break.

Nick 

Day 12 - Hans Klok – with an abundance of Las Vegas-style illusions

This is the sort of thing for which you normally have to go Las Vegas, but this year Hans Klok brought his show to London and visited us at The Magic Circle on his night off.

As he seeks to break a record for the number of illusions performed in a fixed time, there is almost too much magic going on to take it all in. 

Have a very happy Christmas!

I said to the waiter: "This chicken 
I've got is cold". 

He said: "I should think so. It's been dead for two weeks". 

"Not only that", I said, "It's got one leg shorter than the other". 

He said: "What do you want to do, eat it 
or dance with it?" 

12 days of Christmas Magic - Day 11

Day 11 - David Copperfield defies the Death Saw

–      probably my favourite illusion

I don’t normally approve of magic that plays of the possibility of anyone getting hurt, but this is extraordinary and combines scary drama with playfulness.

Two are cannibals eating a clown.  

One says to the other: 

“Does this taste funny to you?”

12 days of Christmas Magic - Day 10

Day 10 – Piff the Magic Dragon – magic with comedy and a persona

One of the most memorable moments of Penn & Teller’s ‘Fool Us’ TV series was the night that Piff the Magic Dragon stole the show and rapidly went to win an even bigger audience on YouTube.

Piff is the alter ego of John van der Put, a former winner of The Magic Circle’s Close Up Magician of the Year, who went from jobbing magician to internet and Edinburgh Fringe phenomenon when he combined his magical creativity with his skills in stagecraft to create Piff.

“Doctor, doctor I feel like a pair of curtains”.   

“Then pull yourself together”. 

Day 9 - Kevin James – a very modern take on ‘sawing in half’

As one of the classic illusions, we see a lot of sawing in half at The Magic Circle but, so far, not quite like this.  It’s quite extreme and just shows what you can achieve if you take a classic and bring it up to date.

The waiter brought me a lobster.  
I looked at it and I said: “It’s only got one claw”.  
He said: “It’s been in a fight”. 
I said: “Well get me the winner”. 

12 days of Christmas magic - Day 8

Day 8 - Shawn Farquhar

–      the magician with a cupboard full of international awards

Shawn Farquhar is a Canadian who has probably won more awards than any other magician – or so he keeps telling us! 

Here he performs his signature trick, which is another take on the Reformation theme.  When he visited The Magic Circle he told us that this was the trick that got him re-booked on a regular basis by one of the world’s richest men. (The parties were usually on the client’s yacht but apparently he had built a big house with a lot of Windows). Then he showed us how to do the trick – so I sometimes perform a version with a Tommy Cooper theme.

So I said to the taxi driver, 'King Arthur's Close'. 

He said, 'Don't worry, we'll lose him at the next set of lights' 

Day 7 - Guy Hollingworth

–      possibly the greatest card trick you will ever see

Known by magicians all over the world – and especially renowned in America and Japan - Guy Hollingworth now practices as a barrister, but is occasionally tempted out the Temple to work some close up miracles. 

One of my most memorable nights at The Magic Circle was appearing in the close up section of a Saturday night show – sandwiched between the great Ali Bongo and Guy.  He performed this, his signature trick, ‘Reformation’, which my wife - who generally hates magic - declared “the best card trick I’ve ever seen”.

I was cleaning out the attic the other day with the wife. 

Filthy, dirty and covered with cobwebs.... but she's good with the kids 

12 days of Christmas Magic - Day 6

Day 6 - Laura London – yes The Magic Circle has women members too!

As one of the most glamorous magicians around, Laura travels all over the world working her own brand of magic.  Recently she caused a bit of a stir at The Magic Circle by staging a show with a selection of her friends from the world of cabaret, including – for the first time at the Circle – burlesque dancers!

And the back of his anorak was leaping up and down, and people were chucking money to him. I said: 'Do you earn a living doing that?' 

He said: Yes, this is my livelihood.'