Rodney James Piper

Magic gets weaker the moment it feels like a “performance mode” you turn on and off. Rodney James Piper joins us with a profound, refreshing belief: if you’re a magician, you live it everywhere you go. That single idea ripples through everything we talk about, from pocket props and borrowed objects to stage illusions that can stop a room cold.

He explains why the Stealth Assassin Wallet is a constant-ready miracle machine, how fork bending becomes a lifetime souvenir, and why the best magicians make people forget methods and just feel wonder. We also dig into practical show-craft for today’s social media era, including how to design a clean “photo moment” so the audience shares the image you want, not a messy screenshot mid-move.

Then we go bigger: Fire Spiker, double levitation, and a dream idea involving a yacht appearance that might finally make it into the House of Illusion show in Salou, Spain. Rodney also flips the script on what the “real trick” is, arguing that the venue, the welcome, the pacing, and the full audience journey can be the most powerful illusion of all. We close with his banishment for the magic industry, his pick for the one essential magic book, and the one item he won’t do any of it without.

Rodney’s Desert Island Tricks: 

1. Stealth Assassin Wallet

2. Forks 

3. Borrowed Watch 

4. Boat Appearance 

5. Matt Edwards 

6. Fire Spiker 

7. Double Levitation 

8. House of Illusion 

Banishment. The word jealousy 

Book. The mind and magic David Berglas 

Item. Family 

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

Transcript

Being A Magician Everywhere

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I have a big belief in a being a magician is not something you just do when you go on stage. It's something you live. If you're really gonna be a proper magician, you're a magician. You're a magician when you go to the doctors, you're a magician, when you go to the supermarket, you're a magician everywhere you go. And it doesn't mean that you have to step on stage, put your suit on, gel your hair, put your aftershave on, and go out there and do your illusion or your your manipulation acts or whatever. You live the life of a magician. People expect that when they see you in the bar and you meet them. If you create a miracle, that's how you brand yourself. And one thing I say quite a lot, and it's something I really stand, as our job as a magician now is probably more important than it's ever been. The world is a crazy, crazy place. And I think by taking people into that moment of wonder that we can create, and we're blessed that we have that skill, talent of magic and wonder is more important than ever. And I think being a magician is not something that I do, it's something that I am. And I think every magician should feel that way.

Meet Rodney James Piper

SPEAKER_04 1:25

So we've been trying to get on here for a very long time, and finally he is here. So I'm gonna tell you a little bit about him to begin with. Uh, today's guest is a British-born performer, but now lives in Sulu, Spain, where he created the House of Illusions, as well as founding the RJP Group, which produces and manages live entertainment venues and helps develop the next generation of performers. He trained at the prestigious Brit School of Performing Arts and honed his stagecraft earlier in his buttons uh career as a red coat. He's a member of the inner magic circle with Gold Star, and the Apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Uh, as you may have seen, his son, Harry Merlin Piper, recently taking second spot in Netflix's Star Search Talent competition. With over 20 years of experience entertaining international audiences, uh, Rodney James Piper is not just a performer, but he's a mentor to many performers and a major influence in modern live magic and performer. So I know this is going to be a really fun and engaging episode. Let's welcome on the wonderful Rodney James Piper. Hello. Hello there, Jamie. How are you? Uh great to have you here now.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Good, good, good. Do you know what? We've spoken about this on me for a couple of years, you're always going, oh, can you come on the podcast? You come on. And I've never got around to it. I run for a meeting today. We said 11 o'clock. I got it at 20 past. We got on, we're going to do it. Let's make it happen. What's it about today? What's the plan?

The Magical Desert Island Rules

SPEAKER_04 2:56

Oh. Were you not? Okay, so the the idea is uh we're gonna put you on a magical desert island. Um, when you're there, you're only allowed to eight to take eight tricks. You're allowed to take one banishment, uh, one book, and one non-magic item that you use for magic.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Brilliant. Pete never told me nothing about this. I thought it was something like a this is your life type moment. I was ready to go, oh yeah, I did this, and oh, back in the day. There's an island. What's this about?

SPEAKER_04 3:27

I mean, it's your own island. It can be whatever you want it to be. You can have the house of illusion there if you want.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

I'm not being on an island. Islands are dangerous nowadays. Just want to make it clear. I have never been on the island. This has been the best making it very clear. I don't know what you're doing. I don't know about Jamie. Inviting me to an island. This is all a bit suspect. I'm not going on any island. Trust me. Not gonna happen. Not gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 3:48

This is a nice island. This is a magical island. Okay, this is not a bad island.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

What's called?

SPEAKER_04 3:54

Yeah, it's the nice Alakazam Island. There you go. Okay, the Alakazam Island. Since you didn't know anything about this, I think that's gonna make this one even more interesting, I think.

The Wallet That Creates Miracles

SPEAKER_01 4:06

So what then eight tricks? You say, here's what I'm gonna start off with, and this will make Alakazam very, very happy. Um, there is something that I carry with me always, whether I'm on a desert island or plane, going to work, it's with me. The stealth assassin wallet. I got my first one off of Pete when the dealers were just upstairs in the horseshoe at Blackpool, and he came with his little table and had a couple of things. And I think I bought one of the first ones. He only had 20 of them on him. The original stealth, it was. Um, and I used I I must have bought 20 or 30 of them. I'm not not joking, it is the most versatile prop that you can ever have. It instantly gives you a show, instantly gives you miracles. We've all got impression pads, and we've all got all your different various companies of versions of them. But if you have a stealth with you, you're ready to perform. No power, no charging, no secret work that needs to be done, no bits that break. It is just you, and it works. So if I'm on a desert island, yeah, I would be most definitely taking my stealth because I know I can create miracles, real miracles, wherever I am, what I'm doing. That would be number one, and that would be generally number one.

SPEAKER_04 5:23

Okay. Now that's really interesting because I I've always seen you as kind of like uh a stage performer. Like when we spoke earlier on, you started off as a red coat and you started off at the Brit school. So I'm guessing that you've always been around stage illusion, stage trick, stage magic. So, where would this fit in?

SPEAKER_01 5:43

It's it's that I have a big belief in a being a magician is not something you just do when you go on stage, it's something you live. Um, if you're really going to be a proper magician, you're a magician. You're a magician when you go to the doctors, you're a magician, when you go to the supermarket, you're a magician everywhere you go. And it doesn't mean that you have to step on stage, put your suit on, gel your hair, put your aftershave on, and go out there and do your illusion or your manipulation act or whatever. Yeah, you live the life of a magician. People expect that when they see you in the bar and you meet them. If you create a miracle, that's how you brand yourself. If it's just something that you do when you walk on, it's not goodness stealth, it's something that lets you be a magician constantly. Yeah, it's something that you haven't. I mean, I use it in performance, yeah. Um, I've used it in loads of routines, but it's something that I have with me because then I can live my life as a magician. And one thing I say quite a lot, and it's something I really stand, as our job as a magician now is probably more important than it's ever been. Um, the world is a crazy, crazy place. Um, and I think by taking people into that moment of wonder that we can create, and we're blessed that we have that skill, talent of magic and wonder is more important than ever. And I think being a magician, yeah, and I know I've got my entertainment businesses, I know I've got House of Illusion, and I've got my other places, but magic is not something that I do, it's something that I am, and I think every magician should feel that way. And the stealth is something that lets you do that. A lot of the stuff I like to have, or what I'm probably gonna list in the first three or four things, um, is organic stuff. Stuff that looks like everyday stuff that lets you live that life of a magician.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

