Stranded with a Stranger: John France

You can learn a lot about a magician by the eight tricks they refuse to live without, and John France’s list is built for the real world: restaurant tables, family events, and close-up sets where you need fast impact, clear plots, and resets that don’t slow you down. John’s also a refreshing reminder that you don’t have to start young to start strong. He didn’t perform until his mid-50s, got a buzz from fooling one coworker, and turned that spark into a working, practical card magic toolkit.

We dig into why each choice earns its spot, from a super-visual sandwich routine that grabs attention instantly, to a stacked-deck Five of Spades sequence that escalates into an ace-finding kicker people won’t forget. There’s also a dose of pure close-up shock with Sharpie Through Card, plus a simple, direct “one card reversed” selection reveal that proves how far strong handling and timing can go with a normal deck. Along the way we talk about building a mental library of dependable card tricks so you’re never stuck when someone inevitably says, “Show me something with cards.”

The set widens into walk-around strategy and audience management: Sudoku 2.0 as a souvenir mentalism-style leave-behind that doubles as a business card, and The Grail as a versatile card-at-any-number tool for those awkward table revisits. Then comes the curveball John insists on: spooky, bizarre magic with Dead Man’s Hand, where story and multiple reveals change the energy in the room. We also hit a topic that matters to every performer and creator: what John would banish from magic forever, and why originality and credit are non-negotiable.

