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Over the last few years, magic on UK TV has become very polarised. Whereas in the  second half of the last millennium magic on the box seemed to be restricted mainly to shows or series featuring individual magicians (David Nixon, Tommy Cooper, Paul Daniels, David Copperfield, David Blaine, Wayne Dobson amongst others), now a whole succession of wannabe stars are simply funnelled into either Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) or Penn and Teller: Fool Us (FU).

The advantage of the TV magic model in the last century for those who actually made it, was that they were able to dominate and for a time become the de facto television magician. The trouble was, there was little or no time on the TV schedules for many others to make an appearance, and even if they did, this rarely led to anything more than a fleeting moment in the spotlight.

Now in theory, the current formats of FU and BGT do seem to offer a much wider range of magicians the chance to strut their stuff. In the case of BGT, there’s an opportunity for a good performer to appear two or three times over a number of weeks and therefore become a bit more known to the general public nationwide.

Certainly, for any magician getting to the final, the exposure can lead afterwards to some lucrative work perhaps, even if the act doesn’t actually win. In fact there has only ever been one magician winner and that was Richard Jones in 2016, but there have been several magicians claiming 2nd and 3rd places over the years too.

Of course BGT pits magicians against all manner of other types of act, and sometimes novelty can top quality when it comes to the viewers’ votes, and the knockout format of the series inevitably means that some very good performers can be discarded by the jaded judging panel.

FU feels more like a proper magic show. Each magician is given a good amount of air time to perform and the underlying ethos of the show is arranged to help the acts do their best and look good rather than pitting them against other magicians. This feels to me a better balance than BGT where they are constantly looking to find reasons to get rid of acts.

The concept on FU of Penn and Teller apparently trying to work out how the tricks are done and then proving to the performer, usually by  way of somewhat coded revelations which seek to protect the actual secrets from the lay audience, is a bit strange, and in many ways it is reducing the performance right down to its method, stripping away all other elements, which is a pity.

However, over the years the accolade of having won the Fool Us award has been used by the recipients to create a validation for them as performers, and it is a prize that is far more recognised and which has far greater importance than any of the cups and trophies awarded within the magic world itself.

It is perhaps a mute point as to how many of those who achieve success in either FU or BGT go on to sustained success, but they do both offer far more acts the chance to show what they can do on mainstream television in a way that just simply wasn’t possible previously.

Our name is an extremely important and highly personal part of our lives. Normally we don’t decide on what our name will be (our parents usually take on that responsibility, of course), and even though entertainers may sometimes change their name to something more memorable, the name that we grow up with is the one that we identify with the most.

Despite the importance names have, it’s perhaps surprising that magicians often don’t make more of an effort to find out what their spectators are called, especially those who are required to help with the magic. It’s not that performers don’t ask their helpers, it’s just that having been told a spectator’s name, many entertainers then proceed to completely ignore it and fail to use it. Continue reading “Remembering And Using Spectators’ Names”

One of the most difficult jobs that any commercial performer faces is how to decide what to charge for his performances. There are so many potential factors to take into consideration when setting a satisfactory fee that it’s hardly surprising that people entering into it fresh will probably have no idea where to start.

Obviously there are factors from the entertainer’s point of view which have to be satisfied. His fee needs to cover his travel, general expenses and any other costs that the act might generate (such as consumables, for instance). Continue reading “Why You Should Never Try to Second Guess Acceptable Show Fee Levels”

Magic’s a bit weird, isn’t it? By its very nature, the events that a magician creates in front of his spectators are designed to fool and confuse the onlookers, plus set out to blatantly contradict the laws of normal reality.

The people who create these moments of wonder can initially appear totally ordinary, just an everyday person with no special abilities, and yet in a flash they can turn into this altogether different being who suddenly seems possessed with extraordinary powers. He or she may look the same but their behaviour is completely transformed. Continue reading “Magic’s A Bit Weird, Isn’t It?”

Whenever we perform magic, there are often a myriad of decisions, some tiny, others more fundamental, which we have to make. In isolation, each decision may not seem that significant, but I would suggest that the combination of many good choices can make a noticeable difference to us as magicians and to our show.

So that you can better understand what I’m getting at here, let me pose a number of options that require a decision to be made and explain briefly the potential thought processes that you might take in order to make a selection. Continue reading “Decisions, Decisions”

When you perform close up for lay people, the spectators sometimes get the chance to chat with you or ask questions. If they’ve really enjoyed the magic, one of the comments they often make is something along the lines of, “Oh, that was brilliant, you should be on television.” Or they ask, “Wow, amazing! Have you ever been on television?”

The assumption behind these comments or questions is that they believe that anyone who is any good at magic would automatically aspire to appear on TV, that the small screen (there’s a misnomer these days with the huge size of most people’s sets!) only features the best people and that therefore you must want to be on there. Continue reading “‘You Should Be On TV’”

Normally at the start of a new year many people like to have a think about the months ahead and to formulate some sort of plan for the year. Whether it’s booking holidays, resolving to be fitter or see friends more, or to get that job promotion, or to attend the local magic club more regularly, it seems to make sense to have some resolutions to work towards.

Until two or three years ago, although unexpected things happen in all of our lives from time to time, basically we knew with reasonable certainty what was likely to happen at various points in the year and we would make decisions based on those assumptions. Continue reading “Light At The End Of The Tunnel”

You will often read or hear influential magicians stress the importance of being original in your performances. The implication which you might draw from this is that if you haven’t infused your magic with unique elements, you have somehow failed or will never be considered a good entertainer.

However, being creative is not, in my view, the sole benchmark by which a magician should be judged, especially when a performer is primarily concerned with entertaining the lay public. Audiences can be just as well amused and impressed by a good performance of standard tricks, because they probably don’t realise, or indeed care, that in the magic world the material is considered hackneyed. Continue reading “Being Creative Does Not Have To Be Intimidating”

Before social media platforms existed, trying to get in contact with well known people, whether they were politicians, actors, singers or, of course, magicians, was often not easy. Telephone numbers, postal addresses and even emails early on were often concealed or only available through agents or other representatives of the important individuals concerned. This afforded these people a certain protection from the public. But social media has changed all that for ever. Celebrities quickly realised the potential benefits of having a high profile media presence, and some have relentlessly mined the medium to gather millions of followers and then expose them to their messages and influence. Continue reading “The Malaise That Affects Even Magic”

I am writing this just a few days after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth passed away, bringing to an end the longest serving period that any British monarch has ruled. No matter what view you hold about the Royal Family, it’s hard not to be impressed by the fact that for over 70 years she was head of state, representing her country on innumerable occasions and with a consistency and longevity that surely will never be surpassed.

There is something about a long passage of time that tends to impress, no matter what field of human endeavour it applies to. Even in magic we have great respect for performers such as Mark Raffles and John Calvert, both of whom defied the odds and performed longer than just about all other entertainers have managed. Continue reading “Is Longevity A Benchmark Of Success?”