Last week, a new magic show, The Next Great Magician, debuted on ITV1, hosted by magician and TV presenter Stephen Mulhern and Rochelle Humes, formerly a member of girl group The Saturdays. In The Next Great Magician, 30 magicians from around the world compete to gain a TV Special worth over £500,000. Each of the first five episodes will feature six magicians, who will perform a trick of their choice. After they have all performed, the six competitors will decide amongst themselves which of them will make it through to the Grand Final, to be held on December 11th.
The competitors in the first episode were:
- Escapologist and Daredevil Jonathan Goodwin
- Comedic Illusionist Duo Young & Strange
- Close-Up Magician Eric Jones
- Escapologist and Illusionist Ines
- Close-Up Magician Jordan Gomez
- Illusionist Xavier Mortimer
The Performances
Jonathan Goodwin - Over the years, Jonathan Goodwin has provided a variety of insane escapology stunts, including one where he escaped from sharks and one where he was almost hanged. However, for his performance on The Next Great Magician, he provided his signature routine.
Jonathan was placed in a straitjacket by a volunteer (The volunteer had been made to wear the straitjacket earlier, just to demonstrate how hard it is for a normal person to escape from one), before promising that he would provide "the most extreme version ever" of a straitjacket escape. Jonathan's legs were covered in flammable fuel, and he was dangled upside down in midair. Jonathan's assistant then set the lower half of his body on fire, and he had to escape from the straitjacket as quickly as possible in order to reach a nearby fire extinguisher. From the moment he was set on fire to the moment he reached the fire extinguisher, Jonathan took about 20 seconds to escape from the straitjacket, and managed to avoid suffering any serious injuries.
I have seen Jonathan Goodwin perform this stunt twice before, but it's always impressive to watch. Escaping a straitjacket whilst on fire adds a level of spectacle and danger which makes the routine even more memorable. In addition, the fact that Jonathan was able to escape the straitjacket so quickly highlights the fact he's a very skilled escapologist.
After they performed, the competitors were asked what tricks they would provide if they made it through to the Grand Final. Jonathan promised to perform a variation on the Bullet Catch with a live crossbow.
Jonathan was placed in a straitjacket by a volunteer (The volunteer had been made to wear the straitjacket earlier, just to demonstrate how hard it is for a normal person to escape from one), before promising that he would provide "the most extreme version ever" of a straitjacket escape. Jonathan's legs were covered in flammable fuel, and he was dangled upside down in midair. Jonathan's assistant then set the lower half of his body on fire, and he had to escape from the straitjacket as quickly as possible in order to reach a nearby fire extinguisher. From the moment he was set on fire to the moment he reached the fire extinguisher, Jonathan took about 20 seconds to escape from the straitjacket, and managed to avoid suffering any serious injuries.
I have seen Jonathan Goodwin perform this stunt twice before, but it's always impressive to watch. Escaping a straitjacket whilst on fire adds a level of spectacle and danger which makes the routine even more memorable. In addition, the fact that Jonathan was able to escape the straitjacket so quickly highlights the fact he's a very skilled escapologist.
After they performed, the competitors were asked what tricks they would provide if they made it through to the Grand Final. Jonathan promised to perform a variation on the Bullet Catch with a live crossbow.
Young & Strange - Before Young & Strange performed, they provided a pre-performance video explaining how they came up with their latest routine. In the video, Young & Strange received a call from the producers of The Next Great Magician, telling them that they couldn't participate because "we have enough people on the show". Reasoning that the producer didn't say anything about using animals, Young & Strange searched for a performing dog, and eventually found one wearing a fez. After training it in a variety of basic magic tricks, they decided to call this dog Houndini.
For their performance with Houndini, Young & Strange performed a variation on the Metamorphosis illusion. Young got into a box with Houndini, which was then shut. Next, Strange climbed on top of the box with a sheet. After a few seconds, he threw the sheet over his head, but when it fell,Strange seemed to switch places with Young and Houndini, who were now on top of the box.Young opened the box to reveal Strange inside it, and Houndini finished the routine by pressing a button on the floor which fired confetti into the air.
Young & Strange are very amusing magicians, and adding a dog to their act was a pretty interesting twist. However, the intro video was much better than the performance itself. The intro video featured a number of funny moments as Young & Strange searched for a dog to aid them, and managed to make their chosen pet perform basic mentalism and quick-changes. In contrast, the performance itself was probably the weakest of the episode. Young & Strange did not do enough to make a very old illusion seem fresh, and Houndini added little to the performance. Given that he is the most appealing aspect of Young & Strange's act, they should have given him a greater role, instead of making him seem like a mere prop.
After their performance, Young & Strange promised that if they got into the final, they would make Houndini fly through the streets of London.
