How Did They Do That? Magic and Mesmerism

Traditional Variety has been a lifelong fascination for poet and playwright Amanda Dalton. She grew up in a family that included several amateur and professional entertainers and from an early age the world of Variety Theatre was ‘in her blood’... During WW2, her dad organised and performed in a night of entertainment at King Farouk’s palace in Cairo, She recalls her mum tap dancing in the kitchen as the dinner burnt. One of her most precious and prized possessions is a poster, retrieved from her uncle’s home, for a variety show at the New Hippodrome, Darlington in 1938 - acts including Waldini’s Famous Gypsy Band, Billy Brown Upside Down and his wonderful dog Lady and her uncle himself, Barry Phelps. With Idina Scott Gatty, Entertainer. As a child, Amanda never missed Sunday Night at the London Palladium or the Good Old Days on TV. Variety shows were her parents’ favourites - her obsession with them is perhaps not surprising.

The acts that have always most fascinated her are those ‘speciality’ acts that disturb even as they entertain, designed to bamboozle the audience and mess with the mind. These essays will explore Amanda’s relationship with the different kinds of acts that thrived as UK Variety emerged from the embers of Music Hall (1930s – 1950s). Listeners are introduced to some of the key performers, a fascinating collection of unusual and striking characters with extraordinary skills and showmanship.

Essay 5: How Did They Do That? Magic and Mesmerism

In this final essay, Amanda explores the world of magicians and hypnotists - the blurred line between acts of illusion and the apparently paranormal, the moment when the solidity of our logical, rational narrative of the world starts to fall away and we enter a state of bewilderment. The essay springs from Amanda’s memories of her own childhood fascination with magic and her desire for it to be ‘real’, despite her terror of psychic phenomena - a fascination that is still with her today and continues to inform her writing. “That’s entertainment??” asks the essay, as it ponders the connections between amusement, thrill, escapism and fear.

Writer and reader, Amanda Dalton Producer, Polly Thomas Exec Producer, Eloise Whitmore

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

Biog Amanda Dalton is poet, playwright and essayist based in West Yorkshire. She has written extensively for BBC Radio 4 and 3 and for theatres including Manchester’s Royal Exchange, Sheffield Theatres, and Theatre By The Lake, Keswick who are premiering her radical adaptation of Francis Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess during Winter 2023-4. Her poetry collections are published by Bloodaxe Books and she has pamphlets with Smith|Doorstop and ARC. A new collection – Fantastic Voyage – is forthcoming from Bloodaxe in May 2024 and includes some poems about magic!