Con and Bex talk Magic and Danger with the stars of Wonderville!!!
MAGIC is coming back to the West End! This summer at the Palace Theatre (the home of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’) the world’s greatest illusionists and mentalists are coming together in ‘Wonderville’, a jaw-dropping display of magic, illusion and technological trickery that will electrify, surprise and leave theatregoers in awe. Con and Bex talks to the stars of Wonderville: Multi-award-winning mind reader and TV star Chris Cox; Record-breaking Magic Circle triple champion Edward Hilsum; Young and Strange hailed by Penn & Teller as “one of the greatest magic acts in the world”; Josephine Lee, a breakout star on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and the most talked about woman in magic; and Guinness World Record-holding Symoné, a stunning hula hoop artists who combines hooping with rollerskating and dance.
If you could have one Superpower to aid you with your performance – what power would it be and why? Con age 14
Chris Cox – I wish I could really read minds – it would make my job a LOT easier. Instead I’m a mind-reader who can’t read minds. So I use various techniques to make people think that I know what they’re thinking! But because I can make people already think I have the superpower of reading minds I’d also like to be able to tell which people would be willing to share their sweets with me during the show. I always get jealous watching the audience munching on some Malteasers.
Edward Hilsum – I would love to fly so I can get my doves’ view at the beginning of my act with them!
Young & Strange – Great question Con! We’d love to fly and it would save a huge amount of time IF we could fly for real! For many years magicians have tried to create the illusion of flying and it is VERY difficult to make it look convincing. As magicians ourselves (whose job it is to design, research and make illusions) the mechanics and workings of the tricks can be very time consuming and a lot of hard work, to mention the expense! Having the actual superpower of flight would be a dream come true……
Josephine Lee – I would LOVE to fly! I’ve always thought birds are so magical as they have the ability to see the world in a totally different perspective. It must be so beautiful up there!
Symoné – I would LOVE to be the first woman to hula hoop while flying, I can already imagine a Batwoman hula hooping act!
What was the first trick you ever performed as a child? Bex age 9
Chris Cox – I did a trick which had three coins that I could magically put a pencil through. I remember freaking out my teacher with it when I was about 7 years old.
Edward Hilsum – I had a magic box that made lollipops appear. I used to show everyone and the best bit was I never ran out of sweets!
Young & Strange – Hey Bex! We got really interested in magic when we were your age, so it’s lovely to have a question from someone so young. The first trick we ever performed together, is an illusion we still perform in the show today. If you get the opportunity to see ‘Wonderville’ live at the Palace Theatre then you can see us perform it on stage. Because we have been performing the illusion for years, it is the trick that we have practiced the most. The one thing you need to know if you are interested in magic is that practice makes perfect!
Josephine Lee – The first trick I ever performed was an illusion called the Fire Spiker! It is a small box that you get in and the magician puts spikes that are on fire through the box. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! It was very scary but so exciting and it’s when I decided I wanted to be a magician as I felt like a true superhero!
Symoné – I have a very vivid memory of roller skating down a big hill and falling on my bum, does that count?
Who got you into performing and how old were you when you first performed professionally? Con age 14
Chris Cox – I always loved performing from as long as I can remember. I used to go to drama clubs and was first on stage professionally at the age of 10 in Bristol in a show called ‘Pickwick’. I then went on to be in some pantomimes before starting to develop myself as a performer. I can’t sing, dance or act so have to do magic instead!
Edward Hilsum – I saw a magician when I was 7 years old. I helped him with a magic trick where he pulled a coin out of my ear and gave it to me as a gift. That moment inspired a piece of magic I perform in the show. I was 12 when I performed my first professional show!
Young & Strange – It’s very difficult to know when we first performed professionally. That’s because becoming professional magicians (for us at least) was a gradual process. We would first perform at friends’ parties and at family gatherings. Once we grew in confidence and had more experience we could perform at a variety of other events, finally being able to make it a profession. We are both fans of an American magician who still performs today called David Copperfield. He was so inspiring to us when we were younger and our love of that magic gave us the drive to start on this fantastic journey!
Josephine Lee – I started ballet classes at a very young age and I spent my whole life dancing, then when I was 18 I started working professionally and ended up working as a magician’s assistant. That’s when I fell in love with magic and started learning tricks of my own.
Symoné – I started performing when I was 17 years old! I was inspired by Youtube hula hoop star, Lisa Lottie, and while I was at university I started training at The Roundhouse and performed at the Olympic Torch relay in King’s Cross and at the Olympic Park. It was so surreal, I had no idea I could do something I loved for work.
What tricks have you performed that could have put your life in danger? Bex age 9
Chris Cox – I’m very lucky that most of my stuff keeps me safe. I use a lot of pieces of paper and envelopes so I suppose I could get a paper cut. And they do hurt.
Edward Hilsum – The most dangerous trick I’ve performed is with a big metal spike. It’s a game of chance with the goal being to not end up with the spike going through your hand! After performing it a few times, I realised it’s not the best idea for a magician to risk losing the use of a hand, so I quickly stopped doing it!
Young & Strange – Being a stage magician can at times be dangerous and there was a very famous magician called Harry Houdini who made an entire career out of performing dangerous magic tricks. The audiences watching him perform would be terrified! The style of magic we perform is more family friendly but we do like to add in a BIT of danger! We perform a trick where one of us goes into a cardboard box and is then skewered with 22 wooden sticks. We NORMALLY come out of the box unharmed and there’s a possibility that every night one of us might get hurt. Hopefully the audience appreciate the calculated risk we make!
Josephine Lee – The Fire Spiker illusion was a scary one but I use to perform a levitation where I was suspended 8 meters in the air. I learnt very quickly not to look down!
Symoné – Occasionally I perform with high heel roller skates, 6 inch heels on wheels…heels on wheels! I guess I just wanted to learn something crazy complicated that rhymed. It looks cool so it’s worth it, right?
Who is the most famous person you’ve ever performed for and what was the trick? Con age 14
Chris Cox – Probably Liam Payne from One Direction. I told him the song he was thinking of after fondling his earlobe. What a day that was!
Edward Hilsum – I’ve been lucky to perform for many of my heroes. The one that stands out is when I found out Derren Brown, the incredible mind reader, was in the audience of one of my shows. I performed my Dove Act and he sent a lovely message afterwards which blew me away!
Young & Strange – Fame is only in the eye of beholder, so celebrities we would consider famous you might not have heard of. But having both been performing for years we have done magic for lots of famous people and at times that can make you quite nervous! We both used to do a sleight of hand trick where we would ’steal’ a person’s watch from their wrist, without them knowing! Performing that trick to people who you recognise from TV and online, is very funny.
Josephine Lee – I’ve performed for lots of celebrities, such as Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alisha Dixon, David Walliams, Stella McCartney, Germaine Jackson and Prince Albert of Monaco. I’ve performed all sorts of different tricks for them all and it’s always super exciting to see a familiar face in the audience!
Symoné – I performed with OMI, the popstar who wrote the song, ‘Cheerleader!’ We worked together on several occasions in the Caribbean and U.K. He is such a lovely guy, really down to Earth and supportive backstage The trick? Having a skill set that’s unique and adding your own personal sass. Always add sass in life, Con!
‘Wonderville’ run for 65 performances at the Palace Theatre until 30 August, 2021!!!
Tickets at www.nimaxtheatres.com
Official London Theatre’s Kids Week – Kids Go Free CLICK HERE!!! (Wonderville included in the offer)