Yeah, I 100% agree. Um, I think that some people have this thing where they say, you know, when I'm out and about, if someone comes and asks me to do a trick, typically I'll say no because I'm not performing at that time.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

You're not a magician then, you're not a real magician. You're you're a trick star, you're a person who does it for money. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you're gonna if you're gonna I want someone when they come to see my show to genuinely believe even if you're a minute second about magic. And the the way you do that is you don't bend over to pick something up, because if you can make someone float while you're bending to pick something up, that comes to your hand. Yeah, it's really I don't know, the bender, let's pick a hoop up off the floor and put it over a person I've just floated in the air. Why the hell are you bending over to pick that hoop up? That's just just completely killing it. And I have the same thing. If I meet someone outside or have a drink after the show with people on the terrace and I'll do a trick for them, I've still got to be able to do miracles because that all that bit I walk on stage and I do something big or spectacular, or um, I read someone's mind, or they drop back and and and sleep in front of an audience. And unless you demonstrate that power before, afterwards, and always, the impact is weaker. And if you really, if you really want to, yeah, yeah, you want to take people out that moment where they start. I mean, people say a magician is a great magician who does great tricks or performs great magic. I think a really good magician is a person who makes someone forget about how or why and just lives in that moment of going, This is magic. That's the real skill of a great magician. When not you go, oh, they've done a great second deal, or they've got great mnemonics, they can remember this, oh they could do it. No, no. The audience forgets, doesn't care. You get transported back to that moment when you discover a light switch as a kid and you flick it and a light comes on, you go, oh, or you go in a plane for the first time at four or five years old, or eight years old, and you look out the window and realize you're flying. That moment of magic is what all of us magicians and everyone listening now need to encapsulate. And that's what everyone who's worked with me over the years, everyone who who's been part of what we do, I really try and say that to you the the the holy grail of magic is people forgetting it's a trick and just being even for a second of that a good example, and it might only be a second, bottle through table. Let's use that as an example. We all know that classic trick. That moment when the bottle goes through table, people don't care. They literally go, yeah. Afterwards, they might go, but that moment that's worth it. Because that's a that's a special moment, and there's lots of other moments in in magic like it, talking about big illusions with double invitation when the the the the one person's in the air and the second person flies up to join them, when they fly up to join them, that's another one of their moments where you go uh I don't care, I'm not bothered how, not bothered up why. And on this desert island, if it's just me and there's uh uh I meet this local tribe that lives there, yeah. Ah, the first thing I want to do is then to go, I don't care about how or why. I just really love this magical moment I'm experiencing.

SPEAKER_04 10:41

Yep, I absolutely agree. And you know, I I mean stealth assassin is the perfect tool for that. It's always on you, it's always a way to just present magic and mind reading wherever you anything you're doing. You can do so much with it, can't you? So, what's in your second position?

SPEAKER_01 11:00

A set of forks, simple, easy, metal bending. It's something I've done for 30 years. It's something I love, plays to an individual group, plays to a stage of 4,000 people. Um, it works for anyone and everywhere. The only thing I probably wouldn't do a break if I'm on a desert island because I wouldn't be getting more forks to use. You go, there's a one routine, see you later, goodbye. I will be honest with you, I was at Sav's Stagdu. If you don't know Sav, great magician, deceptionist, um head of magic, I think he calls himself now, brilliant magician. Um, and it was at his Stagdu in London, and we was in, oh, what's the what's the chef's name with the long hair? Marco Pierre White. And we was in, he was there, and I've got a thing where I always say I can bend any metal, any fork anywhere in the world. So give me any piece of cutlery, yeah, I can bend it. That's my challenge. I know what's gonna happen now. Anyone who listens is gonna come up to me and go, Yeah, go, look at this one. So that that's my challenge. So we we were in the restaurant, and uh he it he was there, and it was the they came out and it was a private dining room, and they went, Oh Rodney, let's do the do do do the fork thing, Rodney. And I and he brings it out this the chef, this bloody golden fork. And I was like, uh, oh my god. So I was like, it's like this, this is worth a fortune. So they're all laughing, don't bend it, this is worth a fortune. I bent it. I've got a uh I've got a real good little well, a couple of techniques, but one that's a really nice one. I I say it on here. Literally, as you stand up at the bottom of the table, so in a restaurant, you pick up a table, you stand up, and you as you lean forward, literally it's like putting a device if you get really stuck, yeah. It's it's a real simple method. Don't join the glass table because it down the middle would be embarrassing. And he literally put it up in the restaurant afterwards and kept it bent in a little shelf there for years. Um, so it was there, but I mean the restaurant's not everybody got gone bankrupt. I don't know where it is now, but um, it was there for years. And one thing I did do, other places I've done, I've done my metal bending. Anywhere I do it, I'll always hide a fork somewhere else, like behind a shelf, behind a plate, anywhere on the shelf. So if you ever go back to that place, you've got one in a place that you can revert back to and it's already bent in a place you've got. Just leave it somewhere that no one no one takes them ornaments off the shelf, do they? They just they're up there, or a little brick or anything like that at all. During the the crazy pandemic time, we were all doing our uh Zoom shows, and I did a Zoom show for Arge off of Towy and Gemma Collins. They're two families. They was the house together. I used to do a routine where I'd do my own metal bending and then the metal bending, the forward bending their drawer in their house. I used to get an incredible reaction. I used to get them to go down, go into the kitchen, choose a drawer, open it up, and one the forks would be bent. Did the show, brilliant. Day after, newspaper, Gemma and I'd split up. Front page of all the newspapers, yeah. The rumour is that they split up arguing over how my magic tree was done. There's there's there's there's there's a there's a little insight story for you now.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

So we're we're bending golden forks and splitting people up with with fork.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Yeah, that's what we that's what we do. That's what we do. The top I'm like the opposite to Tinder. I like break people up with magic. That's what get me put me for a gig and you're you're divorce your wife. If you want to split up, misses, give us give us a gig and I'll I'll make it happen. Don't worry, anytime.

SPEAKER_04 14:25

There you go. That's a spin-off podcast in it's uh in its own right. Uh no, I think that's a great one. We are all forkbenders at Alakazam, I think. I think we all do a version of fork bending. Are you a fast bender or a slow bender?

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Am I a fastbender or a slow bender? My routine is would open with a borrowed fork off of a table, no forks that are out my pocket. I've never got the idea of a magician going and getting out three or four forks out of their pockets and do it. If I'm working a gig and I don't want to use their forks on a top tip, if you don't want to use their forks, they get annoyed if you bend their forks anywhere you're working. So my top tip is go there, put some forks in their cutlery drawer. Yeah, it might cost you a packet of forks, leave it in the cutlery drawer, or replace a couple of tables with forks on them and match them, them, and then do your stuff with them or put so go around at the start of the event and put them on a table and bother them if you want to do that. But I in my own venue, I just literally use the forks that people use. Um, I I I I I've got accustomed to them, I can do them. They're not they're not like a liquid fork type thing, they're uh a strong, good fork that we use. Um, and I literally go and I do a bit where I say, uh, I want two forks, any two forks you want. And I tell you what, I'm gonna give you five seconds to swap them forks. So if anyone wants to come up, just put them in my hand, swap them, change them. I do this on stage. If I do it on the table, I'll do it. Say swap and change as many times as you want. I do a simple bend, up bend slowly, uh, that then turns and drops that way. I'll do one time bend with the display. Um, I will then get somebody on stage with me in the hand. They will feel the fork grow and their hands will drive up, and then they normally drop back to the floor with a hand above their thing. So it's gone, they're on the floor, gets a lovely moment, little joke with it. Uh, and then rise them back up again. They open the fork, they didn't even realise it's happened. They believe they've been hypnotised, and I've twisted and they've broken up and I've done something dodgy. The audience all realize I haven't. Yeah. Um, they open up, the fork's completely twisted, they're blown away. The audience are then doubly blown away because they didn't think that they've been hypnotised and woke up and I've done it and put it back in the hand. The audience got a different reaction, a different trick. So you play two things. I then send them back, I go right into the middle of the audience, I stand on a chair, and I tell everyone it's it's a good moment. I say to everyone, you can't do video throughout the show. But now I'm gonna let you take a little bit of video. So it's a good time to say to people, I don't want you recording my act without saying, please do not make any video recording in the show. I don't like that. So it's a good moment to say, so but then you're sort of rewarding them rather than telling them off, you say, here's some of you you can film this. I stand up, I get everyone to turn their torches on, I'm on a chair, and there's there's a moment I do this for, and it's really important, and then I do the the break bing bing. Normally I make sure there's a plate or glass or an ice bucket on the table where I drop it to, so it splashes or makes a bang or a noise, which gets a double click, and then I finish in a pose. Um, why do I do that? And I think it's a little tip for everyone who's listening. Um have a moment in your show which is a photo moment in today's media world, social media world, people are gonna take pictures, they are gonna share pictures. Do you want a picture of you going in between an act when you're picking something out or you're moving something or you're not aware of it? Or do you want to give the audience the perfect moment that they can take a video or snap that they will share? So as I get to that chair, I know it's in the perfect position with the perfect lights for me. I know I get up, I check my shirt is tucked in, I pull my shirt down, I straighten my jacket, I put my tie up, and I quickly just look to check my hair is done on a mirror. We have on the DJ brief at the back, just to check myself. Yeah. Every moment I get up there, I have a set pose, I go, I know exactly that moment, I know that every picture, most nights, I might come sometimes, but every picture is the picture that I want to be out there in the media. Yeah, and then I finish in a pose which says, Take a picture of me. As I take that, sparks go off in the background. I'm in that perfect pose, and I say to everyone, if you want to share it on the internet, that's a joke to share. I make a little joke about it, yeah, which gets a laugh, but I'm more or less saying to people, that's the post, that's the picture you use if you want to use a picture of me on your social society. You've had a good night or you enjoyed yourself. And I think every magician should look in their show and go, where do you want people to take a picture? Because we all get bad pictures shared of us on stories and internet. You should get a real moment. Well, let's look at look at Dynamo walking on the on the River Thames. There was no coincidence that that was the House of the Parliament in the background. That was there because it was an iconic shot. That was shared all over the road because it was an iconic shot. So think in your show, what do you want your moment to be? What do you want your audience to remember? What do you want um to be shared? What do you want people to go? That's good. Do you want them to be a guy who's putting a funny face, he's sweating, as his jacket's all over the place because you're running around in the middle of an act doing something really fast and pacey? Or do you want something that's perfect? It ain't gonna be perfect every time, but you aim for it and you try to get it done. I'm sure there's pictures of me doing that trip with my shirt hanging out, but I try to do it every time. Yeah, that's that's that's the object, and I think so. So fork for me is um uh a go-to.

SPEAKER_04 19:59

Well, that's great. And the the whole hypnosis side of that is fascinating as well. I think that's a great idea. A way to make it play massive on stage.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

Yeah, of course, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I I mean again, fork things. I what one thing I do a lot on stage is a lot, and I don't know how many people, you know, I don't know. I had a hypnosis show for 20 years, um, non-stop in the same venue. So I don't do it as much now. Um the only reason I don't do it, because the old classic hypnosis show that I used to do, I think is you get a little bit older, I think you've got to make sure you don't look like creepy old man um doing it. So I'm very aware of that and and uh what I do with that. So I don't do that show at the moment just because probably since COVID, I've probably not done it as much. I might do one show, but it it's I don't think also in today's video world and phone world, it's not the same as what what goes on tour, stays on tour type mentality. So that's that that's not happening, but I still use the skills and talent and put them in the other pieces of routine that I do still to give that moment of hypnosis, but without uh going down the route of the classic hypnotist. Um I I I also think it's that moment of people believing real magic. I think my reading mentalism, hypnosis, still the audience believes. Yeah, they don't think, oh, he's good at handling them cards, he's good at uh juggling that ball. They think for a second this is some esoterical magical skill that this person might have, which I think is a wonderful thing to still let people believe.

SPEAKER_04 21:28

Amazing. Well, I think Fox is a great one in at number two. Uh let's go to number three then.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

A borrowed watch. A borrowed watch. It's what I open every performance I do up with a borrowed watch trick. I I'm probably not going to go into the routine. I'd like people to watch it if you ever see it, but it's a routine with a borrowed watch. It's any watch, not not one of the Apple watches, classic TikTok. When I mean TikTok of the answers watching, I don't mean like TikTok dancing and all that. I mean like tick, tick, tick, tick, that type of watch. Um, so yeah, well, a borrowed watch. Watch. Uh it's personal, it's something that belongs to somebody else that is impossible for you to borrow, to copy, to have a dupe, to have a second one. It's literally give me a watch, and just then you do something that's really really strong and finishes with something really strong at the end. Um here's the thing, I've shared loads of magic, and I've never written books, I've never done videos. Pete's asked me, other people have asked me loads of times to do stuff, and I never never thought it was right to do it. I've I share loads of stuff with people one on one on one, um, and in groups, and people are mentor. Maybe one day I'll do it. But that that that watch trick is something that I've always kept as my my little my little special trick, and it's inspired by something else. And I like conversations with the guy, um, and my version's very different. Um, and it's my little thing. And I had a guy come to the show once, he watched it, and he went, uh, magician, come up to me afterwards. He said, Rodney says, What's that uh trick, that watch trick? I said, I loved it. He says, Can you uh teach it to me? And I said, It's the only one bit that I don't teach. He said, I was completely fooled. I said, I like to keep that one a secret. Loads of magicians have seen it, loads of magicians love it, no one's got an idea how it's done. I think it it's I mean, people will have what some people who are knowledgeable will have an idea, but um and he goes, Oh no, let me I'll pay you a hundred quid. I went it's not about money, I said it's just that you know you've got a little baby you like to keep to show people that in and I'm sure you have Jamie, you've released loads of tricks, you've got little bits that are just yours. Um, so and then about two weeks later, I'm flicking on the magic forums, Facebook group. I went to the house of Lucifer like a couple of weeks ago and I saved Roger's trick. Does anyone know how it's done? And I was like, oh come on, no, no, no, no. So I I replied back to him, but it it was sad, but that's my uh a borrowed watch. I think it's probably the shortest one I'm gonna say about a borrowed watch.

SPEAKER_04 23:56

Well, I I think it's really sad that um you know he didn't just respect that, and sometimes I actually really think it's important as a performer and a magician to sometimes see something that you don't know how it's done because I think that keeps the magic alive for us as well.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Yeah, we're we're it's difficult for us, isn't it? I I appreciate quality now, and I get a massive buzz off of that from seeing magic rather than being fooled all the time. Because I am fooled sometimes, but not rarely now. Rarely. I think my magic level is quite knowledgeable. I think I've probably seen more live magic than most people. I've been to the world championships probably for the last 10 of them. Um, I see constantly acts sending me videos, clips to go and see, go and do. I go and watch loads and loads of magic because I think it's important that you do. Um, yeah, and I but I do think I love to be fooled, but it's less and less now, which is which is disappointing. But I love sitting back. I will sometimes go to a show and I'll watch the audience more than the show because I get massive joy of seeing them enjoy magic. That's what I do love. And that's why I love working with other magicians like our magicians and Harry and and Matt and all the great magicians we've had over at the House of Illusion over the last 20 years. Um, we I mean over the last couple of years, we've had Physm champions um come in to make House of Illusion their home for a couple of months. Um, Mind to Mind were over last season. Uh, from Arton was over uh working on his act, Winston was over on his act, uh, Mark Oberon before he won Physm and before he won his first competition was over. Um who else? James Moore spent time in, Matt, Taylor Morgan, Harry Moulding. Um I can list probably a hundred magicians who spent time in it, and I get great joy nowadays seeing them going off and doing stuff and seeing the their journey of working on it. And I'm I'm not taking credit for it or saying it's me or the house of illusion, but I I love seeing the the the the journey of all of them on their road to success. And we've got this little House of Illusion family that's off all over the world, all doing incredible things, and it's it's a great little thing to see.

SPEAKER_04 26:00

Well, anyone who wants to see that, that is your call to get out to Salu to the House of Illusion so that we can all see the borrowed watch and then find a magic group that you like and ask them how it's done. So let's go to let's go to number four.

A Dream Boat Appearance Illusion

SPEAKER_01 26:17

What would you put in your fourth spot? Here's here. I've got a trick that I've never done that I would like to take with me. So it's a trick that we talk about and we want to do, um, and I'll talk about it now because it might be one of the tricks that we never do. So we had a concept of where House of Religions right opposite opposite the harbour, so this would work on a desert island, um, where you talk to someone, they tell you what they want to win if they won the lottery, and it would be a yacht. You start asking the name of the yacht, the colour of the flags of the yacht, and you take them by the hand, you walk outside the theatre, there in the pool, is that boat? You then pull up uh a small cloth, it vanishes, the boat vanishes, a big storm starts in the theatre, wind blows, and that yacht is on the stage for the whole audience to see.

SPEAKER_04 27:13

I think that sounds phenomenal. Why have you not done it?

SPEAKER_01 27:17

There's always something that comes in the way. We've actually gone and looked at boats and all that type of stuff and and and gone to it. We we might do it. Do you know what? You might give me the push to do it and get it in the show this season, Jamie.

SPEAKER_04 27:28

There you go. So when we're out there watching the borrowed watch trick, we're we're gonna be looking for the boat appearance as well.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Yeah. Yeah. Do you know what? That we have constant ideas. Our changing room is like a the most incredible creative space. And we're literally constantly writing down ideas. We have a ball up, we're putting ideas, concepts down, and we constantly go, let's do that, let's do that, let's get that done. 99.9 of them never happen. Right. Next trick I'm gonna bring. It's a person.

SPEAKER_04 27:58

Okay. We've not had this before. This is interesting. I know.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

So I'm gonna bring Matt Edwards, he's gonna bring my trick.

SPEAKER_04 28:05

Okay. We've we've not had this before, but I'm I'm not stopping you from doing it. We're we're I break the rock.

Bringing A Person As A Trick

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Right, one thing you should know about me, I always brand them, break not only forks but the rules. Yeah, I'm gonna bring Matt Edwards. He is an encyclopedia of tricks, an incredible magical mind, full of energy, full of passion. It's like having a trick that can do every trick. Imagine having the best magic box you've got and the best magic set you've ever got. You open it up and you go, There's every trick you ever wanted, just be one trick. So if it's Matt is here. I mean, I think he's just gone outside for a walk, so I'm gonna get him to come back quickly and I'm gonna get him to pop on for a second for you as well. If if if if they can get him quickly, he was he was outside waiting for me, but I think he's popped down to the road to our new venue. We've got so I will come back to number five.

SPEAKER_04 28:49

Okay, we'll we've we're putting that number five on hold, and we'll move on to number six.

Fire Spiker And Big Stage Magic

SPEAKER_01 28:54

Number six. Let's jump up into the big stuff. Fire spiker. It can finish any show anywhere in the world. If you don't know the effect, the effect is uh magician comes out, big box, someone else comes out, goes into the box, they are shown in the box, they put the hand out the front, load of spikes are set on fire, shove through the box, the hand's still on display, touch the box, hang on, open it up, they've completely vanished. Fire out, all flashing out, you pull it out, close the box, you produce that person back, audience go wild, you produce a second person, audience go doubly wild, you breathe, you let the audience think it's done, and then you go, I'm now gonna smack you around the face with something you never expected because there's a third person. That third person moment is something that real magic. They literally lose it. There's nothing better. If you have never performed a fire spiker in your life, there is nothing better than standing 12 foot up in the air on top of that box, going boom, one person, boom, two person, looking at all the audiences in the eye, and then when you put it away for the third person, seeing their faces, you it's like taking a snapshot of people just having the most m incredible magical moment ever. They literally go wild. And I would like it on this little desert island, meeting the tribe, walking on, yeah, coming in and seeing it explode.

SPEAKER_04 30:30

Sorry, bear with me one second. There's someone at the front door. Bear with me one second.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

Someone at someone at the door. Hey, sorry, sorry, mate. That was uh I was just knocking at your door, but no one answered. The dog was barking, so I left. Sorry, my mate. Is that where it went? Right, is that where you're winning? That's yeah, yeah. I was literally just yeah, I was just at Jamie's end. So just to let you know, Matt, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:51

My uh fifth trick to take to my desert island would be you. Oh I tell you why. He's like a magic box, and he's full of magic. It's everything you want. You know, like one of them used in a little tea, what do they call them? Swiss army knives. Matt is a Swiss army type trick. He's got everything in it. He does illusions, does the magic, does the close-up, does the comedy, does the series stuff. I would just say, if I've got Matt, that's the best magic trick you could have. That's so lovely. Thanks, Matt. I didn't say that a minute ago, you weren't here and I said, Oh, Matt, come in. And you've gone knocking at your door. I was knocking at Jamie's door. Yeah, knocking on doors.

SPEAKER_04 31:24

I also think that it's about the people that you have around you, as uh as important as it is about their knowledge, and just seeing your interactions with each other. I know guys at home might not be able to see, but the way you are together, you can tell that you're just really good friends and that you can lean on each other and trust each other.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

We put our tops back on now. Yeah. We are also recording this for our OnlyFans. It's all gone wrong. This is all this is gonna be played, edited in a few years. Is this the podcast now? Are we on it now? Yes, it's on, it's recorded. Oh, this is so unprofessional. I'm sorry. I tell you what, I've just noticed, right? You haven't shaved, but the little touch-up effect makes it look like you've got quite a trendy beard. It looks alright, doesn't it? All right, I think I'm growing up finally. Can you get when was when did you start shaving last week? Literally three days ago. Okay, that's fine. That's fine.

SPEAKER_04 32:14

And people at home can can see Matt on a certain TV show as well and can see one of his performances.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

When was that?

unknown 32:22

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

It's a long time. That was so long ago. Did you think realize how long ago it was? 2017. That was a lot ago. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 32:31

It's but here's the important thing, Matt. This is what I said is see how it resonates with people. For that moment, good moments of magic, good moments, and we were speaking about this earlier. Stay with you, but James got no idea it was that long ago, and he remembers it like it could have been yesterday or the year before, the year before.

SPEAKER_04 32:46

I've watched it so many times though.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Do you know the funny thing is though? Like that, the uh, and I know this isn't my podcast, but I just but I just I feel like it's important that I should say it's all about me now, is that um that salt pour that I performed um was my I I got that Rodney bought me that trick in my first year at House of Illusion. Um and so I was performing that salt pour for like almost it, like maybe 12 years before I took it, like like perfecting that routine, you know, making sure the choreography was right, you know. Um, and yeah, it was it. I remember the day you bought me that. I remember.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

Long, long time ago.

SPEAKER_00 33:25

Long time ago.

unknown 33:26

Ma.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

Yeah. Should we do Jamie some uh beatbugs? I mean, we can try. One, two, three, go!

SPEAKER_01 33:34

Bam, bam, alaka, sam, alak, alak, alak, alak, okay, love you, bye.

SPEAKER_04 33:38

See you later, thank thanks for that. Uh, that's great. Uh, brilliant. There's number five, just swooped off there. No, I think that's a a great one um in having Matt, and I think it's a really important um lesson in just surrounding yourself with good people. I think that's a really important thing.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

Who you are with. Yeah, and I think it's so important to have that that that that that that tribe, that group of people you can trust, you can be honest with, tell you what's wrong, what's right, and also you can share and be be great. Number seven.

SPEAKER_04 34:13

Well, let's quickly talk about number six as well, Fire Spiker. Um, if only people could see someone performing that from a recent talent show on Netflix.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

It was Harry's second episode, which I think is episode three on the show. So I have a three or four. Harry, my son, if you don't know him, um he the costume he's wearing, the the letters on the back of it was actually made by Beyoncé's personal designer. So Harry's got on the Instagram page of Beyoncé as uh designer, has got like all of Beyonce's pictures, and there's a little picture Harry on one of the posts as well, which we absolutely love. And do you know what? There's a lot of love in the magic world. So our and I posted about it yesterday, our fire spikers here at the House of Illusion. We took over our essay, um, Spin Animation Illusion, but our Fire Spike's here, and Rich Young and Sam Strange were touring, and they kindly lent me theirs while we're there, and so we used their prop there, and so many other magicians um helped us out and came out with props just to make it easy and quick. So, and obviously was there, so big, big shout out to uh Rich and Sam, uh Rich, another podder. Um, so yeah, that there was lots of love and lots of great crazy. I mean, I actually did. We we we borrowed it and we paid them a little bit. I got the student pound a little bit of a rent for it, just something little, and I made out to Sam that we bought it, and Rich that there was a misunderstanding, and Sam's going, No, no, it was a rental. We just charge you like a normal. And I went, No, no, it's Rich just said it was buy it, and he's going, Oh no, and then I put on the invoice for um the the uh the the receipt of the thing, thank you for the purchase, thank you for the the buying it, and Sam's going, No, no, that's a misunderstanding. We needed it for the tour.

SPEAKER_04 35:58

And we've actually had both of them on the pod. So if you if you want to go and check them out, it's Sam Strange and Richard Young. Go check out their episodes. It's really they did it separately, but they did something interesting, which I'm gonna do with you at the end of this podcast, which you don't know about yet. Um, I don't know about anything.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

I don't know about no, I'm I'm trying to jot stuff down now to come up with these extra tricks.

SPEAKER_04 36:20

Well, you're doing great so far. Uh we've had a great uh a great array of different things, and you've done you've been the first person in nearly 150 episodes who has put a person in one of your trick lists, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

When I perform at gigs, I look at effects that tick these three boxes. Is it super strong and powerful? Yes. Will it last with your spectators for a lifetime? Absolutely. And does it leave them with a souvenir that perfectly captures the moment of magic? If that all sounds exactly what you're after, look no further than the liquid forks. These forks have been custom designed to be able to bend right in front of your spectators' eyes. It's so easy to perform, it's so visual, and trust me, they will honestly keep this impossible object because they've seen it morph in front of their eyes. It literally does the impossible. Not only that, liquid forks comes with 50 of these forks in each pack and it comes with the full Liquid Forks routine taught by the world-famous David Penn. Not only that, we have a subscription service. If you guys love these forks and you get through them at your gigs, we now offer a monthly subscription where you get sent a box through every single month at a 10% reduced fee. Like I said, you guys are gonna be loving these, you're gonna be performing them every chance you can. Trust me, the reactions are second to none. So, guys, head over to Alexander.co.uk, pick up a set of liquid ports, you will not regret it. Easy to do, leads them with a killer souvenir, and to be honest with you, it's not cards, it's not coins, it's not mentalism, it's something beyond belief. Check out now, guys, the liquid ports.

Double Levitation And Magic History

SPEAKER_04 38:11

Uh, but you've got two more choices, so you've got seven and eight. Let's start with seven.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

I would take the double levitation that we did on Star Certuary Harry as well, because what a lot of people don't realise that prop, um when I mean prop, I just mean the table that she lies on at the start. For those of you listening who are not magicians, um, was the original prop that was performed by John Gabriel on the world's greatest magic. Um, and we managed to find out where it was, and we met John Gabriel, and he came and spent a day with us. Um, it'd not been it'd been in a warehouse for 20 years, unused, untouched, as far as we've concerned. And we got it, and he came and spent time with us, shared a lot of love with us. And for me, out of everything I've done in Magic, that was one of my proudest moments seeing that happen on that show. I loved what we did with it. Um, Rich Cadell, Jamie Allen came on the phone and shouted out and um gave Jane, well, Jamie without that effect, Rich with something else, but gave us advice and came on and said the little bits that make it clean. But John Grabriel was just an absolute superstar, with it, a real gentleman. If he he's do you know what? He's a lost guy in magic. That guy should be shouted out and spoke about. He did he was the first guy who did slice on the world's greatest magic. He did the uh double levitation, the first person to ever do it on TV or do it anywhere. Um he was that's the original prop, the original Willie Kennedy prop that was that was um we used beautiful masterpiece, loved it. John Gabriel, check him out, check him out on YouTube if you're here. Check him out.

SPEAKER_04 39:51

It's such a wonderful trick. I know very little about stage illusions, but this kind of illusion reminds me of like the golden age of magic. This feels like one of the tricks where someone made a woman levitate and another magician went, That was great, but we need to we need to one-up it. What if I float up to her and then the next person said, That was brilliant, but what if she then vanished mid-air?

SPEAKER_01 40:15

I will tell you with with that, we had to be very careful with it. So, from what I understand, Rick Thomas came up with a mid-air vanish or says he came up with a mid-vanish, a lot of disagreements, agreements with it. So actually floating up and making the person vanish when the magician is in the air, Rick is very protective of it. So I'd heard about this before. Um, so what we made sure we did is that Harry's feet touched the ground before we did the vanish. So we didn't infringe on Rick's stuff or ideas. We wanted to really make sure that we did everything right with with that and made sure that it was the right thing. And that it was a I mean, there's a dad senior son doing that, floating up. Oh, I was in tears. Um I mean, Harry's famous now for being on Starshirt Netflix. I'm famous for crying mainly on TV.

SPEAKER_05 41:07

Just saying.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

Everything I've done in my life, and a lot of people have gone to me, oh, you're the dad who was crying. I'm going, yeah, I've done other stuff in my life. That's not I did the fairy liquid advert when I was about 12 years old, just so you know. So don't don't don't don't don't go on about me crying on TV, please. That's what I'm known as. It used to be, oh, you're Rodney's son, yeah, your RGP's son. Now it's your Harry's dad. That's all I get. It's all changed. It's all changed. Yeah. Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_04 41:38

Well, I think it's a great one in, and I think we actually mentioned it um on one of our previous episodes. The enjoyment doing that trick anyway, but especially when Harry at Harry's age, I bet that was so fun for him.

SPEAKER_01 41:52

I've got a picture of the first time he did it in rehearsals. I can't share it or put it anywhere because it's it's an expose picture, and he just up in the air looking at me with the most biggest grin on his face. Yeah, and I was that going, Oh, this is what it's about. This I don't care whatever happens with the show, we've just had the best time ever doing that.

SPEAKER_04 42:14

Yeah, that's great. Well, that's a great one in it, number seven. Now we've got one more spot. All right, so we've got number eight.

SPEAKER_01 42:21

You do know I'm gonna completely come out of the ballpark here with something completely different, don't you?

SPEAKER_04 42:25

Oh, we like that. That's good. That's really good. Yeah, let's do that.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

So I'm the first person to ever bring a person. You are, yeah. I'm also gonna be the first person to ever bring a venue. So I'm bringing the house of illusion. For me, it's not a venue, it's a concept, it's a place, it's an idea, it's a feeling. The house of illusion's moved to various places and grown. And bringing that sensation, I think, is the biggest trick or the biggest piece of magic in the world. Having control of the environment, whether it's from the first point of contact to the moment they leave, everything from the food they eat, the drink they eat, the temperature, the lighting, the staging, the timing, the welcome, that is the biggest piece of magic. A lot of people think with magic or a trick, it's get it out, here we go, let's make a pen vanish. There we go, brilliant, looks lovely. Yeah, that's not that's not magic, that's that's rubbish, but it's the setup. And you create the reason we have audiences that love what we do and literally go wild with what we do, is literally because it's from point of first contact when they inquire about a ticket to the moment they leave us, and once they have left us, we follow up. That's how you create a real trick. It's not about what you do in your three minutes, your two minutes, your five minutes. It's about what you do before and afterwards. It's about I mean, I think it was Luke Germain who spoke uh one time. We was we did a thing called the Deviant here at the House of Illusion, and he he he took his watch off at the start of his act and put it down. And even all of us at the time were thinking that's just taking the watch off just to take a watch off. But it's not, is it? It's about building that process. I'm gonna do something serious. I'm getting down to work now. I'm eliminating any anything that could be strange or dodgy or whatever. And I think the house of illusion is that. It's the biggest trick we've got. Everything we set up from the moment they're in there, even I can't say it because it's not a magician's only thing, but things that happen before they're even there are all part of the show. So we're working from the moment they they they are first point of contact until the moment they leave. So for me, the trick is the house of illusion. It's the biggest trick and the best trick we've ever done.

SPEAKER_04 44:36

Well, I think that's a brilliant choice. No one's ever done it before, but I actually think it it would it would have been sad if the house of illusion wasn't in there somewhere because I mean I've heard so much about the house of illusion over the years. You need to come, Jamie. You need to come. Oh yeah, I would love to um to to come down.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

Pete's been Pete's been he came at the old House of Illusion, House of Illusion won, the first one, and then asked him if he had a good night after the show. Jenny had to help him up the stairs. That was that's we spent we sat drinking late at night talking about magic, and he stood up and he went, Oh, I'm a bit light on my feet. He didn't realise.

SPEAKER_04 45:15

Um, but so many people have gone through the house of illusion as well. You've had some big names and you know, people that have gone on to do some incredible, incredible things.

SPEAKER_01 45:25

I would say a majority of magicians from the UK that are doing incredible things have had some type of contact with the House of Illusion at one point. We've got a culture of caring, loving, wanting to do more about magic. Yeah, we're just literally finalizing the performance for this year, and everyone comes in, even if they've been in the business for 30 years, we're starting afresh, and we're all coming again with blank canvas that let's build. That's what Matt's waiting for to me to start creating for this year stuff, new stuff and ideas. So it's all good.

SPEAKER_04 46:02

Each year, do you do a different show each year?

SPEAKER_01 46:04

Um, yes, but no, it's it's do you know when you go and see a pop artist? Say you were, I don't know, we've talked about Beyonce, let's say you go and see Beyonce, you want to see the big hits, don't you? You want to see the best of. If you went there and you they just did all new material, you would be a bit upset. So you have to make sure you tick the boxes by doing a couple of the big hits and you can't just completely fresh start because people will go, oh, we we didn't have Glenn do the floating table, which he did for 20 years, this routine with that, which um the best floating table I've seen. He did it for 20 years, he's retired last year. Um, but we took it out one year, and then all we got was loads of people going, Oh, come on, we we want to see Glenn do that. And literally, like they want to see their big hits. So, yes, we'll we have a uh uh a different thread, we have some new stuff, uh always the performers that are constantly changing. We have a lot of guest acts who've come throughout the season. Um, so we we we constantly have them that bring freshness, but we do have to include some of the big hits in it. People want to see it. People want to see the fire spiker, they want to see it. We might change the music, we might change the routine, we might change the costumes. Um, but there's certain bits in the show that I think it's very difficult to remove. You want to go and see it, didn't you? Well, if you're gonna go and see David Bowie, you want to go and see Heroes, you go and see Michael Jackson back in the day, you want to see Billy Jean and Thriller. If you go then, they don't do them, you'll be like that. We've all been to a concert. I went to see the Beach Boys and all he did was gospel, and they didn't do none of the Beach Boys hits. I came out thinking it was the worst concert ever. It was probably brilliant, but I wanted to I wanted to go surfing USA and California girls, all of that. You want to do all that type of stuff. I've just realized someone's gonna make a meme now of me saying California girls and just put it on loop, but uh yeah, you want to see the hit. So we're very aware of that when building magic shows. What what the I think you have to be aware of who your audience is, what you're doing for your audience, and what will make them happy, as well as being artistically creative yourself. So you put some bits in that are important that you're developing, you're working on. I mean, that's card trick, which is wonderful if you've never got a chance to see it. It's a beautiful piece of magic. It goes down a storm, and you probably wouldn't think of that being something there. Harry's some of Harry's stuff that he does that he's worked on, his manipulation act that all came from nothing, and he won Young Magician of the Year, is is just that our audiences have never probably seen anything like that in their life. Um probably some of the people who come to the show have not been or don't regularly go to the theatre, and their house produces their moment of wonder every year. So it's uh yeah, it will you you balance a show. Building a show should always build like a like a mountain. You can't drop and go, you have to build, and you'll start to have moments in it where you breathe. Shadows is a good example. If you have an incredible mind blowing piece of mentalism, yeah, you can't follow it with another mind-blowing trick. The audience has to have a breather. So shadows is a good example. That is beautiful, it's nice to see, it's wonderful, but it lets the audience reset the brain so they're ready to have their mind blow again. You've got to really balance in the show how you build it and what you do with it and house of illusion. I I hope the magicians that have been with us, um, not only I hope that me and all the team and everyone who's been together has collaborated to create uh some wonderful pieces of magic, but we all learn about how it's about your audience and not just about you.

Banish Jealousy And Get Busy

SPEAKER_04 49:09

So we've given you eight tricks, but you only get one each of these. So we're gonna start with your banishment. So I want you to imagine that you're about to dig a big sandy hole, you're gonna throw something inside, and we're gonna bury it, never to be seen again. So if you were to banish something from our industry, what would you banish?

