CATCHING THE BULLET
Tony Noon looks inside his magic box for the secret behind one of the World's most dangerous illusions
I have always loved Magic. It was always there in my formative years . Television variety shows always had a guy ( always a guy in those days ) producing doves and silks from thin air. Always dressed in top hat and tails , perhaps assisted by glamorous young women to help control the menagerie. Even Sooty ( still around today , kids ) used magic in his madcap " performances" with Harry Corbett. More adult audiences probably remember David Nixon , whose popular shows maintained the variety theme with singers and comedians , but also gave airtime to magic acts from around the world , paving the way for the more elaborate shows fronted by Paul Daniels from the Seventies onwards.
My active interest in Magic began in the late Sixties , on mostly wet holidays in Mablethorpe , Lincolnshire. The holiday camp we stayed at had , amongst other things , a club for young people in the evenings hosted by a magician called Poz , aided and abetted by a mischievous monkey glove puppet in the manner of Sooty , as mentioned above. Lots of slapstick and "magic" cakes made in a piece of equipment I learnt to call a dove pan ... but also some serious magic for the older children. It was here I saw my first live version of Houdini's "Metamorphosis" , where the magician changes place with a manacled assistant locked in a trunk in the rise and fall of a hooped curtain. Paz also did a marvellous routine with the "Chinese Linking Rings" ... large brass rings which he pulled from a purple velvet bag. The sound of the rings and the way they caught the light were as much a part of the magic as the mysterious routine itself . This , for me , is the difference between performing Magic and showing Tricks .
Magicians talk about Effects rather than Tricks. A trick is something which helps the magician create the Effect . The Effects themselves always challenge our senses. Always demonstrate something which should not be happening. Coins disappearing. Cards changing suit and colour. Elephants and tigers appearing in previously empty boxes ... The tricks , which so many people want to know about are often simple and mundane , but skilfully perpetrated they literally create wonder and amazement.
I am interested in the whole range of Magic , from clever close up work with every day objects to the grand stage illusions, which are less popular than they were a century ago , but which continue to evolve and still find eager audiences in places like Las Vegas. I must say, though, with no disrespect to the many skilled performers across the globe, that I am not keen on Escapology, and I don't particularly like what I would refer to as Stunt Magic. Among the latter , I include " Catching The Bullet" , where the magician allows a member of the public to fire a rifle at him , appearing to catch a marked bullet in his teeth. I don't know why I don't like it. It has all the elements of a great effect , but the perceived danger takes something away for me.
In 1918, a magician calling himself Chung Ling Soo , died on stage in London , performing this routine. Unfortunately , audiences ever since have believed the routine to be life threatening. In a thrill seeking world this element of "real" danger continues to capture the imagination and the headlines.
For me , on England's damp east coast , the mid Seventies saw me full of enthusiasm , with a box full of secrets and a little practical skill.Obviously, I was ready to foist myself on the public. Old enough now to move from the juniors to the newly built Cabaret Club , I put together a small act and put my name down for the holiday camp's weekly talent competition. Ahead of me on the night was a middle aged lady offering , to me , a very flat rendition of " All My Life's a Circle" .
As , naturally , I considered myself to be a sophisticated comedy magician , I had already told the Compere that I didn't need any intro music . Consequently , as he announced my name , the band struck up a corny , overfast snatch of " I Want to Be Happy" to enable me to move to the centre of the cabaret floor. As the last trombone slid back to base , I was met by a deafening silence. There were people on three sides of me but out there in the spot ,I couldn't hear or see any of them. Indeed , the only people I could see were the three volunteer judges. I began , therefore , to pitch my act to them. Witty one liners , Post Cards from the Famous ... all good stuff , I thought as I rehearsed in front of my mirror at home. Out there , though , I quickly became aware of something. No one seemed to be laughing . At the very least , there seemed to be a horrible time lag between the gags leaving my lips , and the, perhaps, modest laughter reaching my ears...
Suddenly I got it. I understood how Catching The Bullet could be for real... In this time distorted world I suddenly found myself in, I could easily have seen and caught a bullet slowly swirling towards me....
Somehow , I managed to plough through my act , which culminated in a technically competent "Unequal Ropes" routine . Applause and off , maybe to more pratfall music from the band , but I don't remember. Later in the toilets , a drunk shook my hand and told me I could be the next Paul Daniels. I wasn't , but I still love Magic. I came second in the talent contest . The winner was a middle aged lady singing " All My Life's a Circle"... There were no other competitors.
