Desert Island Tricks

End of Season 2 Special with Peter Nardi

355 different tricks. Only six people sharing the single most popular pick. And a top item that only three guests chose. Season two ends with the kind of recap that every magician, mentalist, and close-up worker secretly loves: the real numbers, the real patterns, and the real reasons behind what performers actually keep in their pockets. We’re closing with the official season two rankings plus the moments that made the year. A Deck Of Cards takes the top spot, with PK Touches and Invisible Deck right behind it, followed by classics like Cups And Balls, Coins Across, and Sponge Balls. We also unpack the tied cluster of powerful “worker” effects that share the lower spots, plus what the spread teaches about originality, overexposure, and choosing material that actually suits you. We round things off with the season’s top banishment (yes, it’s ego), the most loved magic book (The Mind and Magic of David Berglass), and the surprisingly revealing “non-magic item” choices. The Season 2 Top Tricks:  1. Deck of Cards - Beau Cremer, Steve Gore, Keith Barry, Joel M, Marvin Berglas, Alan Rorrison  2. PK Touches - Vince Wilson, Jamie Daws, Christopher Taylor, Looch, Kay Dyson 3. Invisible Deck - Harry Marlin Piper, Steve Gore, Keith Barry, John Archer  4. Cups and Balls - Erik Tait, R Paul Wilson, Nikola Arkane, Michael Ammar  5. Coins Across - Erik Tait, R Paul Wilson, James Brown, Ben Williams 6. Sponge Balls - Nikola Arkane, Kay Dyson, Roddy McGhie, Mark Bennett Joint 7 & 8. Double Levitation - Harry Merlin Pipar, Rodney James Piper, Russ Stevens Fork Bending - Rodney James Piper, Neil Henry, Phill Smith Destination Box - Craig Petty, Jon Allen, Noel Qualter Multiple Selection - Tom Bolton, Ben Hanlin, Daniel Chard Double Cross - Tom Bolton, Luke Oseland, James Brown Toxic + - Tom Bolton, Jamie Daws, Harry De Cruz Card Under Box - Daniel Chard, James Brown, Neil Henry Q&A - Looch, Marc Paul, Daniel Chard TOP BANISHMENT - Ego - Tom Bolton, Ben Williams, Dave Loosley, James Brown, Leo Smetsers  TOP BOOK - The Mind and Magic of David Berglas - Rodney James Piper, Marvin Berglas, Tony Antoniou, Neil Henry TOP ITEM - MUSIC - Nikolas Mavresis, Oliver Tabor, Matthew Pomeroy / WIFE - Chris North, Michael Ammar, Jonathan Goodwin  Season 2 Stats: 355 Tricks named - 48 Banishments - 46 Books - 46 Items  Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

SOS: Dean Leavy

If you work gigs for a living, you know the quiet fear: doing the same “sure-fire” routines until you start performing on autopilot. Jamie sits down again with UK magician Dean Leavy to find out what actually makes a trick worth keeping for life and what gets cut when you’re performing corporate events, weddings, trade shows, and parties week after week. Dean walks us through the real reasons a professional close-up magician updates a working set, starting with repeat clients who want to see something new. We dig into the practical choices behind swapping Extreme Burn for a hard-hitting chop cup routine, why Ring Flight Revolution still gets reactions people talk about years later, and how a wallet can be more than a prop when you treat it like a utility device for impossible locations. We also get nerdy about routining ProMystic MD Mini as believable “psychology,” not just a reveal. Then we get into the surprisingly smart business side of magic: Liquid Forks replacing phone-based tricks when reliability matters, leaving spectators with a souvenir that keeps your name alive. Dean shares a brutal performance mistake from Phantom Cutout and what he’d do differently now, plus his banishment choice for the magic community, his dream guest, and the one show he’d rewatch forever. Dean’s Desert Island Substitutions:  1. Extreme Burn for Chop Cup 2. Digital Force Bag for Liquid Forks  3. Billiard Ball Manipulation Act for Floating Table Banishment. Magicians Ego  Guest. David Blaine  Memory. Performing at the Young Magician of the Year Horror. Revealing the wrong celebrity  Show. Showman Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Harry Merlin Piper