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

Transcript

Welcome And How To Submit Lists

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Desert Island Tricks. This week we have a stranded with a stranger episode. Thank you so much if you've been sending in your lists. We've got a few more in the bank, but we do need more to keep these going. So if you want to be a part of one of these, then send in your list of eight tricks, one book, one non-magic item, and one banishment to sales at alakazan.co.uk. Include, of course, your name, a little bit about you so we get to know you, your tricks and the reasons for those. In the subject line, put my desert island tricks. That way it comes through to me, and I can get one of these recorded for you. Today we have a new stranded stranger, and his name is John France. So John's given us a little bit of information about him first so that we can get to know him. So let's find out. He says, My name is John France, and I'm from Glasgow. I'm a big fan of Desert Island tricks and have been a regular listener since the first episode. I notice you haven't been getting many stranded with the stranger episodes recently, so I thought I'd send you my list. I've been a big fan of magic since I got Paul Daniel's magic set for Christmas when I was a lot younger. Santa got me the Bumper 100 Trick Edition. I've been an avid reader and collector of magic books ever since, but I haven't performed any magic until very recently when I was fifty four years old. I'll be fifty-seven this month. A co-worker challenged me to do a card trick that would fool them, and when I did it, I got such a buzz from performing and fooling a spectator that I've been doing it ever since. It's mostly card tricks I do to tables, close up, parlour, and family events. I haven't attempted stage yet, uh since I prefer the close-up contact with the spectators, but who knows? I'm not ruling anything out. When I approach a table, I do four quick tricks using the same red back bicycle deck. It's a stacked deck, so that should give away the method for a second trick. The deck is easily reset and lets me move on quickly to the next table. Okay. So, uh John France from Glasgow. Number one, happy birthday uh the month that you sent this in, which was a little while ago, but he will of course be 57 now. I think it's really interesting as well. I wonder how many listeners kind of enjoy magic and they enjoy learning it and practicing it, but they don't actually perform it until later in life. I wonder if that's a large proportion of people, or whether more people do start off younger and then carry it on through. Also, you mentioned the Paul Daniels magic set. You got the better one than me. I got the 50 trick one, the the little tiny one with it, I think it had like a little handle on top as well. Uh, but it was such a great magic set, and I wonder how many people in the UK uh certainly actually got the Paul Daniels magic set. And I know in the Magic Circle they have a lot of the Paul Daniels magic sets in there, and the one that I had is actually in that display case, although I don't have it anymore. So yeah, I wonder how many of us got started with that magic set. Well, I'm really excited to find out what your list is. So let's get into the list. In position number one, we have Monkey in the middle. My first trick has to be monkey in the middle. This is a super clean sandwich routine where the spectators place the jokers on top of the deck one at a time and instantly their selection appears in between them. It's a quick trick that gets a big reaction right away and hooks spectators into your performance. It's also quick to reset if you're pushed to do it again. A great choice if you haven't seen Monkey in the Middle, go check out one of the trailers. If memory serves, it was Magic Ballet who is performing on it, and it's a really snappy, fun routine. Can be used, I guess, in conjunction with other sandwich routines, but it's just super, super visual. They literally put one Joker on top of the deck, they put the second one on top of that, you click your fingers, and suddenly there's a card in between them, and it's their signed card. So it's a brilliant choice in at number one. Let's move on to number two. Sorry, but I can't remember which book I got this next trick from or who the original creator was, but I just call it the Magic Five of Spades. As I said, it's a stacked deck, so that should explain part of the method, but using the same deck, I spread the cards face down and ask the spectator to pick a card. I pull the deck together and ask them to cut the deck, place their card in the cut, then complete the cut. After a magic gesture, I tell them I'll find their card and reverse it. I spread the cards face down and one card is face up, which is the five of spades. I say, you're going to see say that isn't your card, but the five of spades is a magic card and it's telling me that your card is five cards down. I deal four cards face down from the five of spades and I reveal the fifth card to be their card. To prove the five of spades is magic, I turn the four face down cards over to reveal the four aces have also been found. Yeah, so this is a brilliant effect. I also cannot remember where it's from, so if you know where it's from and you're on YouTube, comment underneath this video uh where it's from, and then we can backtrack it. But it is a phenomenal trick, it's a pretty much self-working trick as soon as it's ready and set to go. Uh, and like you said, it's uh a fun one for everyone to understand. That kicker with the aces in the middle absolutely fries people. It's brilliant. So that's a great one in at number two. Let's go to number three. Pete will be happy with this one. Sharpie through card. It's the last card in my stack, so I know exactly where the gimmick is. Since it looks like I'm taking a random card from the same deck, it's really effective. STC is a truly effective close-up trick that feels like real magic and genuinely shocks spectators. The look on their faces as their brain tries to comprehend what they're looking at is priceless. Do you know what? I know it's an Alakazam trick, and we don't want to be seen as hyping up Alakazam tricks. So I will talk about this from before I worked at Alakazam. I've always been an Alakazam fan. I have shopped with Alakazam since I was in my teens, and I remember when Sharpie 3 card first came out, I remember gigging it absolutely every single gig, every table I did it, and you are absolutely right, John. The reaction, the shock on their face