What’s in the box?

You receive a DVD which features a live performance and thorough explanations. The DVD also includes artwork so that you can print your own photograph for the prediction.

You will need to supply some blank cards (you can use playing cards or just any old bits of card) and write on them in different colours. You’ll also need a deck of cards (Bicycle of course! though other decks are available).

The explanation is clear (as long as you’re ok with Scottish accents!) and detailed. There are lots of different levels of subtlety going on here. It’s one of those effects which is difficult to assess from the point of view of difficulty. It doesn’t require lots of technical expertise – but it does require a little linguistic subtlety – so you need to be confident to speak and to ‘jazz’ a little depending on the choices the spectator makes.

In addition to the ‘self-working’ version, he also teaches an alternative handling using a slightly different force which may require some further skills. It has a different type of reveal at the end which will appeal to some people more. Personally, I think I prefer the original version.

The good, the bad, and the borrowed…

Dave has very cleverly taken a number of old (and newer!) principles and combined and extended them to make a very strong and fooling effect. He is good at attributing the different elements as he goes along – and one whole element is actually borrowed from a brilliant Mark Elsdon routine we have reviewed elsewhere.

Make no mistake, REM is an involved routine which takes some time. For that reason, I don’t think it would fit many table-hopping scenarios – it is more of a performance piece in a more formal setting, or where you have longer with your spectator than the ‘gaps between courses’ normally allow. Related to this, I would be just slightly concerned that the spectator might forget the card they are thinking of, since there is quite a lot of presentation until the final reveal comes along.

Notwithstanding these small reservations, I really like this. The premise is engaging and the final prediction is a complete surprise. There are some really subtle techniques going on – some of which I could see me reapplying in other contexts. There are no multiple outs on the prediction so the reveals really are squeaky clean. I’ll definitely be using this!

REM is available from Merchant of Magic for £27.50 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Our first suggestions are in honour of the recently deceased legend that is Paul Daniels. With his passing, the UK has lost one of its all time great magicians and entertainers.  I’ve written in the past about some of my own experiences of the great man. But of the many routines he made his own, the Chop Cup is surely one of the finest.  This wide mouthed Ickle Pickle chop cup is quite close in style to the Ken Brooke style cup which Paul used. £36.99

Chop Cups come in many sizes and styles – if you want to see some alternatives, have a look at the spooky Sea of Skulls cup, the streamlined modern Leather Chop Cup, or the unique space-saving design of the Harmonica Chop Cup.

And if you want to learn from the master, then you can’t go wrong with his wonderful Bravura DVD set in which he teaches some of his trademark routines (including the chop cup routine).  £119.99.

Although the Scotts don’t always like being associated with the UK, our next suggestion is by that talented Scottish magician, Dave Forrest.  He’s has put out numerous brilliant releases over the years, and one such very recent example is REM. This is very powerful close up mentalism where you are able to show the spectator has correctly imagined every part of your dream. Wonderful. £28.50 (you can read our full review here)

Next up is one of the greatest hits of the recent Blackpool Magicians Conference, at least – in the eyes of Jeff McBride – and he knows a thing or two about magic!  Dave Loosley’s Inflexion is a super-visual two card transposition which is easy to do.  Conceived and manufactured in the UK! £28.50

And last, but not least, Nick Einhorn is one of the nicest pros working in the UK at the moment – and anything with his name on it is guaranteed to be a worker.  I love the thinking behind his Bill to Marker – a totally ‘organic’ approach to the ‘bill to impossible location’ plot. Think ‘bill tube’ but in a logical form which fits the routine perfectly.  This is a real winner and would also work really nicely with any bill change routine you do.  £65.99

There it is – a variety of effects with a UK link – to help me think of home in the coming weeks.  I’m looking forward to doing some work on my Cups and Balls routine while away – watch this space for some interesting reflections on that classic of magic.  And let us know what you’ve seen that’s new and interesting in the world of close up magic.

The post Trick of the Month – April 2016 – the United Kingdom edition appeared first on Bicycle Cards.