A 15-year-old magician walks down a street in Los Angeles and strangers pull cars over just to have a photo with him and demand a trick. That’s the level of spotlight Harry Merlin Piper is living in after placing as runner-up on Netflix Star Search! We sit down with Harry to get the real behind-the-scenes story: the Instagram message that kicked it off, the intensity of a competition TV schedule, and the nightmare scenario every illusionist fears, props delayed in transit while directors are waiting. He shares what it takes to rehearse major stage illusions on a ticking clock, how being a kid means mandatory schooling and strict set hours, and why constant live performing at the House of Illusion in Salou, Spain gives him an edge most young performers never get. Then we dive into the magical island game: Harry drafts the eight tricks he’d keep forever, from his monkey vent routine and high-energy manipulation act to double levitation, suspended animation, Invisible Deck, fire spiker and chop cup. Along the way we get a sharp take on exposure culture, why revealing methods online damages creators and audiences, and why magic matters most when it helps people forget real life for a while. Harry’s Desert Island Tricks:  1. Monkey Vent Routine 2. Manipulation Act 3. Double levitation 4. Invisible Deck 5. Suspended Animation 6. Fire Spiker Y 7. Chop Cup  8. His Dad Banishment. Magicians who Reveal Magic  Book. People around him Item. Black Velvet Material  Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Rodney James Piper

Magic gets weaker the moment it feels like a “performance mode” you turn on and off. Rodney James Piper joins us with a profound, refreshing belief: if you’re a magician, you live it everywhere you go. That single idea ripples through everything we talk about, from pocket props and borrowed objects to stage illusions that can stop a room cold. He explains why the Stealth Assassin Wallet is a constant-ready miracle machine, how fork bending becomes a lifetime souvenir, and why the best magicians make people forget methods and just feel wonder. We also dig into practical show-craft for today’s social media era, including how to design a clean “photo moment” so the audience shares the image you want, not a messy screenshot mid-move. Then we go bigger: Fire Spiker, double levitation, and a dream idea involving a yacht appearance that might finally make it into the House of Illusion show in Salou, Spain. Rodney also flips the script on what the “real trick” is, arguing that the venue, the welcome, the pacing, and the full audience journey can be the most powerful illusion of all. We close with his banishment for the magic industry, his pick for the one essential magic book, and the one item he won’t do any of it without. Rodney’s Desert Island Tricks:  1. Stealth Assassin Wallet 2. Forks  3. Borrowed Watch  4. Boat Appearance  5. Matt Edwards  6. Fire Spiker  7. Double Levitation  8. House of Illusion  Banishment. The word jealousy  Book. The mind and magic David Berglas  Item. Family  Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

SOS: Adam Dadswell

This week Adam Dadswell returns to rebuild his list years after his first visit to the island. Some picks stay because they still hit hard in real shows, others get replaced by newer pieces that fit the way Adam performs now, with clearer premises, cleaner handling, and bigger moments for spectators. We dig into what actually makes a trick worth keeping for life: the satisfaction of a sneaky method, the freedom to go hands-off, and a premise that sparks real conversation instead of a “look how clever I am” vibe. Adam talks through switching Sneak Thief for Sentinel, his drawing duplication approach that uses a childhood imagination hook and a table display that creates instant intrigue. He also trades Big Kick for InstaCaan, a card at any number routine that escalates into a blank-deck shocker, and updates the Diabolical Principle with Loki for that unforgettable key reveal. Then we go past the trick list into the culture of magic. Adam banishes magician-wins routines that make audience members feel small, shares a wedding performance horror story and how he recovered, picks Theodore Annemann as his dream island guest, and chooses Darren Brown’s Enigma as the show he’d replay forever. We’re thrilled to meet with Adam once again!  Adam's Desert Island Substitutions:  1. Sneak Thief for Sentinel  2. Big Kick for InstaCAAN 3. Diabolical for Loki Banishment. Magician Winning Routines  Guest. Theodore Annemann  Memory. Go back to the first time he saw magic live  Horror. Built up a reveal and didn’t quite go to plan  Show. Enigma  Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk