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The Best...TV illusionist

Illusionist Simon Drake does the silhouette routine in The Secret Cabaret
  • Posted at 3:50pm
  • 09 January 2009
  • by LauraPledger-RT
  • 8 comments

You'll like this blog. Not a lot - but you'll like it.

I don't recall much about the television of my childhood, but I do remember being happily bamboozled by Paul Daniels on a regular basis.

Nowadays, TV magic shows have gone the way of so many brightly coloured handkerchieves and sundry rabbits, disappearing into the black hole of the magician's top hat. (Though if David Blaine could be persuaded to follow them, I suspect nobody would really miss him.)

Not so long ago we were treated to the madcap antics of American double act Penn and Teller. They routinely drove a coach and horses through the Magic Circle's tradition of never revealing how tricks are done. But maybe the shadowy figures at the head of that organisation had their revenge and made the disrespectful duo disappear. We certainly don't see much of them over here now.

These days, if you're lucky, you might catch a few episodes each year of Derren Brown. Actually, he's back this week with an Evening of Wonders (13 January, Channel 4). This sell-out live show promises to leave TV audiences gaping just as much as the folks in the theatre where it was filmed. But I have to say, his clever-clever, I'm so-much-smarter-than-you delivery leaves me cold. And when it comes down to it, however fascinating they are from a scientific point of view, his fantastical feats aren't that fantastical. So much of what he does is based on psychological techniques or hypnotic suggestion that it all feels a bit of a fraud, frankly.

Now, I know that at heart all magic is fraud. Illusionists might have phenomenal patience and dexterity, but clearly none of them possess supernatural abilities.

When I watch magic, though, I want to be utterly transported. I want my jaw to hit the floor. I want to be left stuttering, "How the hell did he do that?"

And the man who does do that is Simon Drake.

In his clever, breathtaking and shocking Channel 4 series The Secret Cabaret (1989, 1992), Drake demonstrates admirable range as a performer. Whether he appears in typical magician's garb or in the guise of a cruel, demonic overlord heavily into pain, he's equally compelling.

My favourite illusions include a deceptively simple routine with a dancing cane, and a sequence done in silhouette where he produces various items apparently out of nowhere, while simultaneously making up his face to create - in the final reveal - a death's head mask.

But it's for the nightmarish scenarios that most will remember him. Nerve-jangling music, a predatory, sexual power and gleeful, gory violence combine to create the unsettling kind of trick that sticks in the mind.

Whether he's being hanged, guillotined, impaled or set alight, there's a genuine frisson of danger; you fear for his safety. Yet it's all done with such finesse - not to mention a macabre sense of humour - that you're effortlessly swept along with it. And for a few precious moments, you can believe that you're witnessing the impossible.

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Comments

  • Posted on 01 October 2009
  • at 8:02am
  • by Violet40

I've been a fan of Simon's since first seeing "The Secret Cabaret" back in the early 90's. For me he has to be the best magician I have ever seen.

Last weekend I paid a visit to the House of Magic. A truly magical and memorable evening. Simon was the perfect host and one of the nicest people I've met.

  • Posted on 14 January 2009
  • at 9:30pm
  • by Alexa

I am one of many female fans of The Secret Cabaret and it still remains one of my all time favourite television shows. I have actually been to see Simon's current live show at his venue in London and took with me some friends that were not familiar with The Secret Cabaret or magic in general and they absolutely loved it. Definately one of the best nights out you can have in London. The show was gloriously reminiscant of the television show and I have to agree with the original post, that the dancing cane is definately one of my favourites and to see it live was just something else. I actually went back again recently and found out that you can now buy the series on DVD. It is all of the Magic only and does not have any of the non-Simon bits on it but all of Simon Drake's illusions are there and for me, they were the best part of the Secret Cabaret anyway!

I think they sell them through a website still but it was only a limited edition and I got mine on the night, but if you google or look for secretcabaret dot com then I'm sure you'll find it then like me, you can re-live all those great moments and the sheer unequivocal brilliance of a show, that in my opinion, has not been matched in quality and appeal since. I like many others tuned in to the Derren Brown show last night and was thoroughly disappointed. It looked and sounded like he was just rushing through the routines and all the swearing!? Why was that necessary! I know his shows are on Channel 4 but that does not mean every show must be reduced to the levels of celebrity big brother surely. An evening of wonders - all I was left wondering was how much longer do we have to wait for a decent late night magic show again.

But anyhow, that's enough from me. A big thumbs up for bringing the Secret Cabaret back to attention. I think after all this talk I may have to go and pop the DVD on now. Brilliant.

  • Posted on 14 January 2009
  • at 8:40pm
  • by Kate

Well. I also watched Derren Brown last night and I was transported. I love his clever-clever, I'm-so-much-smarter-than-you approach because it is tongue in cheek...and true! I don't mind a bit of swearing either, and the fact that his performance is based on pychological manipulation and misdirection is made perfectly clear to a willing audience who enjoys these very experiences. Last night I even looked up tickets to watch him in his 2009 tour...maybe he hypnotised me into it -what a dude!

  • Posted on 14 January 2009
  • at 3:06pm
  • by Ionaclio

I watched Derren Brown last night with my significant other. We both thought the show was tame and switched off around 10.45, deciding that we were watching nothing more than a con man. Mirrors, magnetic fields came to mind. Don't think the swearing was necessary either. Cannot be compared to the excellent Secret Cabaret...Really enjoyed the blog though...I can go back as far as Harry Corbett and Sooty with his magic wand. How I longed for that in my Christmas stocking but it never materialised! Then along came David Nixon with his magic tricks and I think, that Anita Harris was one of his pretty lady attendants. Paul Daniels was excellent, such a pity he is not on tv now and Penn and Teller used to leave my jaw agape as I wondered how on earth it was done....David Copperfield was good too but always thought he would benefit from one of my Sunday roasts as he looked starved! But yes, Secret Cabaret does the business for us in our house....

  • Posted on 14 January 2009
  • at 2:57pm
  • by Stoner

Simon Drake, who?

David Blaine is the best.

  • Posted on 14 January 2009
  • at 12:41pm
  • by Bigbeemer

Yes, I'm another Simon Drake fan....but would we find his presentations so shocking now I wonder? By contrast, Derren Brown seems tame and I agree re his patronising delivery. However, looking at the audience on last night's show, not everyone would agree...or did the cameramen only focus on those with apparently dislocated lower jaws?

  • Posted on 10 January 2009
  • at 7:15pm
  • by Jeremy

Congratulations for reminding us about Simon Drake. The Secret Cabaret was an absolute gem of a show. I was inspired by him as a young 'un; enthralled. I always remember the 'cutting the man in half' illusion. Except that he did it vertically, from groin to neck, and with lots of blood. Excellent.

  • Posted on 10 January 2009
  • at 9:51am
  • by MazY

I remember watching The Secret Cabaret when I was in my early twenties. For its time, it certainly stretches the limits of what we had come to expect from magic shows. I loved every second of it.

With regards to Derren Brown, I can understand your finding his ego leaving you a little cold. However, the fact that you believe much of what he does is based on hypnotic suggestion or psychological technique shows that he is very good at what he does. The real magic is that he's managed to conduct what are, under the surface, traditional illusions and magic tricks, and make them look like they are much more - such as hypnotic suggestion.

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