Penn and Teller at the Hammersmith Apollo

Last week, I saw the magic legends Penn and Teller perform at the Hammersmith Apollo. They performed 17 tricks in total. Many of these had been performed by the duo on their 2011 show Penn and Teller: Fool Us, but they also performed a number of illusions I had not seen them do before, as well as a few traditional circus tricks.

What Tricks Did They Perform?

(N.B: If I made any mistakes in my descriptions below, please excuse them. I saw the show on the Wednesday night and therefore my memory of it is not 100% clear)

First Half

• For their first trick, Penn and Teller chose a volunteer from the audience and took her phone. They appeared to make it "vanish" from a paper cup by throwing it into a bucket which was lifted over the stage. They then showed the audience a polystyrene box which had been hidden under an audience members seat throughout, and opened it to reveal a fish. They cut the fish open and revealed that the volunteer's phone inside it. 
• They then performed an illusion with a giant metal detector, similar to those seen in airports, as they made an assistant appear inside it. I enjoyed the unique and creative presentation.
• Their third trick was a version of the "Cut and Restored Rope" trick which involved a large sheet of polyester.
• Next, they did a close-up routine centered around Teller. He performed a few close-up effects involving an apple and cigarettes, then Penn explained how they were done, with Teller showing the effects from a different angle to highlight the secrets. However, there were still some elements, such as Teller turning an apple into a pear, which remained unrevealed and were therefore even more effective.
• Penn and Teller then performed an escapology routine in which Teller was sealed in a bin bag which was filled with helium. The stage went dark and a popping sound was heard. When the lights came back on, Teller had escaped from the bag, which was completely undamaged and floating above his head. 
• They then performed a routine which they had apparently not performed on stage before. It involved Teller giving a speech about the universe (It was actually Penn speaking, and Teller miming to the words) and illustrating the points he made with a number of card tricks, such as the Six-Card repeat, and making a chosen card appear inside a balloon. This was another instance of great presentation making a simple set of tricks appear unique and spectacular.
• Afterwards, Teller performed a solo routine based on the classic effect "The Miser's Dream", involving a fish tank, a glass bowl, and a volunteer. He made coins appear from a number of unexpected places, putting them in the glass bowl, which was being held by the volunteer. He finished by making a number of Goldfish appear in the tank.
• Penn and Teller then performed a mentalism routine. They had three volunteers choose a joke each from a series of joke books. After correctly predicting the jokes chosen by the first two, they had the third volunteer read the first part of their joke aloud. They then produced an envelope which had been signed by a number of audience members in the hour before the show. They opened it to reveal a giant banner which had the punchline of the chosen joke on it.
• The last trick that Penn and Teller performed before the interval was one of their signature effects. They performed a version of the "Sawing a woman in half" using a giant buzzsaw, then stopped to reveal how the trick was being done, opening the fake table they used to reveal the assistant's midriff inside. They then turned the buzzsaw on and appeared to cut through her midriff, apparently sawing her in half for real. The twist was great, and this was the best trick to end the first half on.

Second Half

• Penn began the second half of the show with a juggling routine in which he juggled fire and broken bottles. The most important part of this trick was the build-up, as Penn highlighted the risks involved in what he was attempting. This increased the tension, and the relief when he pulled the trick off successfully was felt throughout the audience.
• Teller then performed a solo trick, in which he appeared to eat 100 needles and a length of thread, then removed the thread from his mouth with all the needles attached to it. 
• The next trick was a simple stage illusion in which Teller asked a volunteer to pick a card. He got into a glass box with fans beneath it, and tried to find the chosen card (A Queen of Hearts) as the deck was blown throughout the box by the fans. A curtain was placed over the box, and when it was removed, Teller had vanished and been replaced by an assistant dressed in a "Queen of Hearts" outfit, representing the chosen card.
• Penn and Teller then did a comedic routine with a volunteer. They did a set of effects involving a hoop which involved them passing it from one of the volunteer's arms to the other. The tricks were unusual due to the fact that the audience were fully aware of how they were done (One involved a second hoop), but the volunteer did not know due to the fact that her eyes were closed throughout.
• This was followed by one of the best routines of the night. Penn performed a set of close-up tricks involving toy cows for a volunteer, who filmed them with a camera. However, these tricks were accomplished by Teller extending his hand out from behind the backdrop and providing the required props, seen by the audience but not the volunteer or his camera. During the course of the routine, the changes secretly accomplished by Teller became more elaborate, At the end, the backdrop was lifted up, but there was no-one behind it. Instead, Teller was sitting in the volunteer's place, wearing the volunteer's clothes. It was a very original routine, and the final twist was incredible.
• Teller then performed a solo trick in which he cut the buds off a rose by "Cutting" the shadow with his knife. He then appeared to cut his finger, and made blood spurt from his shadow in the affected area.
• After this, Penn did his signature "nailgun" trick. A strip of nails was placed in a nail gun, with a number of empty spaces scattered randomly throughout. When Penn believed there was a nail inside, he fired the gun at a wooden board, and when he believed that he had reached an empty part of the strip, he fired it at himself. All of Penn's predictions were correct, and he avoided injury.
• For the final effect of the night, Penn and Teller decided not to do a conventional magic trick. Instead, they performed a fire-eating routine. Again, Penn succeeded in creating the perfect atmosphere for the routine, and made the fire-eating seem really impressive.