when that happens, when that card comes down and you hand the card back, they quite literally will stab at that card with the Sharpie to make it work. And tell me if you guys have had this in the comments, but some people try and find really strange ways to make a trick work. Like they'll roll the card into a tube and see if somehow that opens up a magic portal, or they'll try uh doing it from a different side. So they think that maybe by having the card face up, suddenly the card will go through. It's really strange how people's logic works when it comes to moments like this, but it's definitely a brilliant choice in a number three. Let's go to number four. I then hand the deck to the spectator and ask them to shuffle it. I take the deck back, fan the cards, and ask them to pick a card. I get them to push it back into the square deck. I say I'm gonna find their card and reverse it. I put the deck behind my back, then after a few words, spread the deck face up. One card is reversed and it's their card. I'm sorry again, I can't remember the book I got this from, so sincere apologies to the creator. A great choice in at number four. Yeah, what I think is really important is having that block of tricks that we have just in our memory. And you know, lots and lots of people love seeing card tricks. I have done gigs before where I've done a mentalism piece and someone says, I really like that, but show me something else with the cards. Some people just really love card tricks. So having that little mental library of tricks that you can do with a normal deck of cards is such an important thing. If any of you guys are following our YouTube, you'll see we have a series on there called Making a Magician, where we have Emilio, who is a new magician, he's learning to become a magician. Uh, we're giving him different tricks every week, and he's kind of learning them, perfecting them, trying to understand the nuances behind them. But it was only this week that we said we think we should start giving him a little library of tricks that he can just use with a normal deck of cards that he's always ready to go to. So I think that having those kind of tricks, like John has just mentioned, is such a vital thing for being a working magician. Now let's go to number five. We have Sudoku 2.0. For trick number five, I'm looking to move on to the next table, so I want to leave the spectators with something to remember me with. I would give an honourable mention to Cartamancy as the scratch card reveal is effective, but I'm sorry, nothing comes close to Sudoku 2.0. A twist on the magic square, but it's genuinely falling and baffles those know-it-all spectators that have been hassling you since you approach the table. The fact they can keep it as a souvenir just adds to the whole effect. I have a sticker with my contact details that I put on the back of the card so it acts like my business card as well. A great, great choice, and it's nice that you've got a giveaway. I think giveaways with magic are such an important thing, and I think what's lovely about a giveaway is it's so unique to our industry. It's not something that comedians normally do or other variety acts do. It feels very unique to magicians, and Sudoku 2.0 is an absolutely great choice for that. Let's go to number six. We have Ooh, the Grail. If I have to go back to a table I've already been to, I have lots of tricks with me that I can go to quickly. I'll give an honorable mention to Cyclone by Peter Nardi on Alakazam Unlimited. This is one of those tricks that when you know the method, you think, how will that fall anyone? But it does every time. Does take a bit longer since it's two decks, but it's very effective. I've recently added the new Joker Kicker deck, which adds to the final reveal brilliantly. But for trick number six, my go-to for table revisits is the Grail. It's a brilliant card at any number and a very versatile tool that allows for so many routines. For anyone that hasn't picked this up, I recommend the Complete Works edition from Alakazam, which comes with so much material. The impromptu version is truly mind-blowing. Wow, what a stunning choice. There's two tricks kind of there. So uh anyone that hasn't seen Cyclone by Peter, go on to Alakazam Unlimited. It is constantly in the top ten. I remember when he showed me and Wayne Goodman for the first time, both of us were absolutely fooled. He's got some really great jokes. But you mentioned the Grail. The Grail, if you haven't seen it, and I I've spoken about this before, I watched Peter do this at Blackpool the first year I think I started working for Alakazam. And of course I knew the Grail, but I didn't really explore it properly. And watching Peter absolutely fry brains at the the uh Blackpool Magic Convention was so phenomenal. He is so slick and smooth at performing it. And Andy Smith in the shop, which loads of you will know from Unlimited as well as you know, calling up the shop, he is a font of all knowledge. He does a stand-up stage version of the Grail, and this is one of those tricks that I have not learnt yet, but I really, really, really want to learn. I think it's a phenomenal trick, and to be able to do this close up smoothly would be so cool. So I think that's a great choice in the number six. Number seven, we have ooh, a classic Twisted Sisters. I'm a big fan of packet tricks, and I have a big collection, but still my favourite is John Bannon's classic Twisted Sisters. This was a trick I learned the Elmsley count for, but it just is effective if you place two packets on the table and don't touch them. I think it's really interesting when we talk about a trick being a classic. It's a classic for a reason, is because so many people have performed it and regularly perform it because it's so commercial, that's how it becomes a classic. And I'm a huge, huge John Bannon fan. If he would come on the podcast, we would be very happy to have him on. Um, and I have performed so many of his tricks over the years. Twisted Sisters is one of them. Again, I mentioned the Making a Magician. It was only last week at the time of recording that Emilio actually did this on that series, so go check that out if you want to check it out. But he did the same thing, so he learnt the Elmsley count just for this trick, and it does add something, it just adds that little extra moment, that little impossibility at the beginning. But you know, it's just a small stack of cards, put it in your pocket. Uh, it can play on stage if you want it to play on stage. You can make this up with larger cards if you wanted