Desert Island Tricks

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

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

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

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

This week we sit down with Jim Aitken, an Aberdeen magician, longtime club member, and retired paramedic, to explore eight effects that balance practicality, heart, and lasting impact. From a self-working “last two cards match” that crushes in the real world to a smiley-sticker miracle that guests remember years later, Jim’s choices remind us that method is only half the story; the rest is the way you make people feel.
We trace his journey from yogurt-pot cups and balls to modern coffee-cup chops, then talk about when it’s worth investing in a premium timepiece like the Bluether Infinity Watch. Jim’s philosophy is simple: buy reactions, not just props. Rope magic makes a case for clear visual storytelling, while the invisible deck debate sparks fresh ideas for framing choices and scripting reveals. Along the way, we celebrate society life, hidden gems in books and DVDs, and the small tweaks, like personalised stickers or trial runs, that push classics into unforgettable territory.
Mentalism fans will love Jim’s pick of Eclipse ESP cards and a sleeper routine that proves clean structure beats complicated method. He caps the list with Copperfield’s Flying, a nod to pure astonishment and the joy that first pulled many of us toward the art. Jim also draws a hard line on professionalism: never make child helpers the punchline. His recommended read, Simon Lovell’s Billion Dollar Bunko, opens a trove of swindles and bar bets to sharpen your handling and patter, while his must-have non-magic item, a computer for nonstop study, champions lifelong learning.
If this sparks ideas for your own desert island set, share your eight tricks, one banishment, one book and one non magic item. Send it to [email protected] and we can get your very own episode! 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk