Saturday 12 July 2008

RADIO MAGIC

Those 'abnormal dreams' promised by the new medication have certainly started!

The other night I dreamed that I was helping with a magic act at The Magic Circle where a magician in white tie and tails was a trying to do a dove act --- using TURKEYS!

And on the subject of magic: anyone who enjoys the puzzlements of the conjuror will be intrigued by a programme to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 15 July at 11.30 am.

In Before Your Very Ears, Grant Gordon explores the rich history of magic on radio.

Archive features includes the legendary mind-reading act of The Piddingtons, the great Sidani confounding Kenneth Horne, Uri Geller bending keys, John Wade sawing Barry Wordsworth in half, David Berglas' magical carpentry and Jack Delvin escaping from a lift in Bush House reprised from a radio series on magic that I made, many years ago, for the BBC World Service.

Contributors include magicians Paul Zenon, Ali Bongo, Derren Brown and Darryl Rose who performs a new radio trick for listeners involving the R4 website.

And, apparently, there will also be one or two comments from Yours Truly...

5 comments:

Boll Weavil said...

Sounds like a good show Mr B ! Hope it lives upto its billing and doesn't end up as another turkey.

Ele de la Cruz said...

I had a dream six months ago where I was with this old guy in trafalgar square who did an impromptu dove act with pigeons... I was quite taken by the concept when I woke up!

Brian Sibley said...

BOLL - Can't be a turkey - that would be broadcast at Christmas or Thanksgiving...

ELE DE LA CRUZ - Maybe it was Ken Livingston trying to reintroduce pigeons into Trafalgar Square - just to spite the new Mayor!

I am sorry not to be ale to leave comments on your blog, but wanted to say that I really like your writing...

Good Dog said...

Just come back from seeing a preview of the magnificent WALL.E. Presto, the short that precedes it is just "magic!" But don't take Buttons along because it might give him ideas.

Brian Sibley said...

GOOD DOG - You're right, Presto is superb! And, yes, there no chance of my letting Buttons see it - he's uppity enough as it is! ;-)

I enjoyed WALL.E a lot, but was (as I always am) disappointed with the 'human' characters, puzzled by the inclusion of live-action actors and a bit brow-beaten by the 'message' in Act III.

Still there's some great stuff in it: the best being Wall.e amusing himself alone on the planet with various abandoned items of human detritus - and endlessly watching Hello Dolly, the film that sounded the death-knell for big-budget Hollywood movie musicals.