Magic of the Mind Competition Review

1 April 2004

4 March 2004

Five brave souls with contrasting personalities, different styles of presentation and equally varied material are ready to perform ... Nerves are in the air ... A discerning and watchful audience of their peers are waiting ... We were treated to five wonderfully diverse and unique acts.

Andy Hart had the daunting task of warming up the crowd - which he did admirably - performing his brand of 'real-world' modern mentalism. He demonstrated the difference between magic and mentalism by using his techniques as a 'psychological illusionist' to divine a card. He then performed his remarkably
clean version of 'Kurotsuke' - surmising the location of a black ball held in a person's hand. A professional and direct routine which built to a convincing and compelling conclusion.

Matthew Parr took to the stage with a musical introduction. He seemed natural, and his enthusiasm was palpably evident. He courageously ploughed through his understandable nerves, performing a card divination and some increasingly impossible card predictions. His use of music to create tension and suspense for his 'ESP Match' finale was wonderfully refreshing and dramatically uplifting.

Paul Leacy was enjoyably laid back, and eminently watchable. His whole performance was relaxed, friendly and peppered with his easygoing humour. With an understated style, he performed straight forward effects; revealing a chosen number and a coincidental match with two sets of ESP cards. Most strikingly, he presented 'Koran's Medallion', showing us an old antique coin, and subsequently, a freely thought of number was seen to be inscribed on the coin.

Mike Pettit, with the assistance of Brenda, performed a classic two person telepathy act. Brenda, with back to the audience, first received an impression of a thought of car. After successfully divining the 'one envelope out of five' which contained money, she correctly named the sequence of some randomly displayed ESP cards. Mike's kind and charming approach gently guided us through this truly incredible display of telepathy.

Finally, Andrew Jeffrey uplifted us with his commanding presence, powerful presentation and engaging personality. He began with an upbeat 'Magic Square', performed a direct and punchy book test and finished with a unique and beautifully crafted routine; We were invited to decide on the details for an imaginary holiday, only to find that the exact information had been predicted in a previously written letter. His entire act was skillfully crafted, and was both impactive and emotive.

We are all aware that there is no 'best' when it comes to entertaining with magic ... However, the nature of the occasion dictates that marks are awarded for presentation, magical content and entertainment value. On this occasion the complimentary accolade of 'winner' belonged to Andrew Jeffrey - who emerged victorious for a third successive year...

The standard throughout was exceptionally high. Congratulations and my sincerest appreciation to each competitor for contributing to this thoroughly absorbing evening, and for sharing their interpretation of ... the 'Magic of the Mind'.

Giles

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