West End Magic started its spring tour in London at the Leicester Square Theatre on Saturday. It was one of the best lineups we’ve had, with an eclectic selection of acts.
We continue the tour this coming Saturday at the Astor theatre in Deal, Kent, then continue around the points of the compass over the next few weeks visiting Hull, Tamworth, Harrogate, Witney, Sheringham and Bath.
This year’s show features a mixture of visual magic from myself: such as making a picture come to life, causing a handkerchief to dance, pulling a dove out of a music sheet, magically separating red and black playing cards from each other, and transporting one of our cast members to the back of the auditorium.
We also have manic magic and mayhem from our new cast member, Jezo, and our regular compère Wayne Trice will still be attempting to escape from his suit jacket.
We aim to keep the show fresh and new for both audiences and ourselves, so we are continuously in the process of adding, changing, tweaking and re-jigging. This can be a daunting exercise, as not every new idea or routine may work. Therefore, we hired in a director to help guide us, give feedback and help us envision a direction of where the show could go.
Just over a month ago, we spent a very creative day with Neil Kelso who helped and encouraged us to brainstorm concepts, re-evaluate routines and gave constructive feedback on the show.
Neil Kelso is best described as a multi-disciplinary artist, a writer (of plays, books and songs), a performer (in real life, on stage and TV) and a valued collaborator, dramaturg or director on all sorts of creative projects.
Some common themes in his work include: magic, storytelling, music, invisible connections, crossroads, illusions, collaboration, mysteries, immersive or interactive experiences and inviting people to see the world, themselves and those around them, in new ways.
We felt that he shares a similar artistic vision, which is why we chose to hire him for the show and knew that he would pretty much deliver on all of the above: we had so many ideas suggested throughout the time we spent together with him that we must have each filled half a note pad! It was a very encouraging and invigorating day that helped give some much needed enthusiasm and excitement back into the show, from a creative point of view.
A lot of these newly formed ideas will be worked on and tried out throughout the year, to be put into a new concept for next year’s show.
Watch this space…
