SOS: Adam Dadswell

This week Adam Dadswell returns to rebuild his list years after his first visit to the island. Some picks stay because they still hit hard in real shows, others get replaced by newer pieces that fit the way Adam performs now, with clearer premises, cleaner handling, and bigger moments for spectators.

We dig into what actually makes a trick worth keeping for life: the satisfaction of a sneaky method, the freedom to go hands-off, and a premise that sparks real conversation instead of a “look how clever I am” vibe. Adam talks through switching Sneak Thief for Sentinel, his drawing duplication approach that uses a childhood imagination hook and a table display that creates instant intrigue. He also trades Big Kick for InstaCaan, a card at any number routine that escalates into a blank-deck shocker, and updates the Diabolical Principle with Loki for that unforgettable key reveal.

Then we go past the trick list into the culture of magic. Adam banishes magician-wins routines that make audience members feel small, shares a wedding performance horror story and how he recovered, picks Theodore Annemann as his dream island guest, and chooses Darren Brown’s Enigma as the show he’d replay forever. We’re thrilled to meet with Adam once again! 

Adam's Desert Island Substitutions: 

1. Sneak Thief for Sentinel 

2. Big Kick for InstaCAAN

3. Diabolical for Loki

Banishment. Magician Winning Routines 

Guest. Theodore Annemann 

Memory. Go back to the first time he saw magic live 

Horror. Built up a reveal and didn’t quite go to plan 

Show. Enigma 

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Hello and welcome to Desert Island Tricks SOS. If you're not familiar with this format, the idea is we have obviously been going now. So we're just about to finish at the time of recording our second season. So we've done nearly 150 episodes across all of these. So we will be doing a sum-up episode as well. So look out for that. But the idea is, of course, we've been going for a while, and some of our guests have been stuck on this island for a little while. Today's guest in particular, I saw him just last week. We flew over the island. He was writing out SOS in the sand with some rocks. So we need to go back and we need to help him. Mainly to see whether people are really sticking to these lists. Because I know the concept of this podcast is these are the eight tricks that you would have for the rest of your days, but how much do we think we're actually going to be sticking to that? So we're going to find out. Now, today's guest also did not get a banishment. So we're going to give him a banishment, and of course, he gets four new items. So he gets a guest, uh, a magic guest, either dead or alive. I mean, as when I say that, I don't mean the guest is dead whilst he's on the island, as in this guest is either living now or it has passed away. Um, but he gets the guest regardless. A memory. So we're going to give him a little cinema screen on his island, and he gets to replay one of these memories when he's feeling a bit down. He gets a horror story, which we're going to put inside a glass bottle and throw it out to see, never to be seen again. And he gets uh someone's going to entertain him on the island with a show or a performance that either he wishes he could go and see again because he loved it, or one that he never got the chance to see that he wish he could go and see. And of course, he can swap out any of his items. So we're going to go back over his items and find out what he put in his original list and whether he has taken any out and he would start again. So today's guest is of course the wonderful Adam Dadswell. Hello, Adam. Hello, Jamie. How are you? Uh, very well, thank you. How are you on your island? How's it going? Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Warm. I have to get back into the mode of like being on an island. I wasn't when we first did this, I was so unsure on what it was going to be. But yeah, it's fine. I'm I'm well. I'm uh I've got a nice tan. Uh but I'm glad you stopped by. I'm a bit lonely.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Well, don't break the illusion because there are people that really believe that you're on an actual island. So sorry to get back into it. Let's not not ruin the illusion here.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

We'll cut this bit, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

So uh you were one of our early ones. I think I can't remember what number uh you actually were. Let me have a quick look. You were episode 25. You were episode 25. Is that near the beginning? That was near the beginning, yeah. So well, that would have been halfway through our first season. So I think we were finding our feet at that point, and we were getting used to the format. Um, but that does mean, of course, that you didn't get a banishment. Uh, and I also know that I mean we've worked with you for with Unlimited, and you've got some phenomenal stuff on there uh that we've recorded after you actually recorded your podcast, so none of that would have gone out at that point. And I know that you're constantly toying with different ideas and different tricks, so it's gonna be really interesting to see if your list has changed out. And how much of your original list do you remember?

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Well, obviously, I've been on the island performing all these things, so um So you know all of them, yeah.

