The Stage

37th Annual International Magic Convention

Published Friday 5 December 2008 at 17:05 by Elizabeth Warlock

As so often with current trends, it was the magic of the close-up kind which dominated this convention.

There was the competition with a first prize of £1,000 which was won by Canadian Shawn Farquhar with the age old Cups and Balls where balls appear and disappear under the cover of upturned cups. But in this case, at the end the cups were found to be solid. There was Vittoria Belloni who made coins of every size appear and vanish at his finger tips, Matthew Wright tore a card into pieces and then restored it right in front of your eyes, Giacomo De Carlo even used football as his theme and had cards cavorting like a ball on the field and Von Scheibner did an instant change of the colour of the T-shirt he was wearing.

But there was some impressive stage magic as proved by the gala show emceed by that fine comedy magician Noel Britten, with some great gags and bits of business, like Soma from Hungary who made mobile phones multiply, appear and disappear, as well as tearing and restoring a newspaper. The international Peter Samelson borrowed a finger ring only for it to be revealed in a box that had been on display throughout, Red Hat made a cane change colour and produced a multitude of face masks and Andrew Goldenhersh produced coins, with help from a small child, as well as escaping from a straightjacket.

In a break from magic, Rod Laver unusually juggled with ping pong balls in his mouth and David Kaplan used lots of comedy as he had fun with a bowling ball and a balloon. Robert did a baffling mind-reading act with Emiel who, although blindfolded, was able to identify objects and even numbers on bank notes, as Robert moved around the audience requesting people to have a small item handy.

The star though had to be Rafael from Belgium who closing each half did a very fast costume change with his assistant, ending as bride and groom all in white. He also created a great illusion where his assistant was impaled by several swords in a clear box, a screen was placed around it, and almost instantaneously there was an exchange of characters with Noel Britten revealed in the box and Rafael running down from the back of the theatre.

Previously there had been lectures - a one man show with card gambling expert Richard Turner who, although almost blind, could do the most incredible sleights, cuts and card locations, and a comedy magic show which featured the very funny Phil Butler. No wonder he is a comedy club star.

An unscheduled event was the surprise appearance of Uri Geller as a guest of David Berglas who presented him with the award from the Foundation for Promoting the Art of Magic. But Geller also did a 45 minute question and answer session with the audience, ending with a video clip of his current television show called Successor, a type of X Factor show with which he is touring various European countries to find a star who will succeed him. The show includes many magicians, and one is planned for ITV next year with the finals being held in Las Vegas. He received a standing ovation.