Desert Island Tricks

He walked onto a Britain’s Got Talent stage with a story to tell, then became the first hypnotist to perform in the West End and he did it by turning suggestion into something genuinely human. We sit down with Fraser Penman to dig into the real engine behind his work: how thoughts create feelings, how feelings drive behaviour and how hypnosis can reshape the way an audience experiences a moment, not just what they think they saw. 
We also get practical about building a modern performance that blends stage hypnosis, mentalism and magic without feeling like a patchwork. Fraser talks through the tools and routines he’d take if he were “marooned” with only a small set: classic card thinking, prediction work, nail writer handling, practical forces and the ways he layers methods to make one technique look like ten different effects. If you’ve ever wondered how performers use electronic mentalism safely, how to structure audience participation or how to create a finale that feels inevitable in hindsight, there’s a lot of solid advice in this episode. 
One of the most valuable threads is constraint. Fraser shares how visual impairment limits many common approaches and how that pushed him toward cleaner choices, stronger framing and more intentional scripting. We wrap with his take on what the magic community needs less of, what it needs more of and why the best performers collaborate instead of guarding territory. 
If you enjoy deep dives on stage hypnosis, mentalism, performance theory and building a show that actually means something, subscribe, share this with a friend and leave us a review so more people can find the podcast.
Fraser’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Welcome Package: Key Card
MB Board 
Nail Writer 
DFB
TOXIC+
Cryptext 
Amazebox 
Fifty Fifty 
Hypnosis 
Banishment. Magicians egos
Book. Notes From a Fellow Traveller
Item. Mobile Phone 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

He opens with a joke about sending us a bill, then drops the number: $1,325 spent on books, tricks, downloads and masterclasses sparked by recommendations from the podcast. Meet Walt Falconer, a Houston-based card guy whose “desert island” list turns into a masterclass on how a real-world close-up magician chooses material that actually gets used.
We start with a banishment that hits a nerve: laziness in card magic. Walt’s story is a reminder that progress isn’t always about buying the newest thing, it’s about returning to your shelves, re-reading classics and discovering the hidden gems you couldn’t do years ago. From there we unpack a welcome-package staple, the Ambitious Card and why its simple plot can support a lifetime of stronger phases, better timing and cleaner handling.
Then the list gets wonderfully specific: a Bicycle double backer put to work with Paul Gordon’s Muldoon Match, John Bannon’s Strangers Gallery as a best-in-class colour changing deck that leaves you clean, a Tenyo Statue of Liberty illusion that slays for kids and adults and Mariano Goni’s Boarding Pass that turns a spectator’s phone into a jaw-dropping travel reveal. We close with stone-cold classics like MacDonald’s Aces, Twins, Triumph and Paul Curry’s Out of This World, plus a surprise book pick: David Regal’s Approaching Magic.
If you would like your list read out on an episode of Stranded with a Stranger, please send in your list to sales@alakazam.co.uk 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A Halloween special that goes way deeper than spooky props: Dr. Larry Hass joins us to talk about what makes magic feel like real mystery instead of a clever trick. Larry is known as the Philosopher Magician and you hear it in the way he thinks about perception, theatre and why a performance should have texture, structure and emotional movement, not just a string of effects.
We also get a moving inside look at Eugene Berger’s legacy. Larry shares how Eugene secretly arranged two posthumous books and asked Larry to serve as the “medium” who would bring them to the world after he was gone. From spirit theatre and séance work to the ethics of how we treat volunteers, the conversation keeps returning to the same question: are we building puzzles or are we creating wonder?
Then we do what Desert Island Tricks does best: a full list designed to build an actual show. Borrowed-deck Out of This World. A punchy opener with a light bulb or shot glass production. Losander’s Japanese Wonder Silk. Eugene Berger’s Thought Sender. A personal storytelling piece. Al Koran’s A Word In Thousands book test with theatrical revelation. Dai Vernon’s Spellbound. Cups and balls. And, for the Halloween finale, spirit slates that bring spirit magic back to centre stage.
