I've never had much dealing with magic. It's not a euphemism, it's not a story, it's just a statement. Sure, there were things that Fred (my oldest brother) used to do when we were kids, in terms of entertaining younger siblings. Holding a blanket up in front of himself in a door way and letting it fall, only to have vanished as the fabric collapsed. The 'two little dicky birds sitting on a wall' thing, where the birds (which were sticky labels, in fact) would disappear from his fingertips, only to reappear moments later. Turning a metal bolt into a Wotsit or some such, which proved to be as edible as it looked.
Even though childhood TV had the famed Tommy Cooper and Paul Daniels, magicians were hardly commonplace. Later years saw individuals such as David Blaine, Derren Brown, and Dynamo: Magician Impossible garner more mainstream appeal. And while I'd watched segments of those shows here and there, it was never something I made a beeline for - entertaining as it was. So what changed?
It's a London thing.
The longer I live in the city, the more I want to see of it. Not only from an author point of view, because anything I experience firsthand makes for a more authentic narrative in the stories I write - but also from a personal point of view. Hell, I love the city (in case you hadn't guessed), so I'd want to experience more of it anyway. Live music, theatre ...and now, magic shows.
What social media has done recently is show more of the live entertainment that the city has to offer. And while live music is my go-to - even more than cinema now - I don't mind looking for something else. My social media feed has shown me a fair range of things, so when author and editor Colleen Anderson tells me that she'll be in town for a while ahead of next month's FantasyCon, it's an opportunity to show her around and watch something cool. My first choice for something to watch was actually Rhythm and Ruse, but all shows for the duration of Colleen's time here were booked up.
Which is where it pays to have a Plan B - especially since I did want to see some magic. Which lead me to The Magician's Table, up in London Bridge.
What I'm guessing is a theme here with such magic shows is that there's no photography or video allowed; not when there's a chance that repeated viewing/playback might actually peel back the curtain on how a trick is actually done. Do I believe in magic? No. Do I believe in sleight of hand, misdirection and NLP? Absolutely. But that didn't make the evening any less entertaining. Guess which of the three shells the pea is under. Pick a card, any card. Turn to any page in this book and pick the nth word. You get the idea.
As opposed to a conventional theatre (if you will) where everyone faces front, The Magician's Table has its performers do their thing at their table. The tables in question seat some 6 - 8 people, whether you all know each other beforehand or not. Bear this in mind if you're socially awkward; the flipside is that (from experience), it's a good way to meet people as the magic, mentalists and misdirection serve as icebreakers. If I had one particular bone of contention, it's that the establishment doesn't serve food. Which led me to scouring the neighbourhood to finally find a backstreet deli that charged £8 for a salmon, avocado and fish finger sandwich.
At least Rhythm and Ruse appears to serve food, albeit 'snacks.' One to bear in mind for future reference.
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