The Billet Article - Parkinsons Disease Society Fund Raising Event

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This article is taken from The Billet Issue - 395 - Nov 2004, Authored by Chris Poole

Parkinsons Disease Society Fund Raising Event

Report for the Parkinsons Disease society fund raising event. Saltaire Methodist church 2 October 2004

Attending were: Stevie B, Colin Gough, Franco Mattiello, Ross Risdon, Oliver Parker, Henry Norris and Ray Roberts. Arrival was at 1330hrs, to set the stage, and erect the Curtain. The metaphorical curtain went up at 1420hrs slightly later than advertised, which I'm sure only increased the anticipation of the audience!

The first performance was close up, and opening the show was Colin Gough. Colin opened with some very good sleight of hand, involving a wedding ring and an impossibly large spoon! Next was a routine involving three pieces of rope and a small child. The child volunteered. The rope didn't. Colin then performed a routine with lettered cards, before closing with some more sleight of hand, first moving spots around on dice, and then a set which required more volunteers, and three sponge balls. A well earned round of applause leaving Ross with a hard act to follow.

Ross opened his set with a routine involving great cards, and bad jokes!! And some very polished sleight of hand to top-change cards right under the nose of the audience. Ross` next routine was the best cup and balls routine I've seen (ever?); excellent misdirection, fast paced, witty and thoroughly enjoyable, with a very good, clean finish, which earned good applause from an appreciative audience.

Henry Norris was next up, with a routine that demonstrated how magicians give up smoking, though the "patch" would be my personal favourite. You certainly wouldn't want to smoke the cigarette after Henry had vanished it......more sponge balls, and even more volunteers. The next routine involved an effect that required a volunteer to write his/her name on a blank card, using a pen that would make James Bond envious, or at least mildly anxious about borrowing a magicians pen... more excellent sleight of hand, cards appeared to switch places, even when being held by the victim/volunteer. More enthusiastic applause, and it was Olivers turn.

Most magicians had brought some childrens magic, anticipating a "younger demographic", which on the day consisted of a total group that could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Olivers main routine consisted of a stylish performance of the classic linking rings routine, comprised of 5 rings, and another volunteer.

The penultimate (what?) performance was by Stevie B. His opening effect was a fast paced card routine, which was received well by the audience, although they may have been applauding the jacket! Next, a set of effects involving Rope and Steel rings, but, unfortunately, no volunteers. The ring and rope joined and separated with a speed that would have impressed a Hollywood divorce lawyer. An impressive set, even when you know how its done. By way of a small compensation, Steves next effect used 2 (count 'em) volunteers and an excellent mentalism effect, which appeared to go embarrassingly wrong, much to the delight of one of the volunteers. She actually smiled as Steve appeared to muck up the routine,(people can be so cruel), but Steve had the last laugh, and the chosen, (but not guessed) cards were revealed as the only blue backed cards in a red backed pack (or was it the other way round..?)

Last, but by no means least, Franco. A stylish set involving four of a kind, Kings in this case, and a finish that was clearly well polished. Francos set was the only one that involved a "normal" pack of cards. More well performed sleights, and the well-used trio of volunteers was once more called on to lend assistance. I could guess where the cards were hidden, but where he produced those volunteers from kept me baffled!! The final card routine was one I had never seen before, one I know will act as the standard by which future effects will be judged. How did the card end up in the jacket pocket??! More enthusiastic applause, and the intermission.

Stage Performance

First, a lively opener, performed with a bottle and a bag (bag bottle-bottle bag!!) that was vaguely reminiscent of Tommy Cooper. Mark Waddington was next up, looking professional and relaxed with a polished and well rehearsed set, which opened with comedy magic involving a flat wand, and a way too eager young `un, who quickly grew far too comfortable with her new found attention and fame, and decided to see how far she could push her luck. The coloured hanky routine, as a consequence, will never be quite the same again. Never work with children Mark, especially not one called Naomi! Sadly, Naomi was the only one who could be relied on to volunteer, and Mark did seem to need an awful lot of volunteers. The Chinese laundry routine, which required, (you guessed) a volunteer. Mark asked for assistance, trying hard not to make eye contact with the front row, but, predictably, Naomi once more trod the boards. There seemed to be no way to stop her. It was during this routine that someones mobile phone rang, and the poor chap was quite unable to locate the thing. He must have wished Mark would make him (or at least his phone) vanish. The torn and restored newspaper was next, a routine that was as old as some of the jokes told! A fantastic finish involving a pre-recorded CD and a great routine which hinged on Anglo- American linguistic ambiguity, involving a headscarf (or Bandana to our American friends) and a long, curved, yellow fruit of Musatoid extraction (or Banana to our American friends). The fruit was placed in a folded cloth and vanished, the cloth then opened and shown to be totally empty. Bad jokes not withstanding, an impressive finish to an excellent set, sadly without the assistance of young Naomi....

A short interval, more awful jokes, and a nursery rhyme, allegedly in French, which put me in mind of a very famous French word , which will be familiar to those of us fond of French wine.. and the word is Chateau. This word is found on most quality bottles of French wine, and literally translated means "cat water"... worth remembering when you next drink wine... Next, the pace slowed a little, with a more contemporary feel to the show, as coloured hoops were placed in a bag, and fused into one huge hoop...as if by magic! Although the jokes were never far away... A further brief interval and a routine involving a skipping rope, and, jokes. The rope was cut. The jokes, sadly, were not.

The final act was a Ray Roberts, who for some reason put me in mind of David Nixon, although I am too young to remember David (no...really). Ray had a wonderful traditional Old World charm to his whole routine that made him a delight to watch. He opened with one of my favourites; a routine whose name escapes me but involves two apparently unconnected sticks, with tassels on the end. Pull down one tassel, and the other one moves up. Simple, but baffling to the lay audience, and beautifully performed. And then the jokes started. Next a routine involving five randomly chosen numbers, four randomly chosen cards, and two randomly chosen volunteers, and a terrific prediction effect, one which I found baffling, if only `cos he won't tell me how it's done!! His final routine involved his thumbs tied together, and the apparent ability to pass two solid plastic rings through his bound hands. And for those of us who cynically suspected the rings were gimmicks, he repeated the effect with a hoop of very alarmingly real looking barbed wire. Then a brief routine involving a vanish, using a box of (what else..) Vanish soap powder.

A highly enjoyable show and possibly the second best way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

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