Overall, Penn and Teller were great. Their presentation was top-notch, and their tricks were clever and innovative. I was glad to have seen them perform live, and I hope that they perform in London again in the future.

Britains Got Talent- The Final

How Did Darcy Oake Do?

For his performance in the Britain's Got Talent final, magician Darcy Oake chose not to do a traditional stage illusion. Instead, he did an escapology routine. He was placed in a straitjacket and suspended beneath a bear trap in midair, and had 53 seconds to escape before the trap closed. I've seen this escape before (The Australia's Got Talent Runner-up Cosentino performed it in the Australia's Got Talent final), but Darcy's version was one of the best I have ever seen, due to the creative presentation. He based his routine on the idea of his life flashing before his eyes, and played videos of his life in the background, going backwards from his time on BGT to his childhood, whilst making his escape. This helped make it even more spectacular and suspenseful. Overall, Darcy's performance was brilliant- he couldn't have done any better.

The judges were all praise, with Simon Cowell claiming that they were witnessing "The birth of a star", and Darcy ended up finishing in fifth place, with Musical theatre group Collabro, who had beaten him in the first semi-final, winning the competition. However, the fact that Darcy did so well is a victory in itself. For the first time in the eight years Britains Got Talent has been on the air, we got to see a truly great magician.

Britains Got Talent - Darcy Oake Makes the Final

After eight years, a magician has made the final of Britain's Got Talent for the first time. At the end of the week, Darcy Oake will compete with ten other acts to win the grand prize - £250,000 and the opportunity to perform in the Royal Variety Show at the end of the year.



How Did He Make It This Far?

For his performance in the First Semi-final, Darcy provided a big, elaborate and entertaining trick. After repeating a couple of the dove productions from his audition, he sat in a chair placed on the centre of the stage, and was covered with a sheet. A cameraman circled the chair, providing a view from all sides. As he reached the right of the stage, the sheet was removed to reveal that Darcy had vanished from beneath the sheet. The cameraman then turned around, removed his equipment, and revealed that he was actually Darcy.

As with his audition, Darcy took a fairly cliche and familiar trick, but provided a new and exciting presentation. The use of the cameraman was clever and unique, and although the illusion itself is not hard to figure out if you're a expert magician, Darcy was able to conceal the secrets reasonably well, not making any obvious errors.

The judges were full of praise, and Darcy found himself in the top three for the Semi-final with two other big favourites: The musical theatre group Collabro and the impressionist Jon Clegg. Collabro won the public vote, leaving Darcy and Jon to face the judges. Although David Walliams and Alesha Dixon chose Jon, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell voted for Darcy. This meant that the act who received the most votes from the public would progress to the final, and that act was Darcy.

Who Will Darcy Face In the Final?

Apart from Collabro, Darcy Oake will be up against four other singing acts: James Smith, Lucy Kay, Bars & Melody and Jack Pack, all of whom won the public vote in their respective heats. The other acts who made it through as a judges choice include three dance acts: The Addict Initiative, Yanis Marshall, Arnaud & Mehdi and Paddy & Nico, and a violinist, Lettice Rowbotham. The judges will also pick a wildcard act to join the final from the acts who lost the judges choice, with Jon Clegg and teenage singer-songwriter Bailey McConnell the most likely choices.

Can Darcy Win?

In order to win, Darcy Oake needs to do two things: Provide us with a spectacular trick, and avoid making any mistakes. Although he only came second in his heat, Darcy is one of the better acts in this year's final. Victory from his position is not impossible (Diversity managed it in series 3), but Darcy needs to provide a truly amazing performance if he wants to have a chance of winning.

Britians Got Talent 8 - The Semi-Finals

Today, Britain's Got Talent announced its Top 45 for this year, and one of the semi-finalists is the magician Darcy Oake. Can he become the first magician on the show to make the final?

What Does Darcy Need To Do?

Darcy Oake auditioned with a routine centred around dove productions. Though the tricks themselves  were not especially unique, Darcy wowed both the audience and the judges with his slick and charismatic presentation. If he applies it to a more spectacular illusion, then he could be a real favourite.

Darcy has to deal with two major problems, but both of them are beyond his control. The first of these is the high standard of opposition, with the theatrical quintet Collabro and the teenage rap duo Bars & Melody amongst the numerous stand-out competitors. The second problem is the fact that he has recieved some criticism online for being foreign (He is based in Canada) and professional. I don't mind Darcy's nationality or level of experience, as the best magic acts on Britian's Got Talent, such as David and Karen, Brynolf and Ljung, and James More, have all been professionals too. However, the opposition to Darcy puts him at a disadvantage, and he will have to work hard on impressing the audience and solidifying his position as a potential contender. If he can manage this, Darcy has a good chance of making the final.

Killer Magic

It's been a while since I posted an article on this blog, but I recently watched Killer Magic, a new magic show on BBC3. This week's episode was a "pilot"- The rest of the series will air later in the year. Based on this episode, I cannot wait to see the rest.

The format of Killer Magic is simple, and brings to mind both The Magicians (Another Magic show from the BBC) and Come Dine With Me. We have five magicians, who each perform a trick based on a certain theme. They will watch each other's performances, and give them marks out of ten. The magician who comes last will have to take part in an especially dangerous trick, with the "help" of the winner. For example, if the trick is "Sawing a person in half", the loser will be the one in the box, and the winner will be the one wielding the saw.

The five magicians are

• Ben Hart (The Gent)
• Damien O' Brian (The Geezer)
• Dee Christopher (The Goth)
• Jasz Vegas (The Girl)
• Chris Cox (The Geek)

The theme for this week was "Food"

(If you haven't watched the show on BBC IPlayer yet, the following may contain spoilers)

The Tricks

• Damien went first, and he performed his trick in a fish-and-chips takeaway. He asked two volunteers to pick a card and sign it. He then made it vanish and appear inside the fried fish that they had ordered. It was a simple but effective trick, well performed, and Damien received a score of 32 out of 40 from his competitors.
• Ben fared even better with his trick. In an ice bar, he asked two women to pick a raw egg from a box. He then stripped down to his pants and put the egg inside his pants, before taking it out to reveal that it had turned into a hard-boiled one. He then put a slice of bread between two plates, and appeared to cook it with his bare hands, turning it into toast. This unusual, creative routine earned a score of 33.
• Chris performed next, giving us an elaborate mentalism routine. He asked a volunteer to pick a dream meal (Spaghetti Bolognese) and a dream date (Simon Webbe from the boyband Blue). After a couple of "fakeouts", he revealed that the chosen items had been correctly predicted, and made Webbe appear with two dishes of Spaghetti Bolognese. The trick was funny and hard to figure out, but the overuse of fakeouts annoyed the other magicians, who gave him a score of 29.
• Dee also used a celebrity guest in his trick, enlisting the help of the model Imogen Thomas. His trick involved a toad and five blenders. Imogen put the toad in one of the blenders, and was asked to plug in four of them. You can guess how this trick is supposed to go, but the fourth and final blender turned on was actually the one with the toad in. Fortunately, Dee made the toad reappear under a bowl, completely unharmed. Dee received the low score of 26, because the danger posed to the toad made his fellow magicians uncomfortable, and they were also unsure about the extent to which the trick followed the theme.
• Jasz performed last, and chose to do a "Hidden Camera" trick. She invited a guest to dinner at a restaurant, but, instead of the food, she ate a flower, a glass and a plate. She finished by levitating off her seat, which caused her increasingly worried guest to leave. The other magicians liked the spontaneity of the trick, but felt sorry for the guest, and gave Jasz a score of 29.

