LAST NIGHT, RICHARD MCDOUGALL GAVE A MASTERLY AND COURAGEOUS LECTURE at The Magic Circle. He commanded immediate silence by declaring to the assembled one hundred plus practitioners of the ancient art  that magic in Britain today is in his view “lamentable!”  He asked the audience to consider when did they last witness a magic  performance that truly made the hairs on the back of the neck stand up. Few could remember much in the last twelve months. Not one trick in his sixty minute presentation but a crock of pure gold in  defining what it is that makes a performance outstanding. He said it was theatre.

He then visually compounded his view by showing film clips of great moments in films, sport and theatre where the performance commanded  excitement, anticipation, attention and focus that led to a personal emotional experience on the part of the viewer.. This included diverse subjects such as the lighting of the Olympic flame by an athlete firing a flaming arrow high into the air to ignite the opening of the world’s greatest sporting event. He showed how Michael Jackson burst on stage and stood motionless for over two minutes, boosting the audience frenzy prior to his performance.  Back in time we saw clips as to how silent film star Buster Keaton could provoke genuine emotion and anticipation without words being one of the world’s greatest silent clowns.

All this was sheer joy to me as for years I have asserted the value of presentation over secrets and Richard McDougall is a fine example of the value of this philosophy. His FISM prizewinning magic act embraces sleight of hand and mime that is pure theatre and lifts him above the crowd. And he has an act holding a large white goose; no cheeky boy cross talk but a wonderful solo script and acting with the bird that is sheer entertainment. I once saw Richard give a talk on stage movement and motivation to a magic convention in Paris some years ago that shook many out of their perpetual card juggling. Nowadays, as well as his magic he makes his living conducting seminars for corporate groups teaching them how to present and sell themselves and their products. Richard McDougall represents in Europe an overlooked magic theatre philosophy that could change the careers of many magicians much as Jeff McBride has done in the USA.

I don’t wish to muscle in on Richard’s work but his beliefs about presentation are echoed completely in my KISS lecture which perhaps accounts for my enthusiasm for his work. Make sure you catch Richard  who will be appearing at the IBM Eastbourne convention in three weeks time. 

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