For their performance with Houndini, Young & Strange performed a variation on the Metamorphosis illusion. Young got into a box with Houndini, which was then shut. Next, Strange climbed on top of the box with a sheet. After a few seconds, he threw the sheet over his head, but when it fell,Strange seemed to switch places with Young and Houndini, who were now on top of the box.Young opened the box to reveal Strange inside it, and Houndini finished the routine by pressing a button on the floor which fired confetti into the air.
Young & Strange are very amusing magicians, and adding a dog to their act was a pretty interesting twist. However, the intro video was much better than the performance itself. The intro video featured a number of funny moments as Young & Strange searched for a dog to aid them, and managed to make their chosen pet perform basic mentalism and quick-changes. In contrast, the performance itself was probably the weakest of the episode. Young & Strange did not do enough to make a very old illusion seem fresh, and Houndini added little to the performance. Given that he is the most appealing aspect of Young & Strange's act, they should have given him a greater role, instead of making him seem like a mere prop.
After their performance, Young & Strange promised that if they got into the final, they would make Houndini fly through the streets of London.
Eric Jones - American Close-Up magician Eric Jones was the next to perform, His coin routine involved TV Personality Rylan Clark and Suzanne Shaw, a former member of the band Hear-Say. Once Rylan and Suzanne had joined him on stage, Eric began his performance by making a marker pen appear in his bare hands. After Rylan checked this pen to demonstrate there was nothing unusual about it, Eric made four American Half-Dollar coins appear from inside the Pen's cap.
Eric spent the rest of his routine performing sleight-of-hand tricks with these coins. He put three coins into Rylan's hands. whilst taking one coin for himself. Eric and Rylan held their coins between their hands and shook them, and as they did this, one of Rylan's coins vanished and reappeared between Eric's hands (A change signalled when the sound of rattling silver could be heard in Eric's hands). Eric then told Suzanne to hold two coins by the edges, between her thumb and middle finger, Eric held two coins in the same way, and when both Suzanne and Eric dropped their coins into their outstretched palms, one of Suzanne's coins had vanished and appeared in Eric's free hand. Finally, Eric placed all four coins in Rylan's hand, and asked Rylan to give him one. Eric then made this coin vanish and appear with the other three coins in Rylan's hands.
It is difficult to compare Eric Jones to the other magicians in this episode due to his intimate close-up approach, which contrasts with the flashier performance offered by his competitors. However, Eric is an excellent magician, and his tricks were impossible to figure out. He proved that you don't need big boxes and upbeat music to provide an impressive magic routine.
After his performance, Eric promised that if he got through to the final, he would provide a version of the Bullet Catch involving playing cards.
Eric spent the rest of his routine performing sleight-of-hand tricks with these coins. He put three coins into Rylan's hands. whilst taking one coin for himself. Eric and Rylan held their coins between their hands and shook them, and as they did this, one of Rylan's coins vanished and reappeared between Eric's hands (A change signalled when the sound of rattling silver could be heard in Eric's hands). Eric then told Suzanne to hold two coins by the edges, between her thumb and middle finger, Eric held two coins in the same way, and when both Suzanne and Eric dropped their coins into their outstretched palms, one of Suzanne's coins had vanished and appeared in Eric's free hand. Finally, Eric placed all four coins in Rylan's hand, and asked Rylan to give him one. Eric then made this coin vanish and appear with the other three coins in Rylan's hands.
It is difficult to compare Eric Jones to the other magicians in this episode due to his intimate close-up approach, which contrasts with the flashier performance offered by his competitors. However, Eric is an excellent magician, and his tricks were impossible to figure out. He proved that you don't need big boxes and upbeat music to provide an impressive magic routine.
After his performance, Eric promised that if he got through to the final, he would provide a version of the Bullet Catch involving playing cards.
Ines - The only female competing in this episode, Ines performed a very dangerous and impressive routine which took place outside Langleybury Estate in Hertfordshire. For her performance, Ines was sealed in a coffin and buried alive, and she had to escape before she ran out of oxygen. The coffin had a window, meaning that the audience could see Ines' face, and Ines had a radio with her so that she could communicate with Rochelle, and a flashlight to ensure that she wouldn't be in complete darkness as she made her escape.
As planned, Ines was sealed into the coffin, and it was lowered beneath the ground. Ines promised to start her escape as soon as the coffin was covered in earth, However, seconds after the window of the coffin was covered with earth, Ines appeared to panic and demanded to be let out. When this happened, the coffin was opened, showing that Ines had vanished. Seconds later, one of the assistants ripped off her costume to reveal that she was actually Ines in disguise.
Ines' performance was one of the best of the night. Though it was more of an illusion than a feat of escapology, it was still very impressive. Because Ines' face was visible inside the coffin until the very last moment, it is very hard to figure out how she was able to vanish. However, there was one problem with the performance. When Ines revealed herself at the climax, the bird's-eye view of the camera showed us a rather long glimpse of her cleavage, which felt a little inappropriate for a show aimed at families. In spite of this, I really enjoyed watching Ines' performance, and I hope that this series will be full of great female magicians like her.
