talkmagic.co.uk

The details of the show can be found here:

http://www.welcome-to-wonderland.com/

If you're in the London area on the 1st of March, I'd love to see you there. Make sure you catch me and say hello!

Also, we'll be hitting a pub after the last show so would be happy to have any and all come along.

Mike.

I was just about start a thread on this. Got a flyer through my door just now (I live five minutes drive away from the venue). I just happen to have the day off work so me and the missus will be there. Incidentally, how long is the show? Looking forward to it.

Replicant,
Mike will have to tell you the show length, but I'm guessing the one last years was maybe about 2 hours.

My son and I both enjoyed it last year and are looking forward to going next week.

Aww darn. I'll be in Nottingham getting my *rse kicked at the taekwando student nationals.

All the best to you guys! Break a leg!

As Darrel so rightly states, the show will run, all told, just about 2 hours...Maybe just a tad more, maybe just a tad less.

Please make sure that you catch me and say hello, Replicant and if you and the missus are looking to have a pint after the show (second show only - Gary doesn't want me knocking the Guiness back until we're completely finished) you are both most welcome. I'm told that the pub we'll be going to is quite close to the venue itself.

Thank you for your support!

Mike.

Got my tickets today

Michael, we'll be at the matinee performance and I'll be in Hounslow in the evening so I'll have to take a rain check on the drinks. Thanks, anyway.

I'll probably be posting my thoughts on the show, so watch this space.

Well, make sure to catch me at some point and introduce yourself so that I can give you a warm welcome (or bid you a fond adieu if after the show!).

I look very much like my picture (on the WTW5 website), but now have glasses and the bottom of the mustache is frosted (with old age - yea, I'm one of those guys who hasn't upgraded my head shot in a while...But, really, I still look quite the same).

It promises to be a good show and I would welcome any comments on these pages (good, bad or indifferent!).

Mike.

You'll be relieved to hear I look nothing like my avatar (although I am prone to a spot of red eye on occasion). This is me on a good day...



I shouldn't be too hard to spot as I don't expect there to be an abundance of Chinese faces in the audience.

(I'll be wearing a carnation in my lapel, just in case....)

So who else is going?
for those, like me, who didn't manage Blackpool this year, this show is the ideal magic pick me up.

For those that did go to Blackpool, at just £7.50 for an adult ticket, you get to see some great acts.

I think it's too late to have tickets sent in the post, but I believe you can still phone to have them left at the door.

I'll be there! I can't miss my virtual magic teacher

I've noticed that is really far from me. Also the direct train from St. Pancras to Borehamdom is not working today

Don't worry, I'll post a review for your perusal.

And Borehamdom? That made me chuckle.

Ah... borehamwood

Well, just got back from the show and really enjoyed it. Some thoughts...

Gary Scott did a great job as host and his Mysteries of the Mind act was varied and very entertaining; I was especially impressed with the dart routine. My wife was mortified when he "volunteered" her to assist with an ESP effect, but she enjoyed it and now won't stop asking me, "how did he do that?!"

David Fung, despite a couple of hiccups, handled himself well and his closing rope routine was very good. I think rope magic is definitely David's forte and for such a young man he was quite accomplished.

Next up was Tony Spallino with a nice act where he performed as Jack Diamond, PI. (With some spectator participation from me!) His final find the lady effect with jumbo cards was great and went down very well with the audience.

Michael Jay was great, performing a couple of classics, linking rings and cups and balls, as well as a nice card routine and some very fancy stuff with a rope (those pesky Texan mosquitoes do get around!) The linking rings routine was superb, involving four children from the audience; always a bit risky working with kids but you did a great job, Mike.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show (as did my wife) and two hours felt more like twenty minutes. And at £7.50 for a ticket, it was fantastic value for money. Mike, it was great to meet you and catch up on matters of gun laws and hunting game! It's always nice to put a face to the name. Well done, guys; I hope the evening performace went as well as the matinee and I'm sorry I can't be at the post-show booze up!

Darrel: I was going to say hello during the interval, but you performed a bit of magic of your own and did a disappearing act! I assumed it was you and your son that pulled up in the big Merc?

Replicant, I went to the evening show, rather than the afternoon one. At the time of the first performance, I was still praying I could venture away from the porcelain for a couple of hours!

I had problems concentrating and hearing parts, which was not down to the performance, just that I felt cr*p. I can only give you the parts that I heard and saw.

David Fung.

I think that nerves showed at the very start, with a minor fumble, though not sure if a lay audience would be aware.David recovered well, though,
due to late arrivals, ( during lit candle production I think?)at least one applause clue was lost near the beginning. He well and truly captured the audience with his rope routines. Sorry, but that sentence is rubbish, just saying "rope routine" is like saying Harrods is a supermarket. Fantastic and a joy to watch.

Gary Scott, will return to later.

Tony Spallino.

Due to how I was, I found the first part of the act harder to follow the patter. With that in mind, it wouldn't be right for me to comment on that part. The end with the giant 3 card monte went down very well indeed, with a storyline behind it, rather than a " can't catch me" monte effect.

Michael Jay

Again, can only comment on the more visual parts. Mike gets children up with him, at various stages of the routine, until he has four of them with him. He somehow manages to do some parts as a close up for them, while still making it a stage presentation for the audience. Anybody who says the linking rings are boring haven't seen his routine. Mike finished with the cups and balls. Looking round the audience, there was enough proof that they are, in the right hands, just as exiting and fresh as if they were a new magic innovating.

Gary Scott

Gary acted as compere as well as having his own portion of the show. I feel this worked extremely well. He was billed as doing "Mysteries of the mind" which I felt shouldn't have worked while linking between acts. It did work perfectly. the audience got a taste of what his act was, which I felt made them more responsive during his actual routine. I was very impressed with this, because it was so different to the usual bit of comedy as a fill in between act changes. It kept the right amount of wonder and linked the whole show.

I kept an eye on the audience. They responded to the magic, laughter, entertainment and Wonder wouldn't mind paying to see any of the acts by themselves. Together, the show has the right mixture that makes it fantastic. I did enjoy it more than last year and feel it was a better show.