The Forfeit

Ben won and Dee lost, so Dee had to do the Bullet Catch trick, with Ben firing the bullet. Due to UK gun laws, the bullet used was a paintball (Although this didn't really eliminate the danger involved). Fortunately, the trick went to plan, with Dee catching the signed paintball in his mouth.

My Verdict

 Overall, I liked this show. The magicians were good and the tricks were good. I liked the focus on close-up magic and mentalism, and I also enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. I'm looking forward to seeing the full season.

AGT 8: The Final-Collins Key

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

This year, all six finalists gave two performances, A "Repeat" performance, and a final new performance. For the sake of convenience, We will cover the "Repeat" and final performance separately, and follow each with an outline of the judges comments and the competition.

THE REPEAT PERFORMANCE

What Did Collins Key Do?

Being a magician, Collins chose not to openly repeat any of his previous tricks  Instead, he chose to "Go Full circle" and do the close-up magic that got him into the Live Shows in the first place. This time, he did a card trick utilising the two female judges, Heidi and Mel B. He had the two judges each sign a chosen card, and lined them up together. He then got them to put the two cards between their teeth (Heidi's was biting down on one end of the pair, and Mel B on the other). After some banter about this arrangement, Collins "Melted" the two cards together whilst they were still held between the judges' teeth. The two cards became one, with the signed face of  Heidi's card on one side, and the signed face of Mel B's card on the other. It wasn't one of Collins' best performances, but it was better then his previous two. The trick itself was possibly the most creative trick Collins has done to date, and it was simple enough to be performed without running too far over the time limit. Unfortunately, there was a little too much of the annoying banter from the judges (mostly revolving around the prospect of Heidi and Mel B being within a few centimetres from kissing each other) that marred Collins' Top 12 performance, and he stumbled at a couple of points, in particular when he paused to line up the two cards.Furthermore, from a technical perspective, it was a fairly simple trick, relying on a number of common card sleights. However, the judges were full of praise. Howard noted his lack of experience, but felt that he did a good job. Mel B called it his best performance to date, and Howie and Heidi were as impressed with Collins as ever.

What was the competition like?

The other five competitors all gave  "Repeat"  performances that showcased their strengths. Jimmy Rose chose to give another performance of his self-penned song "Coal Keeps the Lights On". Kenchini Ebina added lasers to the Matrix-themed routine he performed in his audition, whilst Cami Bradley repeated the performance of Cher's "Believe" that turned her from another generic female singer into this year's Dark Horse. Forte did a powerful version of "The Prayer", which they previously sang in the Vegas rounds, and Taylor Williamson added special effects to his semifinal routine, after a number of comments poking fun at the fact he had to repeat material.

The Final Performance

What Did Collins Key Do?

For his Final performance, Collins went back to the on-line theme of his first Live Performance, and the Audience participation of his Semi Final performance. For this trick, Collins had 26 audience members come on stage, each holding a piece of paper with a random Hashtag written on it. He then  got Howie, Heidi and Mel B to each choose a photo each from a set of photos of the volunteers holding their chosen hashtags (Taken when they arrived in the theatre). When they had each chosen a photo, Colins played a video of a prediction he had made the previous day, which predicted both the volunteers (Who were identified by the clothes they wore) and the Hashtags they were holding up. As the grand finale, he revealed that all the sheets of paper had a different letter on their back, and the letters on the back of the sheets held by the volunteers spelt out his surname.  It was probably Collins' best performance to date. The delivery was slick and energetic. Collins kept it short, but managed to address (if not completely disprove) the allegations that he was using actors. The multiple reveals added to the trick instead of complicating it, and the trick was original and spectacular. The judges loved the performance. Mel B and Heidi gave it a standing ovation, and Howard and Howie praised the clarity and coherence of the trick.

What was the competition like?

