world class acts from the all-star magic show

Magic of Lawrence & Priscilla

The curtain opens on Lawrence holding a mannequin's head. The head is placed on a tripod and magically changes into a living person, his assistant and real-life daughter, Priscilla! The duo engages the audience in a comic "Fear Extractor" act that uses a wicked-looking guillotine! But the most gripping feat in their performance must be the "Table of Terror" – dozens of heavy steel spikes crashing down on a chained and shackled Lawrence with a chilling boom. A very dramatic act from the magician duo who brought the world the "Magic of Love" magical musical.

Lawrence & Priscilla Khong have performed Magic of Love since 2001. The show has played to over 160,000 people in Asia. They have also staged Spook Show, Great Escape, and From Illusion to Reality. Lawrence & Priscilla are the producers of IF Magic 2003 and 2005.

Lee Eun Gyeol

Girlish screams from the audience accompany Lee's act throughout. It's no wonder, considering he is a pop idol in his home country, Korea.

Standing at 1.87m, Lee dominates the stage. He never moves from a small circle, yet is full of energy, dancing around, much like a fencer, engaging first with his prop table, then a cageful of doves, etc. He changes cards to doves, hankies to glass, balls to smoke, showing his skill as a master manipulator. He moves perfectly in time to the music and poses dramatically with each feat. Lee believes in wowing his audience -- he pulls out not one, but two huge bird cages and sets them on fire (fire is perfectly suited to his energetic act). Then he finishes with a blast of confetti. His confidence and charisma on stage testifies to his position as the leading magician in Korea.

Lee Eun Gyeol has won awards in Asia, Italy, France, South Africa and Las Vegas. He has his own Magic Concerts in Korea.

Tommy Wonder

What a sharp contrast to Lee! Where Lee was wildly energetic and uses dramatic sound and light, Wonder's act is gentle and understated, yet perfectly showcasing his training in theatre. His act is structured along a medieval theme, using props like a gilded birdcage, a wood-paneled box and rich embroidered costume. Wonder is restrained - hardly moving from one spot, and his palming is so smooth it's invisible.

But a lot of eyebrow gymnastics and facial expressions have the audience in stitches. Although he employs a traditional cup and ball act, it is the grace and dignity of his movements and the genteel humour of his plot that engages the audience. His dance with the birdcage is almost balletic. There is absolutely nothing electronic about his props, and it is sad that Wonder's genre of magic is being overshadowed by modern penchant for loud fireworks and gadgetry.

Hailing from the Netherlands, Tommy Wonder has been booked in Las Vegas and in many countries, and won many awards and trophies. His two-volume book "The Books of Wonder" is generally accepted in the magic world as one of the best magic books ever written. He is not just an European magician; he has international impact.

Fujisawa Mayuko

The youthful and sweet Fujisawa is the fresh winner of IF Magic’s Pro Magic Challenge 2005, held just the day before. At this All-Star Magic Show, she is, again, the only female magician to stage an act alone (there were other female performers, but they were assistants and partners). She re-enacted her Alice in Wonderland performance, doing her instantaneous costume changes and card manipulations to appreciative applause from the audience.

Magic Fukai

Fukai’s wife and assistant Kimika appears on stage in a kimono holding a traditional waxed umbrella. Ah! An ethnic "Land of the Rising Sun" motif. But she sheds (literally) her kimono in the blink of an eye. Presto! She's now a glittery ago go gal and the music launches into a nightclub beat. Fukai boogies onto stage with his signature umbrellas. Fukai is a mean dancer, keeping perfect time with Kimika while contriving to pull big and small umbrellas seemingly out of thin air. The adjectives to describe Fukai's act must be suave, psychedelic and rapturous. It’s not just a magic show, it’s therapy! The fast pace picks up even more at the end and diminutive Kimika unleashes a turbular frame that unfolds to the size of a small wall. A collective "Wah!" from the audience proves that big props get big response.

The Great Tomsoni & Co.

A big switch in theme again. Where Fukai is all swirling silk and twinkling toes, Tomsoni is rooted dignity. He needs so little space that he stood in the footlights in front of the dropped curtain. Tomsoni proves that gadgetry takes second place to a well-timed plot. He and wife/assistant Pamela Hayes had the audience in hoots as they acted out a series of "mis-magic". Tomsoni pulls silks off his assistant's hand and 'accidentally' pulls off her gown too; she rushes offstage and he is left bewildered by her sudden absence; then Tomsoni improvises the moment to pretend that he had magically vanished his assistant. Tomsoni and Co. has been internationally hailed as the foremost in comic magic and it is easy to see why they deserve this accolade. Truly, as Tomsoni quips, "I’m the Great Tomsoni, feel free to call me 'Great'.”

John Thompson and his wife and partner, comedian/actress Pamela Hayes received many awards such as Society of American Magicians' Superstar of Magic Award and Prince Rainer's Prix S.B.M. (Europe's most prestigious magic award).

Duane Laflin

An extremely entertaining emcee, we witnessed Duane's smooth introductions of competitors during the Pro Magic Challenge. He knows how to entertain an audience without stealing thunder from the stars. But we saw the full extent of Duane's impressive skills when he performed during the All-Star Magic Show. Deftly, he produces silk handkerchiefs of all imaginable colours and sizes from the oddest places. All his illusions and props are self-invented. Impossibly long flurries of splendiferous silk fountain from apparently empty boxes, extravagant bouquets pop out from flat cardboard sheets. His show is so rich in colour that it is almost wanton. It leaves the audience feeling delighted and entertained.

The Pendragons

Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were not placed last in the Show arbitrarily. This husband and wife team, a marriage of theatre and dance, is a fitting finale item. The Pendragons’ act has been described by the media as “grand illusion”. All their acts are grand, from a Sword Piercing Act to Levitation to Punching through a Paper Frame.

The Pendragons ably demonstrates the genre of magic called physical magic, so much so they are left panting after each act. The audience is not spared, we were panting from suspense! Critics have hailed Jonathan as an inventor as much as he is a performer.

For example, his take on a “Spot the Card” trick. Jonathan launches into a theatrical soliloquy from Cyrano de Begerac’s first act, thus effectively misdirecting the audience while he nails the right card in mid-air with a sword. The exact same trick could have been executed on a card table with low patter, but it would not be Jonathan Pendragon.

The Pendragon have performed in over fifty different countries -- a testimony of their popularity and talents. They are not only performers, they create original magic illusions. One of these is the sawing of a woman in half in a transparent box. The duo have performed for the President of USA and the Queen of England and the Prince of Wales.