Updates from Derren Brown and the Enigma Crew

You mean you don’t know? No, it doesn’t count if you had to Google it.

The Magic Circle is 105 this year.

It was founded in 1905, when stage magic was incredibly popular with the theatre-going public and was initially proposed by Neil Weaver and Martin Chapender, both magicians, who felt that there was an open risk of the exposure of trade secrets.

In the wake of Chapender’s untimely death at the very young age of 25 a group of amateur and professional magicians assmebled to found an exclusive society. Louis Nikola suggested The Magic Circle as its name and pointed out that it incorporated Chapender’s initials.

Over the past several years The Magic Circle has seen a surge of new interest in the medium, spurred on by the Harry Potter franchise as well as successes of several high-profile stage and television illusionists (including one with a finely chiselled beard).

To join the Circle you have to be nominated by two current members. Being as that’s unlikely to happen for any of us, we can still poke our noses around their headquarters (best unusual venue by the hospitality industry )via an online virtual tour.