The Magic Circle

To see magic in London this good you need to go to the Magic Circle

Just like comedians everyone loves a magicians, so why then aren't there lots of magic clubs in central London? I've been doing this blog for a while and I still don't know the answer. Thankfully though the Magic Circle is based in London and their Autumn / Winter season is starting.

What this means is you’ll be able to see some of the best magicians in the country perform right here in central London at the Circle’s headquarters.

Update Oct 2011: This close-up magic will leave you shaking your head..

Update Dec 2011: The Magic Circle know how to look after Londoners

Update Jan 2012: Where to take a date in London...

3guysonalondonbus.com

The Secret is Out!

On the 1st June 2011, a new kind of mystery will be unleashed on the magical Mediterranean island of Malta. Marvelous Magician, Mr. Matthew Wright (former Magic Circle Magician of the Year and current International Champion of Close-up Magic) is set to wow locals and holiday-makers alike in an all-new evening dinner/theatre show held in the old cellar dungeon beneath famed restaurant Razzett L-Antik 1743 in Qormi.

The evening dinner show, which will start with a three course meal of the finest traditional Maltese cuisine accompanied by free-flowing wine will finish with a truly astonishing display of magic, mind-reading, illusion, comedy, singing and puppetry- all in the intimate setting of the custom designed mini theatre. 

Matthew, who is a student of Las Vegas headline magician Jeff McBride, said, “I have performed at or visited many of the greatest magic venues in the world and I aim to take that experience and put it all together to create what I hope will become one of the greatest close-up magic shows in the world. As soon as I came here to Malta and walked into what has now become known as the “Chamber of Secrets” I knew that it was possible. There have been so many friends who have believed in this project and helped along the way and I have been amazed by how generous and supportive the people of Malta have been about the whole thing.”
The Chamber of Secrets is a small intimate 36 seater theatre allowing for a real up-close experience for everyone. Some of the amazing feats you are likely to witness include, dazzling sleight-of-hand card and coin tricks, lottery predictions, items levitating, money materializing right before your eyes and Eugene- the world’s greatest mind-reading puppet!

Reservations are now being taken for the summer of 2011. Please visit www.chamberofsecrets.eu or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  for more details

It’s quite a rare thing for him to give out the certificate .. he just does it when he feels he wants to recognise somebodyA magician has been honoured by the leader of The Magic Circle for his services to the prestigious group. Michael Gurr, 70, was presented with a certificate from president of the group Jack Delvin on Monday evening in recognition of his eight years service.

He said: “Jack had told me he would be giving the certificate to me, so when it was presented to me it wasn’t a shock.  But when he told me it was massive surprise. It’s quite a rare thing for him to give out the certificate, it’s not an annual award that he gives out, he just does it when he feels he wants to recognise somebody. So I was really chuffed, it was a great honour.”

You can read the full article at - Bedford Today

The 90 minute spectacular threw down the gauntlet to every aspiring magician in the UK to perform their most mystifying trick to fool Penn & TellerMagic Circle members Ali Cook, Michael Vincent and John Archer all featured on ITV1’s prime-time TV show ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us’ on January 7 and John Archer is on his way to join the duo in their Las Vegas show as a result

Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the 90 minute spectacular threw down the gauntlet to every aspiring magician in the UK to perform their most mystifying trick to fool Penn & Teller. The Las Vegas legends had no prior knowledge of either the performers or the planned trick. They sat in the audience just like everyone else, watching every move the guest magicians made.  They promised that if any magician managed to fool them they would win a five star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in their world famous show at the Rio Hotel & Casino.

Prior to the show Penn said: “Nothing would give me or Teller more pleasure than to hand over Vegas tickets to someone – anyone – who has the nerve to stand in front of us, monkey with us, leave us baffled and ultimately blow us away with their brilliance. That would be a dream. We SO want that to happen! Magic is always evolving with different performers constantly innovating. We believe there are performers out there who can do it so we've sent out this challenge. And if they can fool us we're taking them to Vegas to perform!”

Only two of the featured magicians managed to fool Penn & Teller and one of them was Magic Circle member – and previous Magic Circle Stage magician of the Year – John Archer.  John performed a very funny routine in which audience members were offered a free choice from a bunch of envelopes, one of which contained £100 in cash.  Penn & Teller racked their brains to find a solution but eventually had to admit defeat and issue the Las Vegas invitation.