As planned, Ines was sealed into the coffin, and it was lowered beneath the ground. Ines promised to start her escape as soon as the coffin was covered in earth, However, seconds after the window of the coffin was covered with earth, Ines appeared to panic and demanded to be let out. When this happened, the coffin was opened, showing that Ines had vanished. Seconds later, one of the assistants ripped off her costume to reveal that she was actually Ines in disguise.
Ines' performance was one of the best of the night. Though it was more of an illusion than a feat of escapology, it was still very impressive. Because Ines' face was visible inside the coffin until the very last moment, it is very hard to figure out how she was able to vanish. However, there was one problem with the performance. When Ines revealed herself at the climax, the bird's-eye view of the camera showed us a rather long glimpse of her cleavage, which felt a little inappropriate for a show aimed at families. In spite of this, I really enjoyed watching Ines' performance, and I hope that this series will be full of great female magicians like her.
After her performance, Ines promised that she would perform an underwater illusion if she made it through to the final.
Jordan Gomez - The first of two French magicians competing in this episode, Jordan Gomez began his routine at a record store. Jordan's first trick was turning an image of headphones on the side of his bag into a real pair of headphones, then he provided a number of sleight-of-hand tricks for his audience. He turned a Vinyl record cover into confetti, then turned a Vinyl record into a CD. After this, Jordan performed a number of sleight-of-hand tricks with CD's for the spectators at the record store, These included making a CD change colour, appear inside a CD case and teleport from one CD case to another.
After performing at the record store, Jordan continued his routine on stage, where he performed more tricks with CDs, set to Sonny J's anthem "Can't Stop Moving". These included making large numbers of CD's appear inside his hands, causing them to change colour, and making them vanish. For his grand finale, Jordan turned five CD's into a shower of confetti.
From a technical perspective, Jordan Gomez was one of the most skilled performers in the episode. His CD manipulations were carried out incredibly quickly and smoothly, making it hard to figure out how he did them. However, I personally feel that the quick-fire approach Jordan displayed in this performance cannot sustain a one-hour show, making it a lot harder to imagine him as a potential winner on this series. I also feel that the decision to set the first half of the routine in a different location was pointless. Whilst I appreciate that performing at a record store meant less space and an audience who were closer to the magic, I think that these extra difficulties did not add much to the routine, and the second half of the performance was much more impressive anyway.
After his performance, Jordan said that he would provide more sleight-of-hand tricks if he made it through. Compared to the performances promised by his competitors, this did not seem very interesting.
After performing at the record store, Jordan continued his routine on stage, where he performed more tricks with CDs, set to Sonny J's anthem "Can't Stop Moving". These included making large numbers of CD's appear inside his hands, causing them to change colour, and making them vanish. For his grand finale, Jordan turned five CD's into a shower of confetti.
From a technical perspective, Jordan Gomez was one of the most skilled performers in the episode. His CD manipulations were carried out incredibly quickly and smoothly, making it hard to figure out how he did them. However, I personally feel that the quick-fire approach Jordan displayed in this performance cannot sustain a one-hour show, making it a lot harder to imagine him as a potential winner on this series. I also feel that the decision to set the first half of the routine in a different location was pointless. Whilst I appreciate that performing at a record store meant less space and an audience who were closer to the magic, I think that these extra difficulties did not add much to the routine, and the second half of the performance was much more impressive anyway.
After his performance, Jordan said that he would provide more sleight-of-hand tricks if he made it through. Compared to the performances promised by his competitors, this did not seem very interesting.
Xavier Mortimer - Less than 18 months after he received 4 X's on Americas Got Talent for dropping a glass ball, Xavier Mortimer showed just how stupid the AGT judges had been for dismissing him so quickly, as he provided a clever and funny performance with a musical theme.
Xavier's routine began with a comedic shadow effect, as his silhouette appeared to climb out of a lake and onto the stage using a rope attached to a hook. Xavier then appeared on stage, before getting out a pair of cymbals and making a variety of objects appear between them, including a butterfly, stacks of money, a large cloth, a bottle and a couple of wine glasses. He finished this part of the routine by making confetti appear from one of the cymbals, and making a small waist apron appear over his trousers.
After this part of the routine was over, Xavier went behind the screen, where he disposed of his props and appeared to dive underwater, before appearing to re-emerge from within a violin case. Xavier then made a clarinet appear, and walked in front of the screen. As he started playing the clarinet, three shadowy duplicates of him emerged from his shadow and appeared on the screen, playing a tuba, an accordion and a tambourine respectively. After a section where he appeared to dance with these figures whilst playing his clarinet, Xavier briefly made his instrument float in midair. After this, the shadows began to rotate, and Xavier seemed to rotate with them, turning upside down a couple of times before landing back on his feet. After a bit more dancing, the shadowy figures vanished in a shower of confetti, and white polka-dots magically appeared on Xavier's suit.
