Desert Island Tricks

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

A lot of people think magic is something you either start as a kid or you miss your shot. Doug Gorman blows that idea up. He started at 45 after a Las Vegas moment hooked him for good, spent years performing classic close-up, then made a sharp turn into storytelling magic and bizarre magic that feels like real theatre, not just “watch me do a move.”
We talk through the turning points that shaped his style, including the influence of Ed Solomon and the late Eugene Burger and why Doug believes every effect needs a reason to exist. That single idea changes everything: it justifies strange props, strengthens misdirection and keeps you from falling into the trap he wants to banish most, trick narration. If you’ve ever caught yourself saying “now I’m going to…” you’ll know exactly what we mean.
Then we do the full magical island challenge: eight tricks (from Cups and Balls to Fast and Loose), a haunted key piece inspired by Professor BC and Doug’s own dark favourites like The Tooth Fairy and Psychic Spectacles. There’s also a hilarious coins through the table with a “portable hole” and an over-the-top coin-sucker that turns a standard plot into a cartoonish miracle. We wrap with his one-book pick, “From Beyond” by Larry Hass and where to find Doug’s creations online.
Doug’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Welcome package: Triumph 
Cups and Balls 
The Cuba Libra
Fast and Lose 
Haunted Inns of England
The Tooth Fairy 
Coins Through Table
Uncorked
The Psychic Spectacles 
Banishment. Trick narration 
Book. From Beyond 
Item. Giant Mouse Pad
Video’s Doug mentions: 
The Synchronized Cups and Balls:
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=hmMstGmFE-A
Uncorked:
https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=dWm-W6-Uy0Y
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A Covent Garden magic stall in winter, a boat that hosts magic sessions and a career that somehow threads through it all to The Magic Circle. We sit down with Lee Hathaway and get the kind of candid, craft-obsessed conversation that only happens between people who have lived magic for decades. Along the way, Lee talks about the uncomfortable truth most working performers feel: you can “unlearn” technique when life gets busy and getting it back is less about time and more about calm, repetitive focus.
Then we maroon Lee on a desert island and make him choose. His list moves from Roy Walton’s Cannibal Cards as a mastery project, to the mythical Any Drink Called For kettle, to David Williamson’s Torn and Restored Transposition as a masterclass in structure. We also dig into practical working tools like the fire wallet as an instant visual hook, plus bigger swings like the balloon swallow and the always-evolving cups and balls. If you love close-up magic, street magic, classic plots and real-world performing choices, you’ll hear your own thinking reflected back at you.
The back half goes deeper into wonder and philosophy: Houdin’s Orange Tree illusion as Lee’s favourite piece of magic ever, sponge bunny rabbits as an underrated layperson miracle and a banishment we fully agree with: petty arguments over credit that drain the joy out of the art. Lee’s must-read pick, Juan Tamariz’s The Magic Way, ties the whole mindset together, from “clever” to truly impossible.
Lee’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Welcome pack: Cannabal Cards 
Any Drink Called For Kettle (with consumables) 
Torn and Restored Transposition
Fire wallet 
The Rainbow
Balloon Swallow 
Cups and Balls
The Orange Tree Illusion
Sponge Bunny Rabbits
Banishment. Arguments about who created what
Book. The Magic Way
Item. Utility Knife 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A coin vanishes three times, ends up trapped inside a phone and then bends after the spectator has been holding it. That’s how Stephen Maule chooses to open his desert island set and it instantly tells you what kind of thinker he is: practical, modular and obsessed with reactions that spread from one friend group to the next. We start with Stephen’s backstory, including the influence of classic TV magic and the way big moments like the Blackpool Magic Convention can pull people back into the craft after years away.
Then we dig into his “Stranded with a Stranger” list: Daryl’s Three Card Monte and why a challenge-style gambling routine can still feel playful, “SAM Memory” as a four-card packet trick framed like a memory test or pseudo-hypnosis, plus timeless card magic like Paul Curry’s Out of This World and the punch of Doctored Daley in the spectator’s hands. If you love close-up magic, card sleight of hand and building stronger sets, there’s a lot here to steal in principle.
The back half turns toward clean mentalism and impossible locations: Collateral OTT as an open billet technique, the Infinity Wallet as both a prediction device and a genuine safety net and Nest of Wallets as a visual closer for a signed coin or borrowed ring. Stephen’s banishment might be the most valuable takeaway: stop rushing to show a trick before you’ve practiced, tested and made it yours. 
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Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk