Desert Island Tricks

What makes a close-up set survive bars, restaurants, conventions, and The Magic Castle without breaking stride? We chase that answer with Erik Tait, who lays out eight pieces that hit fast, reset instantly, and leave images people actually remember. From a safer, sleeker ring-to-keys in Flight 101 to a signed card to pocket born from pandemic constraints, Erik shows how speed and clarity beat complexity when you’re performing in the wild. Every choice earns its space, not for novelty, but because it delivers a clean effect under pressure.
We dig into the unexpected power of the reverse-cut Mental Photography deck and how to frame “experimental” props so they impress and then disappear before the heat. We rethink cups and balls as a crisp five-minute routine with decisive phases and bold loads. We turn sugar into a 3D-printed salt elephant that guests keep and talk about for years. We even give ambitious card a new spine by using an odd-backed selection, making each rise unmistakable while exploring timing and display in ways that feel fresh and visual.
Erik’s coins across opens every table he works, direct, quick, and in their hands, proving the set before a wordy intro can get in the way. Then a handsome wooden update to the classic colour-vision box, Mental Block with a die, fools magicians and invites itself to be performed from a living room mantel. Along the way, Erik banishes rope magic for looking like puzzles, champions The Secrets of So Sato for elegant card thinking, and reveals the humble nail file that quietly shapes his decks and once confounded a precision scale.
Erik’s Desert Island Tricks: 
1. Flite 101 
2. Card to Pocket 
3. Mental Photography 
4. Cups and Balls 
5. Sugar Rabbit 
6. Blue Backed Card, Ambitious Card 
7. Coins Across 
8. Mental Block 
Banishment. Rope Magic 
Book. Secrets of So Sato 
Item. Nail File
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Eight tricks, one book, one banishment and a lifetime of lessons packed into a single, fast-moving session with performer and author Mark Piazza. We trace his arc from 25 years of kids’ shows to a sharp mentalism repertoire, pulling apart the choices that still earn repeat bookings and real reactions. From the tactile honesty of Hundy 500 to the elastic power of propless tools like Quinta, Mark shows how method serves meaning when the script and structure are tuned for impact.
We dig into the psychology behind equivoque that feels like prophecy, anchored by Max Maven’s unforgettable line about remembering something that hasn’t happened yet. Then we swing visual with a cap through a clear bottle, complete with a cork for extra conviction and talk about why organic, brand-familiar props beat shiny apparatus in the wild. Personalisation runs deep in Mark’s set: DMC Alpha markings enable a clean, hands-off four-of-a-kind, and a name-spelling revelation turns a quick card effect into a souvenir moment people photograph and share.
Classic structure gets a modern skin with a Starbucks chop cup and themed baseball loads, proving that context can refresh method without sacrificing clarity. We close on confabulation, glass boxes, balloons, secret adds and why layered choices plus time misdirection make it so hard to unwind. Mark also shares the book that keeps his creativity sharp, Tractare by R. Shane, and the one technique he’d banish for good. If you care about framing, personalisation, and practical workers that travel light and hit hard, this lineup will sharpen your set and your thinking.
Send in your list of 8 tricks, 1 banishment, 1 book and 1 non magic item you use for magic to [email protected] and have your list featured on an episode of Stranded with a Stranger! 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

If you’ve ever been told to perfect five tricks and repeat them forever, prepare to toss that rule out. Craig Petty joins us to make a fearless case for evolving your set, testing ideas in the wild, and embracing marketing as part of the craft. He opens up about the morning mantra that fuels his output, how to handle criticism without shrinking, and why passion beats cynicism every time.
We move from mindset to mechanics with a desert-island kit that actually works: a Rubik’s Cube routine anchored by a tattoo prediction built for photo moments, the heavyweight surprise of an eight ball production, and Jon Allen’s Destination Box for clean, spectator-handled impossibilities. Craig digs into workhorse tools, rope and rubber bands, that scale from kids’ shows to banquets, with modular phases that survive interruptions and noisy rooms. Then he spotlights the Extractor E2 as a rare “method equals miracle” device, delivering signed-card power with zero heat.
Card nerds will love the marked Mnemonica segment where a memorised deck turns pick‑a‑card into name‑a‑card, unlocks jazzing, and frames Darwin Ortiz’s “Test Your Luck” as a perfect opener. And for stage lovers, Split Press earns its keep as a 360‑friendly, roll‑in illusion that lets you control angles and pace a full show. Craig’s forced choice on his own work lands on Chop, and he explains exactly why that utility tool still defines his career.
The heart of the hour is a banishment with teeth: cut toxicity and self‑doubt so more magicians create, publish, and perform with courage. We close with a nod to career-making reading, John Bannon’s Impossibilia and a deceptively simple non‑magic item, the humble paperclip, fuelling Jay Sankey’s Paperclipped. Hit play for hard-won insights, practical repertoire, and a reminder to back yourself.
Craig’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Rubiks Cube - Tattoo Reveal 
Trick Shot Prediction 
Destination Box 
Fibre Optics
Strange Exchange 
E2
Marked Deck in Mnemonica
Split Press 
Craig Petty Release. Chop 
Banishment. Self Doubt 
Book. Impossibilia
Item. Paperclip
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A sliced finger, a kiwi, and a lesson in checking your props, our cold open sets the pace for a no-fluff, real-world rethink of the “eight tricks for life” challenge. Two years on, Peter Nardi returns to keep what still stuns, swap what no longer fits, and explain exactly why.
 