The First Four Tricks Revisited

SPEAKER_01 3:57

So let's test you then. What was now joking? So um we'll go back through it. So remember, you can switch out any of these items, all right? You can switch anything out if you want, uh, or you can keep it. So your first choice was Dr. Daly's last trick.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Love it, yeah. Still love it. It's a great trick. I think the reason that it was on the list um the first time round was because it was one of the earliest tricks that I'd ever learnt, and it just kind of stayed in terms of my card set. Um, so that that's staying. That is staying on the list. Well, I should probably assess against the other ones, but I um I I love that trick.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

So well, we've not had that yet, so maybe maybe we'll we'll open end this list so that you can go back and change change one later on. We've not done that yet, so okay. Number two box clever in number two.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

I mean, it's it's great. I do do you want me to like add commentary to these now, or do you want me to because for me, all of these things that I named are probably still gonna be things that I'm very fond of. And I remember we just the uh the orchestration of the routine here and like how it was all put together is just you just get so far ahead. It's such a great routine. I know a lot of workers that do it. I want to keep that in for now.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Oh, we this may be the first SOS where nothing changes.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

No, I think we've got to change something, but we'll see where we get to.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

All right, so number three was lucky envelopes.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Was this where I kind of caveated the entire thing and said basically any 50-50? I feel like I also had which hand, maybe, and if I didn't, I threw it in this category. So that this one's gonna be a maybe. This one's it. I still love the idea of the simplicity of a premise, which is this one or this one. But I don't know, which hand is kind of the well, it's a whole bunch of things, isn't it? I don't know. Let's leave it for now. Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

And I mean, so lucky envelopes was Luca Volpe's routine, correct?

SPEAKER_00 5:56

It's a great trick, it's a wonderful trick, it's great. And I um in parlor environments, I love having the envelopes on display before the show starts as well, just to create a bit of intrigue around. Oh, I wonder what that is. So yeah, I'm still a uh advocate for that routine, absolutely. It's a great routine, but again, 50-50s, uh things like swindle, Steve Cook, great effect as well. Let's just move on, Jamie.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Well, so the reason that I said it was Luca Valpe is because I just want to know who to send this clip to when you get rid of it from your list, and then you're gonna have a uh a very angry Italian mentalist on your case.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Luca Jamie made me do it.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

So let's go to number four. So you had probably impossible, which I believe is a Benel routine, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Yeah, it is a Benel trick. This is just one of those routines that I will do at a moment's notice. Oh, but it is it is like has it stood the test of time? I still perform it. It was uh a kind of new entry on the list for me versus some of the other stuff that was there. Uh, but I still perform this. So one one would argue that it should probably s retain its place.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

So my my question to you is what constitutes something being taken off the list and being kept on the list?

SPEAKER_00 7:19

The number one thing would be and this isn't supposed to sound selfish, but enjoyment for me. Because if I'm not enjoying it, then why am I even why am I even doing it right? And I think that's got I think everything on that list when I perform them, I enjoy performing them. Um so for me, if the enjoyment factor of one was to outweigh the enjoyment factor of another, and I was just particularly really enjoying that thing right now, uh, then I would potentially consider it coming into the list and replacing something.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Okay, and what constitutes being fun for you? Is it the method? Is it the premise? What makes a trick enjoyable for you?

SPEAKER_00 8:01

So any of the above, sometimes there's there is a satisfaction, isn't there, where you go, oh, it's just so sneaky. It's so sneaky, that's so smart. And that might be because it's uh by doing that one thing, I've actually now done these three things, and now I'm this far ahead. And and now it means I can be more hands-off and I can focus more on the actual experience and the actual kind of conversation that we're having. Um, but it's interesting you mentioned then about like a premise as well. Um, I know you've showed me something previous, and the the premise immediately hooks me, right? And I go, I like the trick, I like the method, it's great, but actually the premise is something I can really see myself conversing with people around. Excuse me. So um, yeah, I think it I think it can be a method, and absolutely I am a fan of methods, um, but I that doesn't mean I um ignore the kind of premise in the presentation. So I think if there's an interesting uh kind of opening question you can ask that leads you to a certain thing, or you know, things like um are you someone who believes more in fate or free will? I love that as a as an in. Uh so regardless of what the effect's gonna be, I'm already, you know, uh enjoying that. So yeah, I think sometimes it can be a clever method, or sometimes it can be um uh a premise to you. Um I'm not necessarily um a big fan of um and I think we spoke about this time. I know other people have spoken about this kind of stuff before, which is kind of look how clever I am because I can do these magic things. Anything around that for me, I don't get enjoyment from really. For me, I try to position myself a lot of the time, and some people critique me on this, but um I want to be the facilitator of what's happening here. Um, and I'm quite I'm really happy making the participant the star of the show. Um, I if if I you know the end of like a parlor performance, I'm almost happy not to take a round of applause. Like I'm really, I'm really not like for me, it's not really why I do it. I I just really enjoy the art of magic. Um, so yeah, I'm uh anything that would uh make an interesting conversation with people or a topic that we could all relate to, I think I get enjoyment out of.

Switching Sneak Thief For Sentinel

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Okay, well then let's carry on with your list. So you were absolutely correct. Your next one after Probably Impossible is Sneak Thief. You put in position five. So are we keeping Sneak Thief or are we ousting it?

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Well, I know you know, but I've released recently released Sentinel, which is my approach to the drawing duplication. I feel like this is probably the thing I'm doing so much more now. Um, and and I think this was the one in the back of my head where I was thinking it's not to say it's better than Sneak Thief, it is different. Uh, but I think personally for me, I'm probably enjoying that drawing duplicate, that simple drawing duplication plot where I get somebody to imagine they were 10 years old again and they were going back to being a kid. Imagine they were doodling something they might have drawn, where they might have been, and getting them to just take a few moments to try and stop and forget about everything else that's going on around them and just focus on making a simple drawing and remembering when they were a kid, and then revealing that um in in quite a direct way. So for me, that's that's definitely a candidate here for coming in, and then again, I think I've done that thing where I've gone what's quite similar or in the same space as it. Um, and then I think that's the way I'll kind of get around having to actually kick something off this list. Um, because for me, when I uh perform Sneak Thief, and there's a few different versions I've done of it, of course, a lot of the time the final phase is that drawing duplication, isn't it? So I think for me, I'd probably advocate for Sentinel coming in and maybe replacing Sneak Thief.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

So I think what we're discovering so far, this is only uh I think third episode of SOS, but I think the majority of them tend to be a sidestep, exactly what you've just said. So it tends to be either like an improvement or like you said, just something that you enjoy more, but it they always tend to be in the same sort of area. So I think that that's that's a perfect choice, especially. I mean, we saw you do central or I sorry, I saw you do Sentinel at Blackpool, and what I really love, we we just mentioned like the hook of a of a trick, and what I thought was really interesting about that was uh you put everyone's pictures on the table with their names at the beginning, and there's a really interesting visual intrigue to that. As soon as you walk up to the table, there's almost like you don't need to introduce the trick as much because I look down and say, What are all these pictures? And you're like, Well, these are pictures that people have drawn today.

Instacan Replaces Big Kick

SPEAKER_00 13:00

What was important for me, you kind of mentioned it there, was um without going into too much around Sentinel and all the kind of stuff there. For me, having these other drawings is not only an interesting prop, of course, but it's actually motivation as to why you would have more than a single card, right? Um, and it goes to play in in terms of the method and stuff as well. But um, yeah, I think for me, um I I'm absolutely in love with the plot. Um for me, um you know, I've now shared my offering on it, and I think that would be the one. Although I've not heard the last two, three on the list yet. So we still may change it, but right now let's um let's earmark sneak thief for Sentinel as a bit of a switch.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Okay, so number six, you had a big kick.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Oh yeah, Liam's big kick. And then I think at the time I was in I was in a bit of a trade-off situation between um an effect by Joel Dickinson called Instacam uh and the big kick, and I still love them both. Or maybe Liam's had his time, and maybe Joel's effect can come in.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Sorry, Liam. Luca Volpe's not coming after you, but you've just started about it.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

But Liam is Liam's the nicest man in magic. Come on, Liam would never do that to me. Um, no, so um the big the big kick, the thing I love so much about that, and I still love about it, is that extra little phase you get around the Gemini twins, and how by by not much work you get that extra that third. Um, and obviously, I think we spoke about it a little bit the first time around is the blank deck reveal that you get. I think we spoke about if you've not tried a blank deck reveal as part of an effect, you really need to try it at least once because of the impact it just has. The blank deck reveal or some kind of uh all same card finish. I do love an ACAM. I don't know, maybe Joel can come in there as well with Instacam. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Did we did we speak about what that was last time? I think we did. I can't remember. Um, but I mean if you're switching it in, well, you you've not I'm gonna be honest, you've danced around this, right? I'm I'm just I'm putting it out there, Adam. I'm putting it out there. You've danced around it, you've not had a definitive answer as to whether you're changing it out or what you're doing. If you are changing it out, then you can tell us about Instacan. If you're not changing it out, you don't need to.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

I'm changing out, Jamie. I'm changing it out.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Right, we we've got a definitive answer, right? You can tell us about Instacan.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Essentially, your participants between two of them generate a number, a simple number for the deck. Uh, you deal down to that number, um, and essentially that you show it's the card, um, it's got a different colour back. You show it's the card that you uh basically had a duplicate of somewhere, but then you can spread the entire rest of the deck, and there are no other cards. So it's just the impossible thing. They think of the numbers, you deal down to the number, there's a card of a different colour back there. That's the card that you've predicted. And to top it all off, uh, and they just never see that final moment coming. And I what I used to do, I used to find this a lot in the Oracle bar. I used to just dribble all the cards down at the table. So so that you let that moment play, and then at the end you say, the weird thing is I don't even know how that works since there are no other cards, and you I just used to dribble them all over the table, and there's blank cards just hitting the table, and it's just an impossible moment. So um, yeah, I think I think that's good. I think that goes in. So we're gonna make a trade. Instacan, Joel Dickinson in for uh the big kick by Liam. Love you, Liam.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Uh well, I've just sent him a message, so we're gonna see what reply we get. Um, we got your last two items. So, number seven whiz was, which you mentioned earlier on. Now, earlier on you said that you put these both at the same position. You did which hand?

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Yeah, I'm starting to second guess myself, actually, because although there is an element of 50-50, it really depends how you present this effect. Um, and um my go-to way of presenting this is my routine which hand to roam, um, which essentially is a thought-of number reveal as well as a game of which hand, and there's also a second phase where you can do something else with it as well. So um I I don't need to overthink this too much for me. This this stays in um every walk around situation, I perform this. Um, so yeah, this is this is a firm favourite staying in position.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

And when you do which hand, do you use it uh because you can use it as a force if you go down the Colin Cloud route? Is it something that you use as a force, or do you just literally do it as a like a bet kind of thing?

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Um so I have them think of a number and write that number down and fold it up on a piece of paper and place it into one of their hands behind the back. I ask them to mix it up, but then I introduce some criteria. I say, for example, if the number that you've gone for is more than 50, I want you to place it in your left hand. If it's less than 50, place it in the right hand. I get them to place their hands out, and then I immediately know which hand it's in. And then there's a couple of other phases to that, and I end that by naming the number that they've gone for. And I say, and I actually ask another question later on. Um you can ask anything, but I ask them if they've got a cat, because then they it just shows them I'm not being that serious. I say, oh, that's interesting. Most people who go less than 50, an odd number and have a cat. Um, they go for something like this. Um, and and then I have a follow-up phase, uh, thanks to uh a good friend of mine, Luke Closer, uh, which actually then goes on to show that you've predicted somebody else's number that could have been chosen as well, which is a is a great little follow-up. Um, but yeah, I I've toyed around with this idea of um uh like Colin's got a great routine there, um, where he's essentially forcing things, but it's a similar kind of pathway, if you will. Um, but yeah, I um I think to have a single business card on you, um it's a good thing to have in your back pocket.

Loki And The Diabolical Principle

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Okay, so we're keeping in which hand. You've got one more thing, Adam. This is it. You so you've switched out two things. You've got one more thing that you could uh potentially switch out, and that was guesses what you think this one was. I mean, you've been performing on your island, as you quite rightly said earlier on, so you shouldn't.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Oh good question.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

Uh I tell you what, it would be diabolical of me to tell you.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Oh, come on, how did I not guess this? So, um, yeah, so Steve di anything with Steve's diabolical principle. Um I would have to keep this in because I've been performing Loki with the treasure chest the entire time I've been here.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Well, here's the thing at the time of your recording, Loki wasn't out. Oh, is it not? So that's why we have diabolical in there and not Loki.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

Oh yeah. Well, it's interesting, right? Because um I've been blown away by the response to Loki over the last it'll be in maybe 18 months coming up to you. I mean, it's been around a bit longer than that, but um yeah, it's um it's really interesting because and Pete told me a story about a uh a certain well-known person in the mentalism community who released a trick with some skulls, um, people who know who this is. Um, and he saw Loki and um he didn't have a clue what was going on. Pete showed him, um, and he didn't have a clue what was going on, which I thought was just really funny because it was like, but you've used the same principle in your trick. Um, so I guess that goes some way to say there's some extra layers in there that make it uh quite fooling and uh it's fun to perform. And yeah, everyone uh it's just that moment at the end when the keys are blank just goes down really well. So I think because it's about the things that I perform, the most um popular trick that I perform of my own that I use using the diabolical principle has to be Loki now. Um I do have something with poker chips, like an imaginary poker chip game, which I don't think I don't think I've put anywhere yet. Um, but Loki definitely takes front and center using the diabolical principle.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Okay, so we've switched out three then technically, because we switched out diabolical for Loki. So let's have a look. We kept Dr. Daily's last trick, we kept Box Clever, we've kept Lucky Envelopes, we've kept Probably Impossible, we've switched out Sneak Thief for Sentinel, we've switched out Big Kick for Instacan, um we've Kept which hand and we've switched out diabolical for Loki. So you've got three new tricks to play to play with you on your island.

SPEAKER_03 22:12

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SPEAKER_01 23:09

I think that's pretty pretty good going. Now you weren't around when we were allowing banishments. So, Adam, I want you to imagine that you're about to dig a big sandy hole and you're gonna throw something inside that hole and we're gonna bury it, never to be seen again. What are you gonna banish from our industry?

SPEAKER_00 23:28

For me, I don't sit nicely with this idea of it being a competition. So the magician, uh any any routine that creates this thing like oh, you've won. No, you've not, magician wins. I hate that, I hate that. I personally um I just can't pull that off, and I I wouldn't want to either. Um I'm not um I'm not saying that it's not about the magician um you know sometimes being in the spotlight, that's absolutely fine. Um but I just don't sit comfortably with that idea. I think you can I think you can create these moments of astonishment and you can create these experiences that people are going to remember by very much making them part of it, not about being you and them. Uh and I just don't think it's a good look. I really don't think it's a good look um when you basically show them how clever you are. Um I think it's hard sometimes, I think it's a hard thing to navigate. Um, but I think if you can concentrate primarily on the experience of your participant, then I think that's probably a pretty good place to start. Um and yeah, so any kind of like sucker style trick, stuff like that, probably not for me. Throw it in the hole.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

So would we be comfortable with these kind of routines if the audience member was continuously losing, but then it ended on some kind of positive note? So, for example, I know a lot of people do a bank night where um an audience member will win, let's say, a dollar in America or five pounds in the UK, and they actually physically win something, and everyone goes, Oh wow, they actually won. The magician did a a a boo-boo or whatever, and sat back down, and then after you open up the rest of them, and there's a£20 and a£50. Um, so the audience member has still won something, it's still a positive for them, but then you have this kind of uh kicker ending where it turns out they didn't really win the the large amount.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

I think if it's done tastefully, yeah. Yeah, I think it's more about the oh, look at what you could have won. You know, I think that's the thing I'd throw in the hole. I think if you can almost um maybe open open them up and kind of half show them as you may be putting them away, that's maybe a little bit different, right? Um so yeah, I think it's a good question, but I think um it probably more refines what I'm trying to put in there, which is but anything where you're creating this unnecessary tension where you're making them lose out, and and that's the entertainment. Um, I think that's the thing that can go in the holes.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Yeah, it's almost like uh just making someone feel bad, and it is it's just like making them the butt of the joke, effectively. So, yeah, I I completely understand that. Uh I we've had a couple of people mention, you know, the way audience members are treated. Uh so I think that's gone. So magicians winning routines uh where they're making the audience members feel bad is gone. It's banished, it's gone for forever. You also get four new items. So obviously you've been on this island for so long now. You must just be so bored. So we're we're gonna give you a couple of things. The first thing we're gonna give you is a guest. So uh another magic guest, dead or alive, that you can have on the island with you for company. Who would you have?

SPEAKER_00 27:09

I think I'd have to go down the route of uh kind of gone but not forgotten, probably. Um and I think I'd go with somebody that there was like no chance of me ever interacting with someone like Animan, like that'd be great, right? Sitting down and just trying to unpick that brain. Um I know we all try and do that through the books that are there, but it'd be amazing to see yeah, just uh kind of ask him questions and just or just see what he'd perform. It'd just be interesting to see how he'd perform some of these things that were in the books, right? So I think that's a pretty good bet. Theodore Anaman would be a very interesting person to be stuck on an island with, as long as we can have some like utility props like billets and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

He's bringing whatever you need him to bring uh to the island. So he's there. I think that's a really interesting thought. I've always thought as well, with the advancements of methods and stuff like that, I wonder how kind of the greats, if they did come back in a time machine now, I wonder how they would find magic now. I wonder if they would find God, what have you done? Well, it would either be really good and they'd be like, that's amazing, or they'd be like, What have you done to this incredible method? What have you done?

