The Magic Circle Centenary

[magicam]

Just got back from London and experienced this event. Had a great deal of fun, spirits were high, but only got to be there for 1 1/2 of the 5 days.

Richard Kaufman and others who were there for the full five days. Any chance of a recap from someone who experienced the whole enchilada? Certainly a worthy thing for this forum, I would think.

Clay

[Q. Kumber]

The funniest part was Rodney Piget, an English magician based in Spain convinced the staff of The London Pub (part of the hotel complex) that Bill Palmer was in fact the King of Switzerland.

There were no competitions and no lectures as we know them (here's a trick and here's how you do it).

Instead you had full one hour performance sets by Steve Cohen, Marc Salem, Johnny Thompson, Juan Tamariz, Ali Bongo, interviews with legends like Charles Reynolds, John Calvert, presentations by Guy Hollingworth and Jim Steinmeyer.

The four gala shows lasted on average four hours and if they suffered at all it was from a surfeit of excellence. The Thursday night show received five standing ovations (very unusual for British audiences).

At the Saturday night closing party complete with buffet, drinks and thousands of balloons, Alan Shaxon announced that the party wasn't over until the fat lady had sung. He then introduced the fat lady, an opera singer to close the celebration.

[Pete Biro]

Can't wait for full review.... I assume our leader will provide on in an issue of the Genii on paper.

[magicam]

Q -

Thanks for the thoughts and sorry I missed you. The short time I was at the festivities meant running around and doing the usual (alas) all-too-brief "hi's and bye's" to old friends and folks I'd corresponded with but never met in person.

Some random thoughts:

Paul Daniels and Ian Keable were hilarious as the MC's - or "Comperes" as they say in the UK - for the Saturday night Gala and the Collectors' Day shows, respectively.

It was great to see that the monstrous bombing events in London did nothing to dampen the spirits of the performers and attendees.

I really liked the Topas & Roxanne show on Friday night (only saw the second half), but thought that Roxanne didnt quite match the energy and stage presence of Topas.

Seeing John Calvert perform on Saturday night was quite moving and truly an inspiration. This was a man who bridged the gap of past and present for all of us and well deserved his standing ovation. During his performance I turned to my wife and told her that I hoped to be that active at the age of 74, let alone so active at Johns age of 94. Incredible...

There were probably very few dry eyes in the house after John Fishers Saturday night homage to Jay Marshall and after Jays son presented Lefty to The Magic Circle. That was the first time I saw footage of Jay and Lefty presented as a sort of video montage, from his younger days to his later years, and very enjoyable to see.

From my rather untrained eye, it seemed that some Saturday night performers bravely performed on a stage that wasnt perfect for their acts. This isnt meant as a criticism of the organizers in any way it would have been logistically overwhelming and would have created major discontinuity had multiple venues been used. Rather, its meant as a nod to the performers who showed their dedication by doing their best to adapt to the situation presented them. Along those lines, my heart went out to Dani Lary, for it seemed obvious (to me at least) that his illusion show was better suited to a larger stage.

It was nice to see that the USA was well represented at the Centenary. Folks from many other countries also attended, so it felt like a truly international event.

Clay

[Oliver Corpuz]

Just wanted to say it was an amazing event that I feel very lucky to have been a part of.

It not only was an international group of participants, but many legends and top working pros were in attendance.

John Archer, when doing his comedy magic act, joked and said something like "Pardon the nerves, its the first time I've been in a show where the audience is more famous than the headliners."

[Matthew Field]

I'm still exhausted from the great experience of the Centenary. I saw many old friends from New York including Jamy Ian Swiss, David Kaye, Angelo Carbone (I met him in NY), Michael Chaut and Mark Setteducati, and I got to spend lots of time with my dear old buddy Richard Kaufman, whom I haven't seen in a couple of years.

I'm sorry I missed meeting Quentin Reynolds, who I most wanted to shake hands with.

The shows were extraordinary, the Guy Hollingworth and Jim Steinmeyer lectures unbelievable. Seeing Tommy Wonder and Juan Tamariz sent a shiver through my spine.

Performances by Paul Daniels, Mark Raffles, Johnny Thompson, Ali Bongo, Mac King, Marc Salem, Alex Elmsley and Norm Nielsen were some of the highlights for me.

But I will never, ever forget sharing the stage with Alan Alan, Billy McComb, Peter Reveen, Cesareo Pelaez and Silvan. It was simply unbelievable to be up there with these men.

We're devoting the September Magic Circular to the centenary, and I know Genii will have some reportage as well.

Matt Field

[Glenn Farrington]

Due to a moving truck showing up over two weeks late, my family and I were not able to attend. Considering the tickets were originally acquired over two years ago and I've been counting down the days...no really, I've been counting down the days...to say that I was dissapointed would be putting it mildly. However, this was a huge representation of "family comes first" that I can put in my pocket until some day in the future my wife might accuse me of doing otherwise. Plus it's a good feeling that the ticket money went towards putting together a great convention for my fellow magi that wasn't hearing things like "sorry...but your stuff hasn't left Florida yet".

(this note was sent deep from the darkest remote corner underneath hundreds of boxes that have yet to be unpacked...send food)

[Pete Biro]

Lemme know when you hit town dude... (I'll go hide)! :cool:

[Guest]

Originally posted by Glenn Farrington:
Due to a moving truck showing up over two weeks late, my family and I were not able to attend. Considering the tickets were originally acquired over two years ago and I've been counting down the days...no really, I've been counting down the days...to say that I was dissapointed would be putting it mildly. However, this was a huge representation of "family comes first" that I can put in my pocket until some day in the future my wife might accuse me of doing otherwise. Plus it's a good feeling that the ticket money went towards putting together a great convention for my fellow magi that wasn't hearing things like "sorry...but your stuff hasn't left Florida yet".

(this note was sent deep from the darkest remote corner underneath hundreds of boxes that have yet to be unpacked...send food)

I too was forced to cancel upon hearing news of my father's illness. It would have been a once in a lifetime experience, but you only get one father.

[Bill Palmer]

Evidently, I was the only one not in on the joke.