Xavier's performance was very enjoyable to watch. He made great use of a distinctive theme, which helped make his tricks seem incredibly unique. In addition, Xavier provided some amusing comedy and is a very talented musician and dancer - he certainly has the versatility needed to headline a TV special. However, there were a few moments, especially when he was making items appear using the cymbals, where it was easy to figure out how Xavier was pulling off his tricks. When he was using the cymbals, the idea was that Xavier would prove that there was nothing inside them whenever he banged them both together. Unfortunately, there were a couple of very brief instances where he flashed the items he was about to produce. That said, these errors were very hard for a live audience to notice, and Xavier's showmanship and creativity made him stand out as one of the best magicians in the episode.
After his performance, Xavier promised that if he made it through, he would provide an "extremely visual" and "powerfully mystifying" routine where he would fly through the air.
Xavier's routine began with a comedic shadow effect, as his silhouette appeared to climb out of a lake and onto the stage using a rope attached to a hook. Xavier then appeared on stage, before getting out a pair of cymbals and making a variety of objects appear between them, including a butterfly, stacks of money, a large cloth, a bottle and a couple of wine glasses. He finished this part of the routine by making confetti appear from one of the cymbals, and making a small waist apron appear over his trousers.
After this part of the routine was over, Xavier went behind the screen, where he disposed of his props and appeared to dive underwater, before appearing to re-emerge from within a violin case. Xavier then made a clarinet appear, and walked in front of the screen. As he started playing the clarinet, three shadowy duplicates of him emerged from his shadow and appeared on the screen, playing a tuba, an accordion and a tambourine respectively. After a section where he appeared to dance with these figures whilst playing his clarinet, Xavier briefly made his instrument float in midair. After this, the shadows began to rotate, and Xavier seemed to rotate with them, turning upside down a couple of times before landing back on his feet. After a bit more dancing, the shadowy figures vanished in a shower of confetti, and white polka-dots magically appeared on Xavier's suit.
Xavier's performance was very enjoyable to watch. He made great use of a distinctive theme, which helped make his tricks seem incredibly unique. In addition, Xavier provided some amusing comedy and is a very talented musician and dancer - he certainly has the versatility needed to headline a TV special. However, there were a few moments, especially when he was making items appear using the cymbals, where it was easy to figure out how Xavier was pulling off his tricks. When he was using the cymbals, the idea was that Xavier would prove that there was nothing inside them whenever he banged them both together. Unfortunately, there were a couple of very brief instances where he flashed the items he was about to produce. That said, these errors were very hard for a live audience to notice, and Xavier's showmanship and creativity made him stand out as one of the best magicians in the episode.
After his performance, Xavier promised that if he made it through, he would provide an "extremely visual" and "powerfully mystifying" routine where he would fly through the air.
The Results
After all of them had performed, the magicians had to choose which of them would make it through to the Grand Final. They would give each other scores based on three criteria: entertainment value, start quality, and how interesting their promised Grand Final performance sounded. The act who received the highest score from their five competitors would make it through to the Grand Final.
Eventually, the six acts chose which of them would make it through to the Grand Final, and the winner would magically appear on stage. The magician who made it through to the Grand Final was:
Xavier Mortimer.
Xavier deserves his place in the Grand Final, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does next.
My Verdict
Overall, the first episode of The Next Great Magician was very enjoyable. Though we've seen a number of high-profile magic shows on British TV in the last five years (The Magicians, Penn and Teller: Fool Us, Killer Magic), The Next Great Magician still manages to stand out, due to the lavish reward and the incredibly talented competitors - I would love to see most of these acts headlining a TV special. However, there are some problems. Whilst I appreciate the desire not to reveal magical secrets, I think that there should have been a more transparent way of scoring the magicians, maybe through a jury or an audience vote. In addition, the hosts are disappointing, Whilst Stephen Mulhern is the perfect choice to host a magic show on ITV, and Rochelle Humes is a charismatic assistant, the two got very little screentime, and most of the comments they provided were annoying rather than funny. In spite of these issues, The Next Great Magician delivers the one thing which audience members want to see - a lot of great magicians providing us with their best routines.
Next Time - The six magicians who will be performing on the next episode of The Next Great Magician are:
- Comedic Magician Andi Gladwin
- Comedic Illusionist Duo Barry & Stuart
- Close-Up Magician Hun Lee
- Mentalist Katherine Mills
- Illusionist Marcel
- Close-Up Magician Will Houstoun
I can't wait to see these acts perform...
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