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71st Annual Convention of the British Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians

Published Thursday 13 December 2007 at 11:45 by Elizabeth Warlock

There was magic in the air as several hundred magicians from both sides of the Atlantic gathered - and there was something for everyone, whether it be stage, close-up or children’s magic, with a variety of shows, competitions, lectures and workshops, all presided over by John Styles, that popular children’s magical entertainer and famed authority on Punch and Judy.

The big event is always the gala show on the Saturday evening, and it fell to TV star of magic Paul Zenon to make the most impression, with such items as the cut and restored microphone cord, the knife penetrating the coat of a member of the audience, and the pint of beer, which he swings around on a slender triangle without ever spilling a drop.

The Great Tomsoni & Co from America did a pseudo-Polish act in which doves were produced, a newspaper was torn and restored, and an abundant production of silk handkerchiefs and flags from a tube, all interspersed with both visual and spoken gags.

Winners of the 2007 British Ring Shield, High Jinx - a 16-year-old boy/girl duo - had candles and silks change colour, small lights travel between them, and performed two illusions, including the famous substitution trunk.

Vik and Fabrini, currently appearing at the Crazy Horse in Paris, played the part of a magician and human-robot assistant, who transformed a wand into a tie, vanished a drink in a magazine and then reproduced it, made a rubber chicken appear from a balloon and produced balls and paper coils from the mouth of the robot, before it was carried off at the end.

Murray Hatfield and Teresa from Canada provided some fast-paced illusions, with Teresa produced from boxes, suspended, as well as being shackled and cut into four pieces.

Unusually, there were four speciality acts - Erik Borgman, a football juggler, Dan Dunn, who, with a large canvas, painted the face of Elvis Presley, Les Bubb, with a variety of mime sequences, and Stringfever, an electrical string quartet from Las Vegas, which played through a medley of classical and popular music in vivace tempo, as well as giving a brilliant rendition of Ravel’s Bolero, with all four performers playing on one cello.

The show was emceed by Kevin King, and the Big Mac Band opened each half.

In other shows, New York magician Rocco performed some beautiful magic, including an effect with two small bowls of water which kept filling themselves regardless of how much he drank from them.

Michael Vincent magically made coins cross from one hand to the other, and Johnny Thompson made an egg appear and disappear from a small bag.

Bill Malone performed Sam the Bellhop, a wonderful story using a whole deck of cards, Gaeton Bloom broke a piece of thread into pieces and then restored it, Paul Dabek dazzled with his brilliant manipulations, Romany magically linked and unlinked steel rings, and David Williamson wowed everyone with his great comedy and clever magic.

Apart from lectures on the technical side of magic, Joanie Spina, a former adviser to illusionist David Copperfield, took an unknown magician through his act and advised improvements, and Paul Kieve, who has advised on a number of West End shows, including The Lord of the Rings, spoke of his interesting work over the years.

Steve Dela won the Close-up Competition for the second year running. He changed a ball into a glass of liquid, produced a bottle from a balloon and made coins appear and vanish. Coming a close second was the charismatic Alex Moffat, who performed effects with cards that seemed almost impossible.

There was a dealers’ fair, a ladies’ afternoon, featuring Roy Hunt on the Life and Times of George Formby, and informal late night shows headed by John Fealey, which were fun, magical and entertaining, as well as a banquet.

Our thanks must go to John Pye and his band of helpers, together with Paul Stone, in charge of the overall production, for bringing together so much talent.

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