to. It's just a phenomenally thought-out, clever card routine, and I'm so pleased that you put it in, John. So we've got number eight. Where do we think we're gonna go? So let's just review what we've got. We've got monkey in the middle, we've got the five of spades trick, we've got Sharpie 3 card, we have the reversed card trick, we've got Sudoku 2.0, the Grail and Twisted Sisters. So largely card magic and mentalism, uh, or mentalism with cards seems to be the route we're going down. So, what do you think we're gonna have in eight? Do you think we're gonna have the curveball? We tend to have a curveball, or do we think it's just gonna be uh one of the same kind of effects? Let's find out. Number eight is No, it's a curveball. I love spooky and bizarre magic. When the situation is right for it, tricks with spooky stories behind them can really pull your audience in. Who doesn't like a good ghost story? I agree. I'll give honourable mentions to The Collector by Nicholas Mavressis and Decease the Return from that master of the macabre, Mr. Jamie Dawes. Thank you so much. Uh but my number eight has to be Dead Man's Hand from Matthew Wright and Mark Bennett. I did my own research to pad out the story, and my handling is different based on Gemini twins, but the multiple reveals are just so good, especially the coin reveal at the end. You know what? Matthew Wright and Mark Bennett, whilst not only being two of the nicest people in this industry, are absolutely knocking it out of the park at the moment with their products. If you haven't seen their recent one, forgive me, I cannot remember what it's called, but it uses a tube and it has uh a load of different coins inside. It's so well made, it's such a fun effect. Honestly, they are absolutely smashing it at the moment. All of the tricks that they bring out are so clever, so well thought through, and the props are gorgeous. I'm glad that you like a scary trick as well. I think uh Nicholas Mavressis Collector is a superb, superb routine. And thank you for saying De Cisa Return as well. Uh, it's a brilliant routine that I love performing. So I think that's a really great list. I love that we've ended it on that curveball because I bet no one saw that coming. But, John, we gave you eight tricks. You only get one each of these. I want you to imagine, John, that you're about to dig a big sandy hole on this island and you're gonna banish something, never to be seen again. Let's find out what John banished on his island. He says, I know this has been mentioned many times, but I just hate the idea of magicians copying other magicians' work and claiming it to be their own. That's not who we are or how the magic community should work. So ripping off other magicians and making money from it has to go. Do you know what I agree? And I think what's really interesting about the thought of this is this is kind of something that's happened throughout the entirety of history. My mind always goes back to the prestige, uh, the film where the magicians are, you know, putting on fake beards and mustaches and all of these different outfits and sneaking into other magician shows just to try and discover their secret so that they can do their own version. This is something that's happened throughout history. I think nowadays methods are just even more accessible, tricks are more accessible, so I think it happens more and more. So I'm with you there. I think that has to go, and that is banished on your island. Let's go to book. I have a very large collection of magic and card magic books that I have enjoyed over the years and still go back to, so it would be really hard for me to pick one. I give honourable mentions to the complete Walton or Cards on the Table by Jerry Sadowitz, but since I have so many favourites, I'll take the last magic book I ever bought. Explorations of Slight of Hand by Eli Biz. So Biz is known for his cardistry, but this is his first book about Slights. It's a very modern book written in a very modern style. But if I was stuck on a desert island, I would want to take time and learn every slight in the book. Great. That's another one that I'm gonna have to add to my collection. So thank you for that one. And it's one that we haven't had before. Uh, but you mentioned some classics there as well, complete Waltum and Cards on the Table as well. Both brilliant books. Let's go to your non-magic item. We have a Rubik's Cube. I'm just getting into Cube Magic. I'm working through the two dark side books by Diego Voltini and the two cube DVDs by Takamitsu Usui. There is just so much you could do with a cube, and having a lot of time on a desert island to commit to the practice of these methods would really help keep me occupied. Well, that's my list. I'm enjoying you going back to the earlier contributors to the podcast, but I think you should also ask them one trick from their list that they would use on their rescuers, bearing in mind if it doesn't fool them, the rescuers could just leave them there. That's not a bad idea. Maybe we should uh factor that in as well. Uh, I think that is a great thing. Uh, Rubik's Cube Magic obviously had a huge resurgence many years ago now, uh, after being shown on America's Got Talent, I think it was. And there was a great product put out called Cube 3 by Stephen Brundage, and that really ignited the Rubik's Cube boom that we now have. Uh, and I absolutely love performing Rubik's Cube. You'll be surprised when you're at a restaurant how many people can solve them. So it's always great to hand a Rubik's Cube to someone and have them solve it. Normally, it's a nine-year-old who solves it 15 times faster than I ever will. Um, but I think it's a great choice, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your exploration of Rubik's Cube magic. Well, I think that's a great list. Thank you so much, John, for putting that list together for us all. And like John mentioned at the beginning of that, we haven't been getting many of these. We want more of them. So please, please send in your list of sales at alakazam.co.uk. Of course, in the subject line, put my desert island tricks. And just like John did, put your uh like a little bio about yourself, and then of course the tricks and why you chose them. That way we can get these recorded and keep them more regular because we really enjoy reading your list as well. Of course, we're gonna be back next week with a version of these podcasts. But until then, have a great week. Bye bye.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

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