New tricksters rework old tricks.. Illusionists are reinventing magic for television.
Thanks to Bridget McManus for this article in the Sidney Morning Herald..
When David Copperfield reigned as king of small-screen magic, the ancient genre was a staple of evening entertainment and every talent quest and variety show included a budding showman peddling his bag of tricks. But since then, apart from the occasional special, and Penn and Teller’s gallant but counterproductive attempt to rekindle interest with their 2011 trick-busting contest, Fool Us, television magic seems to have done a disappearing act. In a time when digital sophistication makes wonderment commonplace, magic has been relegated to dedicated Foxtel channels and the odd entrant on Australia’s Got Talent. Even the 2014 Royal Variety Performance cut its traditional magic act, with one Green Guide reader lamenting, “What a bore. Where were the acrobats and magicians?”
However, a new breed of illusionists putting a fresh spin on old tricks has brought magic back…..