Last weekend, I was delighted to perform and speak at The Session 2024. It’s a magic convention for both professional and hobbyist magicians.
400 experienced and budding wizards get together at The Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre at Heathrow Airport for a weekend of performances, lectures, networking and fun.
It’s pretty nerve-wracking to get up on stage in front of your peers, and some of your heroes, to perform. I spend most of my time performing for non-magicians (or muggles if you prefer) when people hire a magician for parties and events. The Session has an impressive line-up of international performers, many of whom I admire, so it was an honour to be invited along.
My performance and talk was on the subject of memory. I competed in the World Memory Championships several years ago and I’ve become known in the magic world for a performance piece that combines memory and mental dexterity.
If you’ve seen me performing as a corporate event magician or hired me as a magician for your party you’ll have seen how I try to remember the name of everyone I meet. It’s a really useful skill to have – I wrote an article on how to remember people’s names a while back if you want to learn for yourself!
My spot was on the Friday, meaning I could relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend. I had a lot of people approach me to compliment my talk and ask for further advice on memory, so I’m so glad it was well-received!
There were some brilliant sessions over the weekend, including several magicians I love and admire. I’m often asked who my favourite magicians are – I have several, but many are not well-known amongst the general public. I did get to chat to Steven Frayne (who you probably know as Dynamo) in the bar about his latest TV special though!
I came home on Monday exhausted and inspired. It was great to see old friends, make new ones, and immerse myself in the world of magic and wonder for a long weekend.
Before the world came to a standstill in 2020 and my focus shifted to virtual magic shows, I had planned to put together a course on memory for the business. I may now actually re-visit this in 2024!
Thanks to Vanishing Inc for inviting me to speak and Sean East for the great photographs
