Magician in close-up (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Magician in close-up

1:08pm Thursday 20th April 2006 in

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WORLD-RENOWNED magician Geoffrey Durham's new show is of the "less is more" school.

Not only does his No Hat, No Rabbit tour show off his incredible close-up magic skills but it also, he says, eschews the grandiosity of certain US magicians who have gained fame of late.

He says: "David Blaine and David Copperfield are Americans. They are very good for US audiences but over here no-one gives a monkey's. The only country where David Blaine is a standing joke is Britain. I understand the expertise but I'm doing magic for people in this country. We're very cynical and we like a laugh. We don't want to witness the impossible' we just want to have some fun."

Durham has a well-spoken charm, but magic and punctuality seem to be bugbears of his. I don't ingratiate myself with him by being 20 minutes late for our interview but his anger at me is soon replaced by Blaine et al.

Durham's magic may cause fewer headlines than his US counterparts but there is more to it than lying in a glass box. The magician, who is a member of the Magic Circle's Inner Circle, is playing to selected intimate venues where the audience can get a close view of a master of sleight of hand.

He says: "The show explores just how close I can be to you and get away with it. It is the first close-up show anyone's done on the stage. I won't be using any magical equipment. Everything I use will be everyday objects or things I gather from the audience. It showcases the kind of music that people know from me on television. I thought it would be a good idea to do it on the stage."

This intimate form of illusion does not stop for the show's interval.

Durham says: "I will be doing stuff in the bar during the break. I have a trick where I borrow three wedding rings from men and link them all together."

The one-man show has been a huge success for Durham. However, the performance at the Radlett Centre on Saturday will be one of the last chances to catch the magician up close.

He says: "Nobody's tried it before but it's proved to be my most successful show yet and I plan to quit while I'm ahead."

Durham has been a household name on TV for years, first in the guise of ebullient Spanish magician The Great Soprendo (say his magic words "Piff-paff-poof" to anyone over 30 and they're sure to give you a nostalgic smile, under 30s may call the police) and as his own more avuncular self. He is a member of the already exclusive magicians' organisation the Magic Circle's inner circle and in 2002 became only the 20th member to receive its Maskelyne award.

He says: "It's a real honour. It's only been given to a restricted number of people, including heroes of mine such as Robert Harbin, the greatest magician of the 20th century."

He claims an inability to divulge secrets about the hermetic circle of conjurors on the grounds that he rarely has the time to stop in at the club's London address. He says: "I really don't go there. I'm a very busy person."

Certainly his tours and special appearances take him all over the world.

"The last one-man show I did was in Dubai," he says. He has also just been invited to do some shows in America. Let's just hope none of them expect him to be buried alive.

l Geoffrey Durham, No Hat, No Rabbit, is at the Radlett Centre on Saturday, April 22. Tickets are priced at £14 and £13. Tickets: 01923 8592.