If you care about magic performance, mentalism, storytelling, spirit theatre and building stronger routines that audiences genuinely feel, hit play.
Larry’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Welcome Package: My Way Out of This World
Shot Glass / Bulb Production 
The Japanese Wonder Silk 
Thought Sender 
Tale of the Rabbi Magician 
A Word in Thousands 
Spellbound 
Cups and Balls
Spirit Slates Routine 
Banishment. Performance pieces that set up a participant to lose 
Book. The Magic Rainbow 
Item. 6 Foot Piece of White Rope
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A four-year-old “vanishes” a toy car so perfectly that a grown magician tears apart a couch looking for method. That story kicks off a return visit with Andy as we reopen his desert island list and ask the question every working performer eventually faces: what actually deserves a permanent place in your case when your standards change, your venues change and your taste gets sharper? 
We walk back through the routines that still hold up under real audience pressure, from Three Fly and ring and rope to the cups and balls as the ultimate training ground for timing, audience management and misdirection. Then the tough decisions: what gets swapped when you stop performing something, when you find a cleaner construction, or when you realise a plot deserves deeper study. Expect practical talk on Spellbound as more than a move, billet work that strips away fiddly props and why The Grail remains a brutally direct card at any number that can silence a room. 
The conversation gets opinionated in the best way when we banish an infamous comedy prop and debate the line between a quick gag and a shortcut that cheapens the magic. We also hit the personal picks: the one guest Andy would want on the island, a memory he’d replay on hard days, the horror story of being turned away for “witchcraft” and the show he wishes he could have seen live. If you care about close-up magic, stand-up magic, sleight of hand, mentalism and building a repertoire that lasts, you’ll get plenty to steal. 
Andy Smith’s SOS: 
Swap Interchange for Spellbound 
Swap Fourth Dimensional Telepathy for Christopher Carters 3 Billet Routine 
Swap Hanging Coins for Linking Rings 
Swap Invisible Palm Aces / Open Travellers for Triumph 
Care Package. Trick That Can’t Be Explained 
Banishment. Sponge Ding Dong 
Guest. Max Maven 
Memory. His toddler son accidentally making a toy cars vanish
Horror story. Being told not to perform because the spectator thought it is witchcraft 
Show.  Ricky Jay’s Show 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A beginner magician walks into a magic shop and gets overwhelmed fast. Now imagine he works there. Emilio joins us from the Alakazam team to build his Desert Island list: eight tricks he’d keep forever, one thing he’d banish from magic culture, plus the “book” and everyday item he’d take to keep performing anywhere.
We talk through why practical close-up magic staples still dominate in the real world. Emilio breaks down why Triumph remains a perfect crowd-pleaser, why a strong sandwich routine earns a permanent spot and why Bank Night plays so clean when everything happens in the spectator’s hands. We also get into performance structure for walk-around and restaurant gigs, including why a fast visual opener like Paper To Money can feel like a cheat code when you’re approaching a table cold.
Then we go deeper on what new magicians rarely hear: self-working magic is not a shortcut, it’s a different kind of hard. Sequencing, timing, memory and presentation are the real “moves.” Emilio shares how he practices sleights like the Elmsley Count, why recording yourself beats living in the mirror and how dyslexia shaped his preference for video tutorials and lectures over traditional magic books. We also hit the emotional side of the craft: the one miracle he refuses to learn because he wants to keep the wonder and the bold routine he’s scared to try because it feels too exposed.
If you’re building a working set of magic tricks, refining your close-up case, or figuring out what to learn next, this one will give you a clear blueprint.
Emilio’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Welcome Pack: Triumph 
JoKing
Bank Night 
Confusing Coins 
Four Card Trick 
Horizontal Card Rise
PK Touch
Paper to Money
Invisible Deck
Banishment: People who speak down about self workers 
Book: No Book - Oliver Meech’s Studio Live
Item: Close up bag
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk