...by Julian Moore
The Effect
"The conversation turns to childhood and the mentalist talks about the first time he was allowed to go on a big journey by himself. Pulling out an Oyster card along with some old tube tickets and a small tube map, he goes on to discuss how as a child, his dad wrote down the destination on the back of his tube ticket so he wouldnʼt forget where he was going.
Opening up the tube map, the mentalist offers to try a little experiment with the participant by recreating the trip he had all those years ago.
Explaining that the only thing he can remember about his young adventure was that he had to change trains twice, the mentalist invites the participant to choose any station on the outskirts of London. Then, to follow the train line into town, changing twice onto any two other lines, finally arriving at a destination chosen solely by the participant. And then just like his father did all those years ago, he is to to write the name of the station down on the back of a tube ticket and hide it away.
The mentalist now talks about how technology has moved on since he was a kid and how surveillance and smart cards now mean that it is much easier to track peopleʼs movements on the underground. Pulling out his Oyster card, he invites the participant to hold on to his wrist while he ʻscansʼ the card across the underground map, following tube routes across London.
First he manages to describe which underground line the participant ended up on, and then after some more divining, is able to name the station itself."
Cost
£7 from Outlaw Effects
Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=no sleights, but not so easy, 3=some sleights used,
4=advanced sleights used, 5=suitable for experienced magicians only)
1
Review
I can't believe I only just recently discovered this little mentalism gem on Rick's website. I work for London Underground as a Tube driver and I've been planning to come up with my own Tube-related effect for a while now; when I saw Julian's effect on Outlaw Effects, it didn't take long before I was flexing my PayPal finger. (Again
).
For your money, you get a nine-page PDF document with crystal clear instructions; you will have to make up your own gimmick but this takes all of two minutes and is the easiest thing to do. Once you have your gimmick, which, by the way, is in plain sight the whole time yet invisible to the spectator, then you're ready to go. The effect plays out exactly as described and requires pure presentational skills - no sleights or tricky moves are required. I've performed this only once so far, for some of the guys and girls at work, and it went down a storm. The good thing about this effect is that it can be repeated without the usual fears; having said that, I personally would not want to perform this more than twice for the same audience.
Overall
I would suggest that this effect is best performed by those of us who live or work in and around London. Basically, if you and your audience use the Tube then this is for you. Otherwise, the presence of an Oyster card may confuse the issue for spectators who may not necessarily be familiar with its use.
I should point out one caveat, however. The fact that I work for London Underground makes it very easy for me to acquire the blank, paper Tube ticket stock that is required. Since the introduction of Oyster, many people will no longer have any of these paper tickets and you will require one for each performance. However, if you purchase this and do need blank ticket stock, I will be happy to acquire some and send them on to you. Please feel free to PM me.
In conclusion, Going Underground is just fantastic. For a mere £7, you get a superb mentalism effect that is easy to perform and packs a very strong punch. Personally, I would have been happy to pay twice this amount, but that is just me. Unreservedly recommended.
Score: 10/10