SPEAKER_00 28:32

Yeah, yeah, it'd be so interesting. Yeah, but I think it's almost I don't know. I think for me, I think it'd feel like it'd be a wasted opportunity to take someone with me that's live and well. Like, I think I feel like I'd have to go um someone like Anaman and be amazing to spend time with, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

It's also the the stories that they would have from all of the other performers that would have been alive during their time.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

At the time, yeah. And just to understand some of his thinking and where that came from, because I think a lot of today's thinking is well rooted in things of of days gone by, right? But when you look at someone like Adam, um it'd be interesting to see where his inspirations came from for the things he was sharing.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Okay, well, he's on the island with you. Uh let us know what he says. There'll be a new book coming out from Adam next year, which will be the stories of Adam and From My Island. Uh so memory, Adam. We've got a big cinema screen for you. Uh, and we're gonna let you replay a magic memory. So something that if you could go back and relive it, it was so phenomenal you would relive it every single day.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

There's an obvious one, but I feel like you also mentioned that there's a show that I get to take on the island. So I'm gonna park what it could be, but I might loop back to it when I mention the show. I mean, part of me thinks that it'd be interesting to go back to like the first time I experienced magic. It was in London in Covent Garden. I might have even told you, I might even mention this at the Magic Cave. Uh, I saw magic being performed. That was the first time I saw it in uh in in in 3D in real life. Um, so the reason for that is um I feel like it's easy to kind of get lost and not feel the same way a participant does about magic now. Well, you just become you just become a more aware of methods, right? So then when you see magic now, you kind of and don't get me wrong, every time someone shows me magic, I absolutely try and be the participant as much as I can because that's the right thing to do, right? But you can't help but be thinking, oh, that's a clever use of a force there, or oh, that's uh an interesting way to retain a stock of cards, or yeah. So for me, it'd be nice to not to do any of that stuff and then be able to just replay that kind of wonder and amazement again to go, what the fuck is what was that? How did that happen? What you know? Um, because I don't I don't get me wrong, there have been absolutely been moments, but they're few and far between as a magic where I've seen stuff where it's kind of blew my head off. Um there's a couple of examples. One is Andy Frost did um an oil and water on me and broke my face. And then uh another one was uh there's a there's a man and I don't know his name, but he was in the Ruskin and he did an A-CAN on me and my head fell off. So there's a couple of them where you still get to experience that moment of like, whoa, what just happened? That was impossible. Um, but it's never quite the same, is it? So I think maybe maybe something like that, maybe just replaying that kind of that first bug bite.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

Well, I think it's because when before you become a magician, there's an absence of method, as in not that we don't know the methods, as in that we don't know methods exist. So you you don't have that that going at all. And then when you do see a magic trick that you don't know how it works, there's still an element of you know that there's a method, so you you don't know what the method is, and that still fools you, but there is still you're still jaded to an extent, you still know that there's something going on there, so it's not really the same thing, it's not magical. Whereas when you mentioned going back to the magic cave, that would have been the first time that you're like, Oh, a magic stand that well, this is interesting. I don't understand what that means. What's this? Then he's shown you a trick and you've gone, What? And then he said, Oh, you can buy this. What do you mean I can buy this? And then you know Alice through the looking glass takes hold and you're in this whole fantastic world, but you're never gonna be able to go back and see the world the way that it was before because you know your knowledge is is it's there, it's it's gone for forever. So maybe we need to get the uh the men in black mind wiper.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:03

Just for a day.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

That'd be good.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

And then all of us can go back to just enjoying magic before. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

So so if that if that is a uh valid a valid candidate, I would uh yeah, that was that'd be the one just to take me back to what it was like when life was a bit simpler.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

I I think that's a great shout. So that's gonna be uh for you. Uh I guess it's not well, maybe we're just gonna wipe your memory for you. Maybe your memory is we're just gonna wipe it and send you back. Um which is gonna make Theodore Anderman being on your island even weirder, um, because you're gonna have no idea who he is.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

But he's gonna blow my mind.