Congratulations John!.

The Magic Circle worked closely with Qi's production team to research and construct questions for the showThe BBC brings magic to our TV screens this Christmas Eve with help from the Magic Circle, as the special festive edition of Qi focuses on the topic of ‘Hocus Pocus’.   Daniel Radcliffe is the special guest contestant alongside comedians Graham Norton, Lee Mack and Alan Davies, and special contributions come from Vice President of The Magic Circle Scott Penrose.

The Magic Circle worked closely with Qi's production team to research and construct questions for the show.  Two of the Qi’s ‘Question Wranglers’ toured The Magic Circle HQ, meeting with key representatives including Museum Curator Lionel Russell, Archivist David Hibberd and Librarian Peter Lane.  They were looking for history, characters and quirks for the show in which host Stephen Fry awards points for being interesting rather than necessarily being correct.   Having worked out a format, Vice President Scott Penrose met with the producers to re-create one of the tricks discussed by the contestants and also to provide special illusions for the show’s climax.

Says Nick Fitzherbert, PRO of The Magic Circle: “I can’t reveal too much because Stephen Fry swore us all to secrecy and, of course, they always film much more than ends up in the edited version.  However, the Question Wranglers with whom we worked were truly thrilled in the green room afterwards, saying they believe it is probably the best edition of Qi they have ever made and one that everyone will be talking about for a long time afterwards.  What I can report is that Daniel Radcliffe held his own among the comedians, certainly knew his magic and charmed everyone over drinks afterwards.”

‘Hocus Pocus’, Qi’s Christmas special is broadcast at 9.30pm on BBC 1 on Christmas Eve.  The extended edition goes out on BBC 2 at 10.30pm on Wednesday December 29.

Magic is constantly changing, with performers creating bigger and better tricks to impress us. Times have changed since a magician produced a startled rabbit out of top hat with a puff of smokeBBC Radio Four today presented a program entitled ‘Magic People and Places’, the program featured prominent members of The Magic Circle, including the late Patrick Page & Ali Bongo and our current President Jack Delvin MIMC.

Magic is constantly changing, with performers creating bigger and better tricks to impress us. Times have changed since a magician produced a startled rabbit out of top hat with a puff of smoke.

Today we expect more, and the modern magician apparently does the impossible before our eyes. But spare a thought for where the trick came from. How did the magic get there?

Presenter John Sugar does not reveal any trade secrets - like how to saw a woman in half, or the best way to float in the air - but we do hear how the sale of magic has changed, with the impact of the internet and the way conventions are developing new environments for its promotion and sale.

The programme also hears about the leading magic shops and studios of 60 years ago, revealing the characters who created the magic. Today, magic revolves around the internet and magic conventions. The key gathering is in Blackpool in late February. The programme visits the 58th Magic Convention, attended by 3500 magicians.

We speak to the organizers and the performers, and soak up the atmosphere. Discover more about the way magic is brought and sold in this engaging programme which celebrates the innovators, demonstrators, characters and studios who make sure magic continues to touch all our lives.

The program can be listened to via the BBC iPlayer Service

We asked Nick Fitzherbert, PRO of the Magic Circle, for an insight into this unusual world; he pulled some magical answers out of the hat.Nick Fitzherbert, PRO of The Magic Circle talks with Helen Soteriou from Londonist about our headquarters in London:

The Magic Circle, that famous club of magicians, has since 1998 enjoyed headquarters at 12 Stephenson Way, Euston, a cobbled street that has a touch of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell about it. Inside, a magnificent set of rooms houses a theatre, museum of illusion and members' library of around 10,000 books. The MC hosts regular events and tours for people interested in the history and future of magic. We asked Nick Fitzherbert, PRO of the Magic Circle, for an insight into this unusual world; he pulled some magical answers out of the hat.

You can read the full article at Londonist.com

Bedford performer wins The Magic Circle's Close Up Magician of the Year competitionBedford Today has a feature on Matthew Garrett, The Magic Circle Close Up Magician of the Year 2010.

It talks about the recent The Magic Circle Close Up Magician of the Year competition, in which Matthew was awarded the Devano Throphy.

You can read the article in full here