talkmagic.co.uk

I’ve bought a few items over the last couple months and thought I might check if reviews had been done or not. I can’t believe there’s no review for this!

The Effect (straight from TopSecretMagic.co.uk)
"You explain to the audience that you subscribe to a mail order magic company that sends you magic lessons on CDs. You received one today and brought it to show the audience how you learn your tricks. You open the shipping box and remove a CD. With any CD player, you put the CD in and start the lesson. After a short music introduction a pleasant female voice explains that this is "The Lesson of the Vanishing Bandanna."

The voice tells you that you will need two props for this trick. The first is a large dark colored square of fabric and the second being a yellow bandanna. Upon these words you reach into the shipping box and bring out a piece of dark fabric and a yellow BANANA, not a yellow bandanna! The voice continues to explain that this lesson is about "Palming" and instructs you to fold up the yellow bandanna and vanish it in the dark square of fabric. This is done, but you are really folding and mashing up the banana...which will get a great response of laughter from the audience.

The trick ends with you vanishing the folded and mashed BANANA in the dark fabric square!"


Cost
£23.00 from TopSecretMagic.co.uk – click ‘Stage’ on the menu.


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)
2 – you do actually have to make the banana vanish…


Review
I first saw this effect in 2002 performed by a stand-up comedian. His act was mainly comedy, except for a vanishing ketchup bottle (like this, but a ketchup bottle - obviously), which was the climax of a much larger gag, and the Vanishing Bandana, which is what he closed with. I knew that I would never forget it – I nearly wet myself laughing at the time.

I didn’t see it again until I developed a real interest for magic, and found that you could buy this vanishing banana trick. Not long after, I saw Joe Pasquale perform it, on stage, and then I found out that Copperfield had performed it too. Well, if it’s good enough for them, then it’s good enough for me. And boy, it is good.

You receive a large handkerchief in which to vanish your bandana, a brown box with a convincing sticker on it, the instructional CD and a manuscript on a single sheet of A4 paper – one side has the script from the CD on it, the other has handling tips and advice on your body language and facial expressions as the story unfolds.

The whole thing is an absolute treat to perform – I first did it at a 9-year-old girl’s birthday party. The kids (ranging from 5 to 13) laughed their socks off. When the banana actually vanished, so cleanly (!), in front of their eyes, their jaws all dropped simultaneously, and the adults were clearly impressed too. One of the younger ones came up to me afterwards and said, “You do know that it was a banana?” Brilliant.

It is a slightly messy trick – after all, you do fold a banana in half twice, unfold it, then re-fold it again, but the instructions do give you details on how to combat this.

I can’t fault the manufacture of the handkerchief. The CD is a dream. The props fit in the brown box nicely, and the instructions are clear as a bell.

Overall

Overall, this is a class piece of kit, and is a superb addition to my magic collection. I know I can use it on roadshows with Hospital Radio. I can use it at school fetes, children’s birthday parties and even dinner parties for adults, if there’s a hi-fi to hand.

The only problem you may have with the Vanishing Bandana is the fact that so many people have seen it performed. Although, on saying that, I’ve never met any layman that has seen it or remembers it. Even if I explain it to them. Many folk may have seen it, but quite a few of them have forgotten.

I know for a fact I’ll take every chance I can to perform this – it’s a real crowd pleaser, and it’s extremely satisfying to perform.

10/10.

Nice review Zack - and I agree with you in that I can't believe it hasn't been reviewed before. This must be one of the most used effects on the market at the moment.

In fact if there is anything bad at all to say about it at all, it is that everybody and their mothers seem to have it and perofrm it, so there is always a good chance that some of the audience have seen it before. In fact, it was even performed by Joe Pasquale on Tv not so long ago.

Actually there is one problem with this effect - almost nobody is authorised to perform it (including the 'Great' Copperfield):

http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~roy/magictalk-w ... ndana.html

Can it be done close up? Is everything examiniable?

Pitto

Let's just say the handkerchief is left 'dirty' in more ways than one.

Doesn't mean you can't have a duplicate ready though...

I hate this trick, one of the worst I have seen, but each to their own!

garysumpter wrote:I hate this trick, one of the worst I have seen, but each to their own!

I have seen it so many times I too am getting tired of it, but you know what - the audience just lap it up, and we are after all there to entertain them.

How does this go down with adults?
It does seem to be aimed at a young audience, would it work in a comedy/cabaret show for adults?

The actual reception of this effect varies with age, state of inebriation, and position in your show.

It's a pretty long-winded affair, and always reminds me of a 'commercial break'.

It has great comedy values, and a nice sucker aspect, but it's definately not something which is going to set everyone's world alight!

Thanks. Being a cabaret performer, I thought it may be something that could possibly work. Just wasn't sure about it. It sounds very much like something for kids rather than adults.
Anyone know where I can see a demo video of this?

I thought this was a brilliant trick. You can see it being performed on youtube. This is where I first saw it, and had to get it.

Cost me £23, haven't performed it "live" yet, but my family loved it.

Although probably aimed at kids, I think the adults will love it too.

Definately worth the money.

It's really satisfying to perform, since it gets good reactions. But I do think it's aimed more at kids, although the adults seems to enjoy it still, and many times also get fooled.

Here's my video of it. I actually read the instructions, tried out a move or 2, and just performed it, without practicing once. (bad, bad!) I was surprised how well it went. =)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Omi9ZmKvO3w

vikramkhalsa wrote: I do think it's aimed more at kids

I have to disagree.

I've done it in the kids show once or twice, but the kids dont understand the humour I think. I perform this in every adult stage show, and its a storm, its always my finale, and its the best 20 odd quid ive ever spent, although when I got it, it was the tape version, and I put it onto my computer so I could add extra pauses etc to suit my performance of it.


MM