talkmagic.co.uk

After being dragged around London for the past two days I was becoming increasingly disappointed with the prospect that due to my wife's "necessary" visits to shops etc. I might not get to see any magic whatsoever.

As it turns out we found the time to stop and watch a magician in Covent Garden. I had missed some of it unfortunately and although his rope trick was a little rough around the edges (I did not know how it was done before watching him, now I do) I do not think the other spectators picked up on this and his cup and balls was great.

What I really liked though was his spiel and presentation. I do not very often get to see magic performed in such a restrictive environment (normally seeing stage magic) so it was a real treat to not only watch but hear his patter with the crowd. The timing, quips and humour were fantastic misdirection and made me feel a little ashamed that I only had a quid to put in his "magic hat" at the end.

If any of you have not seen something up close and personal like this, especially if you do not yet perform yourself, I can definitely recommend seeing something similar.

I've seen some very good performances in Covent Garden before, also some not so good as well. It's always worth taking a stroll there, you never know what you might see.

This guy was called Andrew Prince. His dialogue was quite... adult. Not in a sweary way, just some of the double meanings etc. but his act looked pretty polished.

I saw James James perform in Covent Garden a couple of years ago. The very next day he won an award of merit at the International Magic Convention for a "cut and restored rope" routine.