Spotlight Dancers At exactly 7.30 on Saturday March 6th, to the refrain of 'Dancing in the Street', the packed audience at The Bingley Arts Centre were treated to the lively opening of the 2004 edition of The Hey Presto Show by the lovely Spotlight Dancers. Terry Herbert That veteran entertainer, Terry Herbert now took charge in the role as compere. After doing his very funny 'switch card', he introduced: Robert Temple This talented young man, now sixteen years old has just passed his GCSE's with flying colours. Not only is he accomplished academically but also his highly polished magical presentations assure him of a very bright future. He started magic at five and a half years old. I clearly remember his Noddy act at age twelve but this time we were treated to his superb manipulation act. Visually capturing his audience in a sharp black outfit, his Rose to Silk, and vanishing candle were exquisitely routined to the strains of 'Memories'. I am sure his thimble routine was just as good but from my seat near the back could not see them too well 'The Dancing Cane' was a visual feast as were his billiard balls, but even this excellence was upstaged by his 'Linking Ring routine'. Starting with just three rings, his dexterity and display were so pleasing to the eye and extending through four and five to six, the mystery content had the audience applauding manically. His choice of music, Anitras dance and a catchy piece by Bond, captured the heart of every member of the audience Ken Mitchell This relative newcomer to magic presented an act of a well-seasoned performer. Introduced as 'The Oxfam of Comedy', he did not leave us hungry for laughter His quick comedy assisted by good magic and relaxed style endeared Ken to his appreciative audience from the start. His cut and restored rope was great and when he got James from the audience to help with a brightly coloured envelope routine with a sucker ending this well performed routine culminated with James exchanging has polos for chocolates only to find that the aforementioned polos contained a £20 note. Ken finished with a highly original McDonalds routine in which a giant straw was produced from a small bag Stevie B The little round one was the specialist childrens act, and special he was. They say first impressions count and Stevie certainly made an impression when he appeared wearing a smart purple jacket and black trousers complemented by white and red footwear. Emma, a seven year old came up to 'do' the unequal ropes. The Silver Sceptre, a la George Blake's stair rod, milked every last laugh from the excited kids .... and that includes the mums and dads. He used numerous comedy wands, which squeezed even more laughs from his receptive audience. Fuzzy Bear was the star of Who's Who at the Zoo. The choice of effects and the clean bright props is a credit to Stevie. No kid's show is complete without the proverbial balloon model and this artist's versatility came to the fore with his rocking horse and teddy bear. The finale was Bob Eaton's dice production using Bob's apparatus. Bob would have been very proud of Stevie. Terry Herbert brought the first half to an end. Spotlight Dancers Wearing black and gold two-piece outfits they got the Hey Presto Show second half off to a lively start. The Jacksons When I say that Simon's opening was fantastic, I am not using author's license. An impressive fast-unexpected bowling ball production followed by the electric chair routine made a massive impact. Simon's confidence and projection held the audience in raptures. The pace in the electric chair routine peppered with visual and audible comedy situations were sheer genius. The stage set and costume were mysterious and theatrical. His twist of Slydini's paper balls over head done with a toilet roll demonstrated Simon's eye for originality. We were next introduced to Joshua and Lucy, the seven-year-old twins. Simon and Joshua did a lovely instant magician routine and Lucy was floated on the flying carpet illusion. On a topical note, the act closed with the Cottingley fairies in which coloured lights were magically transposed from Simon centre stage to the twins stage left and right. Tom Johnson Tom used verbal background music similar to Copperfield. His deliberately slow presentation of talented juggling was a marvel. His absolute control of a single ball was wondrous. It seemed to be part of his body whichever way he turned. When he introduced a second and then third ball, my admiration for this artist just grew and grew. Tom made his very difficult feats look so easy. His juggling with sticks and multi balls were well balanced and coordinated. Terry Herbert Terry then did a shortened version of his act that should have closed the first half but was rescheduled due to an overrun. He did the Invisible Jumbo deck, the selected card being caught in a type of Bengal net. This was very visual. He did his broken and restored watch and cut and restored handkerchiefs in the fashion for which he is famous. Martyn James & Co What an act to finish on! Wow! Don't blink or look away or you'll miss a joke, visual, illusion. Marlyn came on in a bright orange suit, fairly generous in proportion but smart. When he later donned a hat it was very circus clowny almost a psychological transformation. His opening illusion was flames to girl in cage, amazingly fast. He followed with a new illusion to me. It was a three-dimension jig saw in which the pieces just did not fit into the box, that's until he performed the magic. The sting in the tail was when he produced a girl from the box. His clown personality was then emphasized with a water in hat vanish. A type of ' Backstage with the Magician' was performed next culminating with a girl exchange. His prolonged version of totem pole but this time as 'Wall of Doom' was packed tightly with comedy and entertainment. His piece de resistance was putting Vicky through a giant mangle. She emerged as a flat banner which having being rolled up and placed back in mangle machine restored Vicky to her shapely self and also produced another assistant. Stage Crew Ernest Ainley was stage-manager, this being the thirty-second time he has done so. Rodney Bower, David Wozencroft and Steve Barraclough ably assisted him. Steve Gore was on lights and the embearded Paul Sunderland was on sound. Ivan Robinson and Dennis Calvert were our front of house staff, with Henry Norris looking after refreshments for the artists. The highlight for me was the welcome absence of Keith Pickles. (I would not be surprised if the editor removes this paragraph but I'll get him at playtime.) | 