Overall, the second round of performances wasn't as good as the first. Cami Bradley turned the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" into a power ballad. Jimmy Rose played it safe with a cover of a Garth Brooks song. Taylor Williamson did a routine about his love life, with a central joke (About Heidi leaving her lederhosen in his room) ripped off from Series 4 finalist Grandma Lee. Kenchini Ebina incorporated a large number of characters (All played by himself, as usual) in a precision dance routine similar to those of Mitsi Dance School from earlier in the series, but wasted too much time establishing the characters. Finally, Forte sang "Caruso" , their voices as powerful as ever.

Verdict

In my opinion, Collins managed to prove that he deserved to be in the final. He listened to the criticism of the judges and viewers, and delivered two energetic and creative performances. His chances  of winning are moderate. He has the obsessive support of his teen fanbase, but acts like Taylor Williamson and Kenchini Ebina seem to be more popular. Furthermore, Collins' inexperience has probably turned off a lot of viewers. However, his successes have probably inspired a large number of fans to take up magic as a hobby- Hopefully, we shall see some of them follow in his footsteps next year.

AGT Grand Final - The Preview

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Americas Got Talent has reached the Grand Final. Six acts are left, and one of them is the teen magician Colins Key. Despite struggling with nerves, time constraints, skeptics and uncooperative volunteers, Colins has became the first magician since David and Dania in Series 1 to make the grand final (But Michael Grasso from series 5 and Landon Swank from Series 6 would have made the final if there were 6 finalists in those seasons instead of four). He is one performance away from the million dollar prize and show in Las Vegas, but can he deliver?

What does Colins have to do?

In his Top 12 performance, Colins responded to the criticism he had received in the Semifinals by performing a simpler trick with a cleaner delivery. Unfortunately, his performance went over the time limit again, due to the Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum's inability to read the time of the former's watch at the climax of the trick. Volunteers are integral to the close-up magic and mentalism that Colins specialises in, therefore the best advice for him is to use more reliable ones. Furthermore, many viewers believed that his last trick was too easy to figure out, due to its familiarity, and Colins took several short cuts (For example, using only three bags, and not numbering any of them) which made the problem worse. Colins has to figure out how to keep the length of his performance down without compromising on quality.

Apart from those two worries, the advice for Colins is the same as ever. He needs to maintain the vocal support he gets on Twitter, but also win over undecided voters, who will probably include a large number of skeptics. He needs to up his game, but avoid making things too complex, as he did in the semifinals. To put it simply, Colins has to give a completely professional performance, as he needs to convince viewers that he can rub shoulders with the greats of magic in Vegas.


What is the Competition like?

The five acts that stand between Colins and the million dollar prize are:

• Kenchini Ebina - Kenchini Ebina is creative, unique, and above all, a brilliant dancer. Many viewers hope that he will win, but safer, blander acts tend to triumph on AGT. Can Kenchini break the trend?
• Cami Bradley - Only shown briefly during the early rounds, Cami Bradley emerged as a serious contender during the live shows, and has kept up the momentum with soulful spins on a wide range of classic songs. She looks like a Dark Horse, but appears to lack the obsessive fanbase of her rivals. Can she convince viewers to rally behind her?
• Forte - Operatic trio Forte are the strongest singing act still in the competition, and are unique enough to avoid criticism from viewers who don't want to see another singer win . But can they beat rivals who have more vocal support?
• Taylor Williamson - There is no doubt that Taylor Williamson is a naturally gifted comedian, but I personally don't find his material very funny. That said, his performance in the Top 12 was his best to date.Taylor has the support of the so-called "Taylords" on Twitter, but he is up against two acts (Cami Bradley and Jimmy Rose) who finished above him in his heat. Can he surpass them this time around?
• Jimmy Rose - He's from Kentucky, he plays the guitar, and he has a decent level of talent. That alone could be enough to secure Jimmy Rose victory. Voters from the south are fanatical in their support of country singers, but equally, viewers from the rest of America  are sick of seeing them win constantly on shows like The Voice and American Idol . (Another Country singer, Kevin Skinner, won Series 4 of AGT) Will the widespread opposition to Jimmy cost him?

Predictions

Colins Key is going into the final as an outsider, and his last performance is absolutely critical. If he can correct his previous mistakes and deliver a confident, streamlined performance, then he could win. If not, then even the support of the "Keypers" won't help him.