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72nd Annual British Ring Convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians

Published Tuesday 30 September 2008 at 18:40 by Elizabeth Warlock

Las Vegas came to Eastbourne for the 72nd annual convention of the British Ring. Never in the history of this famous organisation have so many magic stars from Las Vegas appeared, varying from card flingers like Jon Armstrong and Jason England to the spectacular illusions of Kalin and Jinger.

Jeff Hobson is probably the best emcee in magic and his handling of the Gala Show was evidence of this. With his Liberace-style of dazzling jackets, he had the audience in gales of laughter between acts as he played his camp style routines with great comedy lines and wonderful facial and body movements, as only he can do them. But there was some clever magic like the chosen card in the mouth, the linking and unlinking of steel rings, and even some fire-eating. He is a great magical entertainer.

But there was much more in this show, like Jason Byrne, who produced and vanished birds in spectacular fashion - including a bird in a birdcage, rather in the style of the legendary Channing Pollock. There were doves, a parakeet from a balloon and even a duck to finish.

Norm Nielsen produced fans of cards and handfuls of coins, which he placed in a coin ladder, jingling and sparkling as they descended, and finally floated a violin, complete with bow.

Tony Chapek in a different kind of wizardry, who with a television set, interacted with the person on the screen producing some unique and brilliant magical effects with objects being passed back and forth through the glass. The climax came when he changed places with the guy on the screen. It was truly an eye-popping act.

For comedy, there was very funny Michael Finney, who still had six cards even though he kept throwing three away at each repeat, and performed a hilarious cut and restored rope routine.

Moving briefly from Las Vegas, there was light relief from magic with Royal Variety performer Raymond Crowe from Australia who made a borrowed jacket from the audience take on a life of its own by becoming his dancing partner, followed by hand shadows which had been brought from the 19th to the 21st-century.

Then there was the spectacular juggling of Claudius Specht from Switzerland, who performed amazing feats with cone-shaped cups and clubs, using seven at one point.

Finally, there were the illusions of Kalin and Jinger, which included the most mystifying cutting a woman in half, and one where Jinger was impaled with flaming spikes, only to disappear and reappear at the back of the theatre.

There was so much more to this convention - like the close-up and stage competitions won by John van der Put and Jonathan Shotton respectively, numerous shows that included Richard McDougall with a beautiful cigarette routine and his antics with a goose, the hilarious comedy of John Archer, Mark Raffles, cruise favourite Mel Mellers, and an hour with Spain’s finest magician, Juan Tamariz.

And of course there were lectures, including one by Geoffrey Durham, the man who started his career as the Great Soprendo but has since become known for his one-man theatre shows and numerous appearances on the television show Countdown. Here he imparted some his vast knowledge of magic and performing.

There was also a close-up gala show featuring Bob Kohler, who made a chosen card rise out of the deck even though it was completely encased in clear glass, and Nicholas Einhorn, who had coins appear and disappear at the flick of his fingers and a borrowed finger ring jump on and off a length of cord.

Other events included workshops, a banquet, Children’s Showtime at the Devonshire Park Theatre, collectors’ seminar and the usual marketplace of dealers selling tricks old and new.

Our thanks must go to British Ring president John Styles, secretary John Pye and Paul Stone who was responsible for booking the talent and overall production of the convention.

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