What is a Contemporary Magician?

You'd never spot us. We look no different than your average suited jack in the city. Better tailoring perhaps. A few more pockets. Other than that, indistinguishable. We are the professional socialisers, we go to parties for a living, we are paid to be the life and soul. You might have met us, once or twice. That guy who levitated your finger ring inches before your astonished eyes; that guest that nobody knew who cut the deck of cards with his shadow; that woman who pushed a bottle of wine through a solid table. As quickly as we arrive we vanish, but you’ll never forget what you saw.

I can tell you who we're not. We're not the uncle with the 21 card trick. We're not the guy in the novelty tie from accounts making balloon animals at the office party. We're not the young pricks doing cards tricks on MTV, flourishing on screen, caps turned backwards, sleeves rolled up, patter empty of all connection; 'watch', 'look', 'I'll try something'; try entertaining. We do not read minds; we do not pretend to read minds. And remember, we do NOT do children's parties.

I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be around. Sometimes it feels like the more we refuse to go on X Factor, the more irrelevant we become. Magic is all around us these days. in the comfort of my own home I wave a wand of many buttons and light up the TV. I approach a door at the supermarket and at the touch of my shadow it slides open. No one remarks on those everyday wonders. Yet on Saturday night, in a darkened bar in a slickened Soho, I find the four of clubs and they scream. So perhaps there’s still hope.