Move over Dynamo - Southampton's magicians show how it's done

The group, based in Woolston, Southampton, seem to have mixed feelings about the magician from Yorkshire. Not that they object to big name magicians in general.

Probably the best-known magician of all time, Harry Houdini, was an honorary member of the society and met with them as well as being seen off at Southampton docks by members of the society after his UK tour at the beginning of the 20th century.

Colin Phillips, president of the society which has been going for more than a century, says a good thing about magicians such as Dynamo and David Blaine is that they make magic popular.

They agree that a lot of their tricks depend on a large team of support staff and may also involve some camera trickery.

“He hasn’t got a great deal of personality!” interjects former president Paul Chandler about Dynamo.

Paul, Martin and Colin of AWS

“He’s technically adept whereas we rely on that along with presentation skills,” says Colin, who adds that Dynamo’s dramatic illusions are very different from the up-close magic that club members perform.

Martin Middleditch agrees. He demonstrates a card trick to me where he correctly identifies the one I ‘pick’. The first time he does it quickly, just telling me what I need to do. The second time he adds a lot of showmanship – getting me to shuffle the cards, telling a story about his amazing memory. It’s certainly a lot more impressive this time around – and more entertaining.

“A lot of people think we just do tricks but it’s all the presentation that goes into it that’s the hardest part,” says Martin, a maintenance man and professional magician.

“The tricks are easy to learn.”

And this is an important aspect of the club. It is a place where people go not just to learn literally the tricks of the trade but also the craft that goes into being a good magician – and that, say the AWS members, is all about showmanship.

Members of the club range from amateur hobbyists like Paul, a plumbing and central heating specialist, to the likes of Colin and Martin, who work as professional magicians alongside their day jobs.

Despite the group’s name, this is somewhere you can come to brush up on tricks, and skills, not a club for those with mystic leanings along the lines of Harry Potter.

“The name makes us cringe a bit,” admits Paul.

Paul in action

“We’ve thought about changing it but we’re of the opinion that it’s so bad, maybe it’s almost cool. But we are changing the logo,”

he says, pointing to an image of a man in a large white hat.

“It looks like he’s in the Ku Klux Klan!”

Despite their rather mysterious name and perhaps somewhat dubious current logo, the Associated Wizards of the South are a very open group.

Their youngest member is nine-year-old Rosie, whose father is a professional magician, and they are keen to recruit new members of any ability.

It’s clear that people skills are key to what these up-close magicians do.

In fact Colin and Martin both write and learn scripts to go along with their tricks, which they say are an essential part of their show.

Colin demonstrating one of his tricks

It’s particularly important to be able to read people when working at an event such as a party or a wedding.

“You have to know when to go into a group,” says Martin. “If people are deep in conversation, it’s rude to go in and say ‘do you want to see a trick’.

“You have to wait until that moment when they’re standing around and then you go in. It’s about getting the timing just right.”

These are all skills that, say the society members, are easiest to develop as a member of a group like AWS.

Unfortunately, it seems that although they have around 50 members, many people who might be interested don’t even know the group exists.

When Paul was looking for a club to join some six years ago, he initially thought the nearest one was in Brighton. They are keen to raise their profile to encourage more people interested in magic to join.

As Colin jokes: “The best secret the Associated Wizards of the South have is that we are here!”

• The Associated Wizards of the South are holding a special day of magic at the Dolphin Pub in Southampton today. From 1pm to 11pm more than 50 magicians will be showcasing their tricks. Admission is £5 adults, £3 children.
• AWS meet on Tuesday evenings in Woolston. They have a combination of informal club evenings and visiting well known magicians to perform and sell tricks. Membership is £25 per year and includes all meetings. For more information, visit awsmagic.co.uk
• To contact Paul, call 07885818829 or email paul.chandler2@sky.com. To contact Colin, call 07760900900, email colin@uniquartists.co.uk or visit colinphillipsmagic.co.uk. To contact Martin call 07950382234 or email martindm1956@aol.com