The Billet Article - St James The Great Church, Pudsey Show

This article is taken from The Billet Issue - 431 - Feb 2008, Authored by Simon Porter

St James The Great Church, Pudsey Show

I'm no great magician but being a theatre lover I do know what makes a good show. And the annual show in Pudsey didn't disappoint.

Compere for the day was the ever-reliable and always funny Stevie B. With an audience made up of children and adults, he had a bit of a balancing act on his hands, but he managed it with ease and put the crowd in the right frame of mind. With the children excited, the acts began. The first half was primarily for the youngsters. Joe King and Harlequin both performed to their usual high standard and got the day off to a great start.

It was the first time since my tenth birthday party that I had watched magicians do a set primarily for young children and I had forgotten how much the kids throw themselves into it. It was great to see that with all the advancements in technology today, simple, traditional children’s magic still brings huge excitement and laughter.

With Stevie also getting involved again between acts, the first half came to a close with me thinking one question: Will anybody ever tire of laughing at the bendy wand joke? After a bun and a cup of freeze-dried tea, the second half started with the announcement that Stevie wouldn’t be performing in this part, so with the audience already in a good mood, on came Michael Waterhouse.

I hadn’t met Michael before and wasn’t sure what his act would involve. It ended up being a very funny and well thought out performance with his sidekick Faye. For his first live magical performance they can be very pleased and look to a bright future on stage.

Next came Keith Pickles, whom again I had never seen perform before. Once again, a faultless act, very funny and one that involved great interaction, primarily with the adults in the audience. It came across very well. Except for the young boy who ran out crying, thinking that his mum had been sawn in half. (Keith: Actually not quite true. I found out afterwards that what had happened was that the boy had been sick and his dad took him to the toilet to clean him up. He was crying because he wanted to see his mum being cut in half!)

The final act was Hi Jinx, whom I must give a special mention to. At only 16 and 19, these two have a very, very bright future ahead of them. Both are extremely talented magicians, with confidence in abundance, which makes their show all the better. From swallowing a balloon, to escapology, their 20-minute routine was a pleasure. The highlight of their act was the juggling. To tell the audience they were going to juggle with knives I thought was a joke. To be then told he would be juggling with knives, while riding a unicycle, with most of the children only two feet away, was both nerve-racking and excellent. What a relief that Health and Safety didn’t walk in!

The day was a great success and a big thank you must go to everyone who gave their time to perform, as well as those behind the scenes. We now look forward to the Hey Presto Show in March.

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