The Next Great Magician: it's just an illusion

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The Next Great Magician: it's just an illusion

November 13, 2016 - 12:11
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The Next Great Magician is ITV’s latest in a long line of talent shows. Singing, ice skating, even diving have all been tried and tested, and it’s hard to believe producers are still coming up with new activities to milk the reality format for all it’s worth. Splash! sank without trace after two series and The X Factor has been dying a slow and painful death for at least the last eight years, so I wasn’t holding out much hope.

The Next Great Magician

By Matthew Gormley @MatthewPGormley

The Next Great Magician is ITV’s latest in a long line of talent shows. Singing, ice skating, even diving have all been tried and tested, and it’s hard to believe producers are still coming up with new activities to milk the reality format for all it’s worth. Splash! sank without trace after two series and The X Factor has been dying a slow and painful death for at least the last eight years, so I wasn’t holding out much hope.

I was expecting the same old, same old: drag a few amateurs in off the streets, write them a hyperbolic sob-story and, hey presto, an hour of television padding at its finest. Judging by the first episode, I was pleasantly surprised. This time, there are no VTs laden with sob-stories, no judges and certainly no amateurs. For the people taking part are all semi-professional magicians and illusionists, many of whom are members of the prestigious Magic Circle. Each week, half a dozen perform, with one going through to the Final. The prize for the overall winner? Their very own ITV special. Slightly anti-climatic perhaps, but we’re told this hour long special is worth a ridiculous £500,000.

Escapologist Jonathan Goodwin was one of the highlights of the first programme. He’s no stranger to the limelight, having been an established performer on both stage and screen, appearing on Balls Of Steel (Channel 4), One Way Out (Discovery Channel) and The Seven Stupidest Things To Escape From (Channel 4). He’s even had his own series on digital channel Watch, entitled The Incredible Mr Goodwin. At the beginning of his act on Sunday evening, he told us how he took his inspiration from Harry Houdini, the first person ever to escape from a straightjacket. Goodwin took this trick one step further and set himself on fire whilst performing the extreme stunt. It was a nail-biting few minutes as we watched him struggle and squirm, desperately trying to set himself free as the flames engulfed his body.

Jonathan Goodwin had tough competition from table magician Eric Jones, whose slight-of-hand coin tricks provided real ‘wow’ moments, leaving you quite unable to believe any such thing could possibly happen in front of your eyes. Actress Suzanne Shaw and presenter Rylan Clark were plucked out of the audience to be a part of the act; they tried to pretend that they hadn’t been planted especially for the purpose of being chosen, but the looks of amazement of their faces as their jaws dropped were certainly genuine.

I love magic and, whilst some folk are desperate to work out how these extremely talented virtuosos carry off such illusions, having absolutely no idea is all part of the fun for me and lets me naively believe that magic really does exist. I’m completely baffled that neither of these acts were chosen to fill a place in the Final. As with most talent formats out there, it’s not the be-all-and-end-all, as they’ve already carved successful careers out of their talents anyway.

Sadly, not everybody on the bill can leave such a lasting impression, as demonstrated by Young and Strange, who were just plain daft.

Another refreshing twist is the absence of a panel of judges. It’s up to the acts to decide among themselves whose illusions were the most impressive and who is most worthy of the slot on the Final bill, meaning the whole process is dignified and the incredible talents of the performers are not overshadowed by childish, bickering judges and scripted scandal. Interestingly, we’re not allowed to see the discussion taking place in order to prevent any secrets being disclosed, adding to the air of mystery. The only person allowed in the room with the acts is host Stephen, as he is a professional magician.

It’s a series that shows promise. I just hope that, after it’s done and dusted, the acts won’t disappear in a puff of smoke.