Wedding Horror Story And The Save

SPEAKER_01 33:38

He will blow your yeah, in fairness, he really will. Uh right, so we're gonna get a horror story. We're gonna put it in a bottle and we're gonna throw it out to sea. So give us a horror story that you wish we could get rid of for forever.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

I I've shared this once before, but I I don't know where the I don't know where the thing is. But there was I was performing at a wedding once, and um as I'm sure people who do perform weddings will will sometimes uh do is a trick for the couple, right? At the end of uh the wedding breakfast, or maybe at the end of uh the drinks reception. And I was performing at a wedding, and uh the bride and groom, uh as it were, they were waiting to do their entrance into the room. And um it's this I'm gonna build this up to like something it's really not, but it was just like afterwards I just had to like resort to uh do it's fine, I'll I'll explain. Right. So we we were going into the room and I did uh an effect where essentially they were gonna predict um like uh an imaginary uh destination uh that you could go on the honeymoon. Obviously, this wasn't the honeymoon they were going on, they're already gonna honeymoon, but that was I was like, oh, it's interesting. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna come up with like a journey, and we went up, we came up with all these things for this journey. And uh essentially when it came down to where they were gonna go, um they ended up, let's just say they should have been going somewhere, and then they weren't going somewhere because something went completely wrong in the method. And I'd already just handed them a card, and in that card it said, Enjoy Hawaii. They weren't going to Hawaii because of what just happened. So um, and and the game and the card, luckily, um, they passed the card off to the events manager who was then gonna go and put this in the back. So I was like, Oh, yeah, no, we're and and again, like I basically managed to like it wasn't great, honestly, but I managed to kind of like move things through and whatever. The rest of the effect was fine. Um, and then it was one of these where later on they were supposed to open the card, and it was like, oh my god, he did know, right? Except that wouldn't work. Um, so what happened? They went in, they did the big entrance, and I was like, Thank you so much for for having me. Enjoy the rest of your day. Um and they went in and I kind of left, but I didn't leave. So I had to run back in and I had to say to the events manager, can I have that card a minute? You know the one you took in the back. So they went, they went in and they were they didn't ask any questions. It was very weird. They just went in and went, Oh yeah, no worries, pass me the card. So I opened the card back again. Um, and then I I think I just I like a strike through and had to write where it was really bad. Anyway, that was fine. And then, but when I when I next spoke to them, they were like over the moon. They were like, How did you know that it was his place? It was weird, it but it was it just didn't go well, and again, I guess it's a learn experience, like not to do it in that way again. Fine. So so that's one argument for not getting rid of it, but it just made me feel a bit like, oh, that was not great.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

What I really like about that story though is you know, uh literally, so last night I went to the theatre, and there was a moment where one of the characters' hats came off, and one of the actresses said, Don't forget your hat, picked it up and put it on the the other character's head who couldn't grab the hat. Um, and that I I would be willing to bet that that was an accident that the actress managed to cover over brilliantly, but there's always this thing that the audience don't know what direction the trick is going in. Same with acting, the the audience don't know where it's going. So I know to you that would have been really a horrific thing. Like, oh my god, I've built this thing up, it's supposed to be this massive thing.

SPEAKER_00 37:43

Literally, that was the ending, and it was like, oh, it's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:46

But because they didn't know where the trick is going and you played it cool, you that gave you the opportunity to go edit that envelope, and because you know, they're never gonna know any difference. To them, that's still absolutely phenomenal in every way.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

Yeah, they were happy afterwards, uh, like when I spoke to them like you know, a week after the wedding or whatever, but it was um quite often the audience doesn't know where things are going, right? Okay, well, that one's gone.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

Okay, we put it in a glass bottle, it's gone. Right, you've got one last thing, Adam, and that's a show or a performance. So either a show that you loved so much that you could go back and see it again, or one that you never had the opportunity to see. And it doesn't have to be a show, it can just be someone's performance, uh, just something that you wish you could have been there. So either you went and you loved it, or you never had the chance to go.

