A Covent Garden magic stall in winter, a boat that hosts magic sessions and a career that somehow threads through it all to The Magic Circle. We sit down with Lee Hathaway and get the kind of candid, craft-obsessed conversation that only happens between people who have lived magic for decades. Along the way, Lee talks about the uncomfortable truth most working performers feel: you can “unlearn” technique when life gets busy and getting it back is less about time and more about calm, repetitive focus.

Then we maroon Lee on a desert island and make him choose. His list moves from Roy Walton’s Cannibal Cards as a mastery project, to the mythical Any Drink Called For kettle, to David Williamson’s Torn and Restored Transposition as a masterclass in structure. We also dig into practical working tools like the fire wallet as an instant visual hook, plus bigger swings like the balloon swallow and the always-evolving cups and balls. If you love close-up magic, street magic, classic plots and real-world performing choices, you’ll hear your own thinking reflected back at you.

The back half goes deeper into wonder and philosophy: Houdin’s Orange Tree illusion as Lee’s favourite piece of magic ever, sponge bunny rabbits as an underrated layperson miracle and a banishment we fully agree with: petty arguments over credit that drain the joy out of the art. Lee’s must-read pick, Juan Tamariz’s The Magic Way, ties the whole mindset together, from “clever” to truly impossible.

Lee’s Desert Island Tricks:

Welcome pack: Cannabal Cards

1. Any Drink Called For Kettle (with consumables)
2. Torn and Restored Transposition
3. Fire wallet
4. The Rainbow
5. Balloon Swallow
6. Cups and Balls
7. The Orange Tree Illusion
8. Sponge Bunny Rabbits

Banishment. Arguments about who created what

Book. The Magic Way

Item. Utility Knife

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A coin vanishes three times, ends up trapped inside a phone and then bends after the spectator has been holding it. That’s how Stephen Maule chooses to open his desert island set and it instantly tells you what kind of thinker he is: practical, modular and obsessed with reactions that spread from one friend group to the next. We start with Stephen’s backstory, including the influence of classic TV magic and the way big moments like the Blackpool Magic Convention can pull people back into the craft after years away.

Then we dig into his “Stranded with a Stranger” list: Daryl’s Three Card Monte and why a challenge-style gambling routine can still feel playful, “SAM Memory” as a four-card packet trick framed like a memory test or pseudo-hypnosis, plus timeless card magic like Paul Curry’s Out of This World and the punch of Doctored Daley in the spectator’s hands. If you love close-up magic, card sleight of hand and building stronger sets, there’s a lot here to steal in principle.

The back half turns toward clean mentalism and impossible locations: Collateral OTT as an open billet technique, the Infinity Wallet as both a prediction device and a genuine safety net and Nest of Wallets as a visual closer for a signed coin or borrowed ring. Stephen’s banishment might be the most valuable takeaway: stop rushing to show a trick before you’ve practiced, tested and made it yours.

Subscribe for more lists, share this with a magician friend and leave a review if it helps you rethink what belongs in your “only eight tricks” repertoire.

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

Magic gets stale when we keep reaching for the same props, the same references and the same “safe” structures. So we invited Oliver Meach back for a Desert Island Tricks SOS and he did something no one else has done yet: he replaced every trick on his original list with a completely new set, chosen to showcase how he thinks about modern card magic, close-up mentalism, and audience-first interaction.

We talk through effects built on bold starting conditions like performing with your back turned, using touch as the driving sense and hiding procedure inside familiar game logic. Oliver shares how he aims for fresh plots, streamlined methods and interesting interactions and why those three filters keep his material both creative and practical. Along the way we hear about Effervescent, the Effervescent membership, Effervescent 2, and what he brings to Alakazam Unlimited, plus the small “psychological convincers” that make an effect feel impossible even when the method is already done.

Then we go bigger with a banishment that hits a nerve: the lack of variety and diversity in magic, from overused ESP tropes to the industry habits that flatten originality. We wrap with the island extras: a care package trick, a magical guest, a career-defining memory, a horror story that still hurts, and the one show Oliver would watch forever. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a magician friend who needs new fuel, and leave a review with the most “different” magic idea you want to see next.