SPEAKER_01 49:27

I would banish the word jealousy because I think it's bad to be jealous for you, for the community, and for everyone else. A certain individual and others hounds you, harasses you, puts stuff up, tries to blackmail you. Um, and it's jealousy. And if they spent as much time worrying about other people as they did working on their own life, material work, I think they'll be a lot more happier, content, and stable. And I think there is a an area in this world of jealousy. I I'm not bothered about other people. I'll have a loaf laugh and a joke, but I'm very happy for other people's success. And I don't need to need to be told how good I am, how great I am. I've got a wonderful family, wonderful business, I love what I do. I'm not jealous of other people, in completely opposite. When I see someone who's worked for me or not even work for me, someone I know, I'm over the moon for them. Absolutely over the moon for them. And jealousy is something that can eat you up from the inside out. You can be upset about things, that's fair enough. But don't be jealous. Take people and be inspired by the success. Take people and see people doing great things and say, I can do it as well. You are who you are, you are what you will be, but it's up to you what you are and what you will be. No one else does it for you. The only person you can blame for not being good or not being successful is you. Get up, roll your sleeves up, get busy. People say to me, 'I've not had a big break.' Well, go out and get your big break. When Harry won Young Magician of the Year and we got him on Sky News, we walked up to the BBC, we went up to the BBC, no interview, no uh thing. We walked up to the gates, we walked in for the trophy, walked past security, said, Oh, we're here for the interview with the showed the trophy, walked in, went to reception, we just sat in reception for about three hours doing magic to people on the sofas, met a couple of researchers, and one of them said, I can get you on this show if you want, and then got us on sky. That wouldn't happen. Do you have to go and make it? People say to me, Oh, house of illusion, or you're lucky, you've done it. No, I'm not lucky. I came to Salu with not a penny. I was sleeping on a sofa. I had nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. It's not about it, it's it literally, it's up to you. You might be uh born with a load of money, no money. You you you we can all access with the internet information with AI. You can also, if you're not great at text, you can help with that. You can get people to help you. It's not the world where you are, you can work and get stuff done. And people say, Oh, I live in a bad area, oh, I've not got the contacts. Well, it's like a game of cards, isn't it? We can all get dealt a belt hand, better bad hand. But it's not about the hand you get dealt, it's about how you play it. And there's nothing better than winning on a bad hand. So don't be jealous if you're listening to this. And this is not for magic, because if there is anyone who's who's a mug, or as they would say, or a lay person, yeah. Don't waste time being jealous. Don't waste time being angry or upset other people. You can be frustrated sometimes if you the dice don't fall in the numbers you need it, or the cars don't land how you want it. But get busy. If it doesn't work, get up, try again. And you're full, you'll fail. House of Illusion. I lost 50,000 euros in the first year that House of Illusion opened. It was a biggest disaster of my life. But I didn't give up because it was my dream. We were walking illusions down to the roundabout in town trying to get people in. It was a disaster. Three people, four people. But we worked harder, we changed our mindset, we made it happen. Now we sell out two shows a night, every night of the week. We had 50,000 people see our show last summer. It's up to you. Money comes and goes. Vegas are just numbers on a spreadsheet. As long as you can eat, as long as you can um look after your family, that's all that matters. Big cars, designer clothes don't mean nothing to me. What it means is getting busy, getting hard work, and getting incredible joy from making things happen for you and for others. I absolutely love it. I love seeing all of our magician and house illusion family going off and doing incredible things. And my work with the magic circle has all been about improving what we can do and getting things happening and doing it. I'm very determined. I I I want to get stuff done. Time, the only thing we're losing in life is time. I don't care how good you are, whatever you are, the clock is ticking. So get busy, make stuff happens, and don't be jealous. The moment you look at someone else and get annoyed about it, or slag them off on the internet, or send them a message, or send them a dodgy picture, or send them an email, wasting your time. That could have been time you winning. So change jealousy into winning. Word or person or thing or banish is jealousy. Simple and easy.

SPEAKER_04 54:25

I think that's a hundred percent right. Yep, I think that's a hundred percent right. I always remember one of the best pieces of advice I got was from Anthony Owen when I came out of uni, and uh my ambition was to be in the West End. Uh, I'd just done all my training, and uh I came out and he said, So what's next? And I said, Well, you know, my thing is to get into a to a show, but I'm not really having much luck. And he said, Well, you make your own luck. If they can't put you in a show, write a show, and then you're in you you're in a show straight away. You make it happen.

SPEAKER_01 54:55

Yeah, yeah. Just go and knock on doors. Go and knock on doors, knock on doors. And if people go, Oh, I can't do that, I look a fool. Well, the only fault is is you at 65 years old retiring, going, I wish. Yeah, clock is ticking, go for it now. Whatever you're doing, go for it. And don't take no for an answer, just keep knocking on doors. In the end, someone will be bored if you're knocking on their door and say, Go on, then let's go for it.

David Berglas And Living The Myth

SPEAKER_04 55:15

100%. Well, I think that's a great banishment. Uh, it leaves us with two more things. So, your book, if you could only take one book, what would you take?

SPEAKER_01 55:23

Um, the Tommy Wonder books are incredible. I bet they'd be mentioned loads. Theatre of the Mind is incredible, but I think the book that I cherish most is the David Berglass book. I think it says everything about being a magician and living as a magician and being a magician. Uh and I agree with so many concepts and ideas in that book. Forget the tricks, just read it and don't even think of the tricks. Just read that book through and and and got it. There's many things that I'd said in my life, but my books wouldn't be one of them, and I definitely will be keeping the burglast book all my life as a special moment. I actually got it off David himself, it was the Magic Circle Centenary, and I'd arranged and we had converse with email, and he says, Uh, I'd like you to come, I'd like to come and give it to uh give it to you personally. So I met in a lift with him, and he stopped and he said, Oh, hold one second, I'd like to interview my friends. He said, This is Peter Reven, he's a hypnotist and Lance Burton's uh uh manager and Peter Ravine, sorry, and uh we had a little conversation, a chat about it, and stuff like that, and he showed me some stuff and he was talking about the books and stuff like that. Uh this there's a great section in that book, which I think is something everyone should learn about being a magician. Well, we all know the in-the-news trick with a wine newspaper or boarding newspaper, and David used to go into a hotel before we had a meeting and get the newspapers, go into the toilet, put the gimmick in the newspaper, three or four of them leave him around the hotel, and then when he had his meeting, he could before he'd say I'll pass me a newspaper or whatever and do it. And I think that's that's the the what what we should all aspire to be.

SPEAKER_04 57:01

Well, you that kind of is reflected on something that you said earlier when you mentioned with the forks, you place forks around different venues.

SPEAKER_01 57:10

Yeah, I think it's I don't know if I I think I'm doing that even before the book, but before I even read the book, I think I've done that for years, but I do think it's the same mindset. I think when I've read that book, I've just gone, I've just clicked and gone, yes, that's how it should be. That's how it should be. That you create the myth, you create the the the the legend. That that's part of what we should all do.

SPEAKER_04 57:32

I think that's a great one uh in your book position. Uh we've got the item now. We've worked out that you could have put forks, you could have put a borrowed watch, you could have even put Matt Edwards in this position. So we'll find out what you took as your item.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

Is he cheating slightly?

The One Item He Truly Needs

SPEAKER_04 57:48

We'll we've had lots of people bend the rules, uh, but it's still within the rules, as long as it's within the rules.

SPEAKER_01 57:54

Okay, so my item would be my family. I am a man who is there, but I can only do what I can do with my family behind me and supporting me. Uh my wife, she's actually over there, so she can hear this, is uh wonderful. Me and my son have the most incredible relationship. My daughter I cherish and has the biggest smile. Um, the rest of my family work with us here in the office next door, Lace and Russ and everyone else, it's wonderful. So my family are part of me. We are a jigsaw. This this thing of RJP group is something that I stand forward, but everyone else is there making it happen in the background. And like we spoke about earlier, without all the parts of the jigsaw, there's no picture. So my family are vital to me. Well, I do. My wife in my crazy ideas joins me on them and supports me and has faith in what I'm gonna do. Sometimes puts the brakes on and says, Let's hold up for a second. Uh, I think on that desert island, I think I'd be lost without them.

SPEAKER_04 59:00

Yeah, I think that's a great one. Uh, and you know, we've had a few people mention family before, but I think you've got House of Illusion there, you've got Matt Edwards there, now you've got your family there. I think that your island in particular sounds like it's gonna be a uh a very fun, very engaging, very supportive place to be.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

A place to be, it's what you want, isn't it? It's what you set your life up as. It's not it's not down to luck. You build the life or your island out how you want it. We'd have a hot tub, we'll have a we'll have a we'll have a pool, we'll have a disco, we'll have a couple of nice restaurants on the island, the family would be there. Yeah, we'll have a house of losing, we're putting on shows, we'd be boats will be pulling in, people will be coming in and watch the magic. We'll turn it into a tasty little business in no time, trust me. That island would be rocking and rolling before you know it. It ain't no desert island. We'll put it on the map, we'll tell people it's the place to be. No messing about, come to RGP's island. It's gonna be a dynasty, trust me.

SPEAKER_04 59:55

Well, I think it's a great list. Uh, just even though it was off the top of your head, I think it's full of such uh interesting insight and and stories and ideas. But you started off with the stealth assassin, went on to Forks, then you had a borrowed watch for your watch routine that we all need to come and see. You had your boat appearance that you said maybe you're gonna work on, you took Matt Edwards because he's an encyclopedia of magic. You took Fire Spiker, you took double levitation, you're gonna take the House of Illusion and be the first person to take a place. Your banishment is jealousy, your book is The Mind and Magic of David Burglass, and your cheeky little item, uh, which is more than one, but we're gonna let you take it anyway, is your family. I think that's a pretty darn good list.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:38

Uh, just just to know, this is how I work. I'm currently looking at islands for sale. This is a good little business, mate. We could get this going. You're not you and us a partner. RJP Island. I think it could work. We've got it all set.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:50

Uh I think Pete's gonna have to be the benefactor, though.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

I think uh I'm not I'm not going no, I'm not going into business with Pete. No way. No way. Me and him, me and him in business together would be an absolute nightmare. We'd both be competing. Who's in charge? Who's gonna get the biggest cut?

Guessing Harry’s List And Goodbyes

SPEAKER_04 1:01:06

Well, here's here's a nice little twist to this podcast. So normally we have uh if we have like two people who work together or uh a family unit or something like that, we like to play a little game. So we are hoping very much so to have Harry join us, uh Harry Merlin Piper on one of these podcasts as well. So I'm his dad. I'm his dad, that's what I'm known as now. Harry's dad. Harry's dad. Um, so here's the deal. The first thing is I don't want you to tell Harry your list. Okay. Okay. But I also want you now to have a guess as to just a few, even if it's one or two, items that might be on his list. And then when we record with him, we'll get him to guess what was on your list, and we'll get you to guess what's on his list, and we'll see you.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:52

Do I get I've seen Family Fortunes, right? Do I get a prize? Yeah, you get for every here's one. Tell P, right? Tell P and Harry. Yeah. For everyone I get right, I want a prize. There's the deal. Deal. Like family fortune.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:09

We've got it. We've got it. We'll do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

Yeah, you got this? Right, okay. Harry will choose. I'm just gonna go back and say, Harry, choose these ones. I've got eight prizes now. Um, Harry will go for double levitation, he will go for fire spiker, he will go for suspend animation, he will go for his monkey, he will go for manipulation cards, he will go for motorbike vanish and tennis ball.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:36

Okay, that's a pretty good guessing list there. Um, I don't want to know anything about any of them because we'll find out from Harry, and then we'll also get him to guess to see how many of your ones he thinks you you got.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:49

Don't give him no prizes, he has enough. He won money on that show, he ain't getting no prizes. Okay, don't give him no prizes. I'll tell you what, if you give him prizes, no, don't give him prizes, don't give him prizes. He can he can have prizes from another dealer. That's what he can have. Bad, bad magic, not like the quality from Alakazam.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:07

Good save. Uh okay, cool. So when we have him on, we'll put that to him, we'll see how many he gets right, um, and we'll find out how many you got right. Last thing for me to say is if people want to find out more about you uh and the House of Illusions and everything that you're doing, where can they go to?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:24

Mine and Matt's OnlyFans account. It's 595. Um, no, just go to follow me on Instagram, follow me uh Rodney James Piper, um look at the House of Illusion website, give me a call, shout me a message. Yeah, always willing to talk, always willing to help, always loving magic. Reach out. My email is rodney at rgpintertainment.com. If I don't reply quickly, don't think I'm ignoring you. I'm just busy and I will get back to you. It will happen, it just might take a time.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:00

Amazing. And of course, do go check out Harry's performances on uh Star Search because genuinely they were all phenomenal, they were absolutely brilliant.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:11

Uh if you it just just if you don't want to watch Harry, the Gordon Ramsey documentary is really good as well. So if you're bored of watching Harry on Thingy Bob, yeah. I mean, we we've not watched it. We watched the Gordon Ramsey one, he's opening a restaurant on top of the building. That's a tell you what, that's a lot better. That's a lot better than Harry's Spots. Forget watching Harry on Star Search, watch Gordon Ramsey, that's a great show. Also, the blacklist, if you haven't seen it, episode 12, fantastic. They're things to watch on Netflix, not Harry.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:37

What with that and the OnlyFans accounts? We're all going to be very busy, I think, over the next week. Um, amazing. So, last thing for me to say is thank you so much for your time, Rodney.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:48

You're welcome, mate. Lots of love. If anyone's in Salu, always come and check us out, pop us out. We always look after any magicians or friends. Uh, we've got not only House of Illusion, Chaplains, Houtini's Attic, Amazon Secret Restaurant. We also open a brand new venue in the middle of May called Piper's Social Club, which is three venues in one. So we keep busy, we keep it fun. 2027, give it the island. Let's make it happen. See you later, mate. Lots of love. Take care, everyone.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:16

Thank you so much. And of course, thank you all for listening. Do go check out everything to do with the House of Illusions, despite what Rodney just said. Do go check out Harry's performances. They were brilliant. We're going to try our very hardest to get Harry on here in a future episode, and then we can find out how well Rodney just guessed his items. I'm sure they were absolutely brilliant. And we will also try and get Matt on as well, because I think Matt would be an absolute bubble of joy to have on this podcast. I think it'd be a great episode.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:46

I've just locked Matt in the cupboard. He he won't be allowed out until showtime now. So he's a little cupboard out of the back here. So Matt and Harry, they're both in cupboards. They're not allowed out only for showtime now. Right, I'm gonna go, mate. Take care.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:57

Lots of love. And thank you all for listening. Of course. Course, we're gonna be back next week with another episode. But for now, have a great week. Goodbye.

Print By Magic Closing Message

SPEAKER_02 1:06:10

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