The Show To Rewatch And What’s Next

SPEAKER_00 38:36

Uh, I'm gonna go with one that I did see. Um, and maybe this is a little bit too obvious, uh, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Um, for me, it was Enigma by Darren Brown. So um, which is which is why earlier I didn't mention the story that I mentioned on the previous Desert Island tricks, right? Uh regarding Darren. So I had been into magic for a little while by this point, but I knew a little bit, but not a lot. So when all those reveals came out at the end, I was just I had no idea what was going on by that point. I didn't even know a chair test existed, the idea of some of that stuff. So I was just like, it's just so random, like everything was random. Like, how did it and then the callback? Um is it is it is it fair to say I'm sure it is now. Enigma's been out forever. But um, when when McFly was met at the end, it was just like, what? Like he got that wrong, and it was just so well done. And I think uh don't get me wrong, I think that went on to inspire a lot of people to end shows in those can kind of confabulation style ways and stuff like that, but um just when he knew just everything and the order, and uh honestly, I remember seeing I was sat with my dad watching it, and my dad looked to me and was like, How did he do that then? I was like, I have I was like, I can do card tricks, like I can't like and it was I just remember um it just completely blowing me away um when I saw it live. Um and it and it's just one of memories that stuck stuck with me, like just seeing that show and the ending of that show. So I think it'd be amazing to have that show on the island for sure. That was a great, great show.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

Okay, does that mean we're also dumping McFly on your island as well, just for the ending?

SPEAKER_00 40:38

Sure, yeah, they can come, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

And and if I remember rightly, Darren's mum as well, because she introduced Yeah, she yeah, she's gonna have to come as well. Yeah, it's gonna be a busy time on your island.

SPEAKER_00 40:50

Yeah, we've gone from just me to Animan Derren Brown, Darren Brown's mum, McFly.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

Well, I think that's a great, uh, a great, great choice. Um, Enigma is amazing. I remember seeing, I think the first Derren show that I saw live was an evening of wonders in the Garrick Theatre in London. Oh wow. Um and same as you, I think that was the the um they had the confabulation ending. Mind blown. I I had no concept of that kind of method. Um, I actually just believed it was all real. I thought it was all like psychological and I thought that for the longest time I thought the same. He is phenomenal, and you know, I'm I'm sure many, many, many, many performers will put his shows up there because they're great. But that does bring us to the end of your SOS list. So let's go over it one last time. So uh this is your new list. So Doctor Daily's Last Trick, Box Clever, Lucky Envelopes, Probably Impossible, Sentinel, Instacan, uh, we've got Witch Hand, we've got Loki, uh, and your banishment is magician winning routines. Uh, your guest is Theodore Anaman. Your memory is to go back to the first time you saw Magic Live, your horror story is building up a reveal and it not quite going to plan, and your show is Enigma. Um, hopefully, this is your list for the rest of your days because um I'm not sure we're gonna do an SOS part two. I think this is this is you done now.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

This is it.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

Well, let's have a quick update as to where you are then. So obviously, if people want to get hold of you, all of that good stuff. What have you got coming up? What are the exciting things we should be looking out for with Adam Dadswell?

SPEAKER_00 42:39

Yeah, so uh I don't know when this is gonna go out. If this goes out this week, maybe there's some exciting stuff uh going on this week. We're doing a bit of a live launch um as part of the Alakazam spotlight. Uh, so that's gonna be fun. Um, all my stuff again is uh typically at Deceptive Secrets, so you can check me out there. Um it's Deceptive Hyphen Secrets.co.uk. And then uh yeah, I'm I'm working on a few things in the background, uh, but typically that's where you'll first see stuff emerge. And I'm coming to the Alakazam convention, so I'm gonna be there in May, which will be fun. With potentially a new product, potentially, maybe don't don't say that.

SPEAKER_01 43:23

Well, I've I've put I've put the heat on now.

SPEAKER_00 43:27

Yeah, yeah. No, we do, yeah. We have um, yeah, for those who saw me in Blackpool, they might have had a sneak peek of what that is, but um, I will have uh something with me at Alakazam, which I'm looking forward to sharing with everyone. Uh, but most importantly, I'm just looking forward to seeing everyone. It's gonna be fun, isn't it? It's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

It will be a great day. Well, thank you so much for letting us uh visit your island. I love what you've done with the place, it looks really good.

SPEAKER_00 43:51

Thank you, man. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

I've been bored and thank you all for listening. Uh, we're approaching the end of season two. So, uh, hopefully, we're gonna have a special guest. That is our aim. Uh, not sure if we're gonna be able to get there, but hopefully we will. So, join us next time for another episode of Desert Island Tricks. Have a great week.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

Hi, Peter Nardi here, and I really hope you enjoyed that podcast. I just wanted to make you know that Alakazam have their own app. You can download it from the App Store or the Google Play Store. By downloading the app, it will make your shopping experience even slicker at Alakazam. You'll also get exclusive in-app offers and in-app live streams. So go download it now, and we'll see you on the next podcast.