Oliver Meech SOS:

1. Switching Gemini Twins for Back View
2. Switching Killer Elite Pro for Untrue Crime
3. Switching Holy Moly for Touching Transposition
4. Switching Hydrostatic Glass for Morphin Time
5. Switching Word-o for The Secret Steps
6. Switching B’Wave for Go With The Flow
7. Switching Snaps for Card Number Recap
8. Switching Coin Jar for The Other Three Magi

Care Package. Piles of Aces

Banishment. Lack of Variety and Diversity in Magic

Guest. Liam Montier

Memory. Vanishing Wife During Wedding

Horror story. Glass Jar Shattering

Show. Derren Browns First Live Show

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

He’s performed for Queen Elizabeth II, he’s a resident magician in Gordon Ramsay restaurants and he’s Vice President of The Magic Circle, but he still geeks out over the same question every working magician wrestles with: what actually works when you’re in the trenches night after night? We sit down with Michael J. Fitch for a wide-ranging, laugh-out-loud conversation that turns into a practical guide to building a set that plays for real people, not just magicians.

Michael breaks down how a single choice, doing magic for the restaurant staff in the kitchen, sparked an 11-year run with Ramsay venues and why those behind-the-scenes moments create the biggest career leverage. We also talk Magic Circle, from conventions and tributes to what’s coming next, including the Magic Circle Awards evening, seasonal shows and a Houdini celebration at the London Hippodrome.

Then we “maroon” Michael on a magical desert island and force the hard decisions: one normal deck, eight effects, one book, one non-magic utility item, and one thing he’d happily bury forever. Expect memorised deck ambition with a modern training twist using ChatGPT, signature spoon bending with a Uri Geller story, underrated paddle magic, the tiny plunger, rope work, Doc Eason-inspired bar material, multiplying bottles, egg bag and a Cube Zag illusion tied to Wayne Dobson. We also go on a needed rant about negativity in magic and why judging a show by the audience reaction matters more than magicians expectations.

Michael’s Desert Island Tricks:

Welcome Pack: Memorised Deck

1. Spoon Bending
2. Howzatt
3. Tiny Plunger
4. Rope
5. Money to Lemon / All of Doc Eason’s material
6. Multiplying Bottles
7. Egg Bag
8. Cube-Zag

Banishment. Negativity in Magic

Book. Notes from a Fellow Traveller

Item. Mobile Phone

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

A card rises to the top of the deck because a violin is playing and somehow that makes perfect sense by the time it’s over. That’s the kind of “how is this even happening?” thinking we love and it’s why we’ve wanted Chris Funk on for years. Chris is a touring magician known for Redefining Wonder and for bringing music into modern stage magic in a way that feels lived-in, not bolted on.

We talk through his desert island list of essential routines, from Bill Abbott’s Five Card Box as a killer opener to a lottery ticket prediction he’s preparing to release (Numera), plus a colour match that ends with a guitar reveal. Chris breaks down what makes multi-phase magic routines work: theme and variation, raising the stakes, and scripting that sounds like a real human instead of “instructions on a page.” We also get into a wild guitar-and-looping piece where a moving power plug changes the music and why audiences sometimes need you to say the thought they’re already thinking.

Then we go backstage into the real touring magician life: cramped travel, questionable hotels, missing luggage, TSA surprises and why “utility props” and redundancies matter if you want a professional show that survives the worst day. Chris shares a kid-led drawing duplication built around trust and confidence, his spicy banishments (including the phrase “Do me a favour”), the classic book he’d take to a desert island (Royal Road to Card Magic) and the tech that runs his show via QLab and a DAW.

Chris’ Desert Island List:

Welcome: Violin Card Rise

1. Bill Abbotts 5 card box
2. Lottery Ticket Prediction Numera
3. Colour Match
4. Guitar Trick
5. Mind reading production effect
6. Drawing Duplication
7. Bill to lime
8. Impossible Instrument Balance

Banishment. Do me a favour / The Floating Table

Book. Royal Road to Card Magic

Item. Laptop

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

Luke Murray sends in his desert island list and it is an incredible working mentalism set: strong openings, clean mid-show impossibilities and a closer with competition-winning impact. We also owe Luke a bit of an apology for the “hidden prize” runaround, so yes, that gets addressed too.