 We dig into the pieces that survive time and venues: the elegance of Horizontal Card Rise, the open-ended power of Extractor, and iChange, the interchange Peter refined over two decades to make cleaner and easier without losing impact. Then we make bold substitutions. Predator Wallet steps aside for Sharpie Through Card, anchored by Rob Bromley’s ingenious method and the everyday logic of a Sharpie. Fourth Dimensional Telepathy yields to Andy Nyman’s Sophie Trick, where story and structure turn an old Monte idea into meaningful mentalism. Imagine stays because mental photography still crushes lay audiences when paced with confidence, while the Mirage Coin Set earns its keep with Craig Petty’s International Reverse Matrix, fully justified by Peter’s “return tickets” kicker.
 
 The heart of this conversation is a challenge to “magician’s guilt.” Not every prop needs a five-minute alibi. Strong, simple methods often hit hardest when performed for real people, not theoretical critics. We talk audience psychology, why lay-folk don’t track what magicians do, and how to resist theory spirals that never reach a stage. Along the way, Peter swaps his book to Bob Cassidy for evergreen mentalism structure, names Tom Mullica as his dream island companion, relives the pride of 4MG on Britain’s Got Talent, and bottles a couple of horror stories, including that too-sharp knife, so they can drift away.
 
 Looking for inspiration for your own set? This episode blends practical technique, audience-first framing, and candid stories from gigs, TV, and shop floors. If you’re reshaping your material for today’s rooms, you’ll leave with clearer criteria and a few routines worth revisiting. Enjoy the ride, then share your eight, your banishment, and your why. If you like this kind of deep dive into working magic, follow, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more magicians find us.
Peter’s Desert Island Substitutions: 
Predator Wallet for Sharpie Through Card
Fourth Dimensional Telepathy for The Sophie Trick
The Magic Menu for Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy
Banishment. Magicians Guilt
Guest. Tom Mullica
Memory. 4MG on Britains Got Talent
Horror. Knife Through Kiwi, Through Finger
Show. Siegfried and Roy
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

A locked gate marked 19½, a tiny office, and a stubborn 19‑year‑old knocking on every bar and hotel in Durham, this is how The Magic Corner began. We sit down with Tom Bolton to unpack how a 10–12 seat room became a destination venue, why careful lighting and sound cues matter as much as sleights, and how seasonal shows keep locals returning with new guests in tow.
Tom walks us through the show’s architecture: a bar‑hatch first half, a bookshelf reveal to a ring‑seated second half, and production choices that turn tricks into theatre. Hear how he frames a multiple selection using “principles of magic,” layers Double Cross so spectators can’t backtrack, and uses Inject and Toxic to deliver deeply personal, phone‑based impossibilities. We dig into Loops and PK Touch performed surrounded, Optix for a jaw‑dropping phone vanish, and a chop cup that pays off a promised “elephant” at the perfect moment.
Then comes the signature piece: Goblet of Fire. A name is written, the ember rises in amber light as music swells, and the room fills with that hush only real wonder creates. Tom explains how QLab, DMX, and an Audio Ape remote let him run every cue himself, transforming small‑room magic into a cinematic experience. We also explore reviews and tourism wins, TripAdvisor recognition, Fringe lessons from Edinburgh and Adelaide, and a candid banishment of ego‑driven hype.
If you love intimate magic, theatrical polish, and creative routing that turns constraints into strengths, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a magician friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. And if you make it to Durham, grab tickets to The Magic Corner and tell Tom we sent you.
Tom Bolton’s Desert Island Tricks: 
Multiple Selection 
Double Cross 
Inject 2.0
TOXIC +
LOOPS
Optix Pro
Chop Cup 
Goblet of Fire 
Banishment. Ego in Magic 
Book. The Particle System 
Item. QLab 
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk