Chris Priest Lecture in Cork Review

John Casey of the Southern Brotherhood of Magicians sent us long the following review of the Chris Priest Lecture that took place recently in Cork.  If you attend a society night and would like to review the goings on please forward any pics and words to us for inclusion. 

On Wednesday 20^th October last Chris Priest presented his lecture to the Southern Brotherhood of Magicians in the Victoria Hotel, Cork. This was a fantastic lecture that was aimed mostly at those who wished to take their magic into the real world and perform for ‘real’ audiences. Chris is a full time working professional magician and, as a result, his material has been practiced and refined through thousands of performances for real world audiences.

Chris covered 4 of his routines in total, and broke his lecture into 2 halves, covering 2 routines in each half. He opened his lecture with his Ace Reception routine, which he describes as an ideal crowd builder in strolling situations. Essentially this is a collection of some of the strongest 4 ace tricks available, all blended together into an entertaining routine that runs to about 12 – 15 minutes. This was then followed by Chris’s signature sponge ball routine, ‘Protons’, which has been described by many as the best routine on the market. Chris has taken the traditional sponge ball routine and given it a new lease of life by utilising some well known gimmicks, entertaining patter and D’lites, in order to construct an great routine that is perfectly suited to real world working environments.

Chris opened the second half of the lecture with his Master Coin Routine, which is the opener his uses when he performs table magic. Again this is a fabulous 10 – 12 minute routine that has some 26 pieces of magic built in, all woven together with some fantastic patter to create a highly visual and entertaining coin routine. Finally, Chris finished off with his JFK (ambitious card) routine, which incorporates his version of the card to wallet and also utilises the Kennedy box. Chris will typically perform this routine for someone that he would like to give his business card to, as the business card ends up paper clipped to a chosen card, inside an envelope, inside his wallet, during the course of the routine.

This was a superb lecture which really had a little something for everyone. Chris is an experienced professional and he filled his lecture with lots of great tips and advice for any magicians who may be considering professional work. He has constructed his routines so as to get the maximum reaction from his audiences. As he explained himself, his magic is not complicated nor difficult to perform, however it is highly visual and extremely entertaining. Overall a great lecture by a true gentleman of our art, delivered with great style and charm, and thoroughly enjoyed by all our members!

John Casey