We dig into why Andy Nyman’s “Dead of Night” is such a compelling multi-phase routine, then head deeper into practical mind reading with Banachek’s “Loco Logo” and Peter Nardi’s “ES Perfect” for that devastating blank-ending punch. From there, Luke gets clever with structure by combining Darren Brown’s number transfer idea with PK Touches, then leans into “psychological” presentation with Steve Dimmer’s “Screen Test,” where the framing feels like you’re catching tiny tells in someone’s voice.

On the bigger-stage side, we talk about Mark Shortland’s Amaze Box as a clean tool for Q&A, why Nyman’s “The Code” works as a utility deck and how Hugo Shelley’s “The Sixth Sense” can anchor an entire performance with a direct, hard-to-beat effect. We wrap with Luke’s banishment, his book pick, his non-magic item and a quick sponsor message for custom-printed playing cards.

If you enjoy mentalism, predictions, ESP routines, Q&A acts and practical working magic, you’ll get plenty of takeaways here.

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

The easiest way to spot a real magician isn’t the trick, it’s what happens when something goes wrong. Kieron Johnson joins us to talk about the skills you can’t fake: audience management, timing, trust and the grind of making strong material work night after night. Kieron has been at the top of modern close-up creation for years and he’s also performing in the West End production “Come Alive, The Greatest Showman,” where he runs multiple sets across parlour, stage, close-up and an eye-melting bubble show.

We get into the thinking behind his signature “impossible object” magic, including fire-to-ice production (To The Max / Reborn), signed card to ice (Re-Maxed Isolation) and why he believes Too Hot To Handle becomes vastly stronger when the can is genuinely hot. Along the way, Kieron breaks down how he prototypes effects like an engineer, how he chooses material based on the audience in front of him and why souvenirs and nostalgia props can turn a trick into a lifelong memory.

Then we hit the hot debate: phone magic and electronic magic. Kieron argues that technology can weaken fundamentals and that “convenient” methods often come with a hidden cost when they fail. Whether you agree or disagree, you’ll leave with a sharper sense of what makes close-up magic feel real, what defines professional performance and how to build a set that can survive any room.

Kieron’s Desert Island Tricks:

Welcome package. Estimation Aces

1. To the Max / Re-born
2. Re-maxed Isolation
3. Too Hot to Handle
4. Isolated
5. Cell
6. Linking Polos / Lifesavers
7. Linking Rings
8. Card to chocolate bar

Banishment. Phone / Electronic Magic

Book. Simply Harkey

Item. Bubbles

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

A “best of” list is easy to make. A forever list is brutal. Wayne Goodman comes back to his desert island lineup and we pressure-test it like working pros: what still plays, what still feels honest and what you’d trust when the room is unpredictable. The surprise is how little he changes, because the choices are built on strong magic principles: clear visuals, spectator-in-the-hand moments and props that earn their keep night after night. If you care about close-up magic, kids show material and practical routines you can actually perform, this one is packed.

We dig into why sponge balls stay undefeated, how a thumb tip becomes a lifetime utility device and why classics like Professor’s Nightmare and die box style routines can still feel modern when your scripting and structure are tight. Wayne also talks about refining comedy magic so the jokes don’t weaken the impossibility, including an update to his own wallet-based Magician’s Insurance Card that boosts fairness and impact.

Then we hit the big banishment: magicians apologising for magic and putting other performers down in front of spectators. Wayne explains how that habit feeds bad stereotypes and steals power from your own performance. You’ll also hear his dream guest for the island, a wildly funny memory from ship work and a heartbreaking horror story that leads to a serious conversation about animals in magic and audience expectations today.

Wayne Goodman’s SOS Substitutions:

1. Magicians Insurance Card 2 for Magicians Insurance Card 3

Banishment. Depreciation of magicians

Guest. Steve Martin

Memory. Eye Hole Sick Bag

Horror story. Accidental Death of a Pet

Show. David Copperfield

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