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Bedford performer wins The Magic Circle's Close Up Magician of the Year competition
Fast fingers, slight of hand and a passion for tricks since childhood has helped a Bedford performer win The Magic Circle's Close Up Magician of the Year competition.
Matthew Garrett, 34, of Dorsey Drive, wowed judges and the audience alike on Monday when he performed at The Magic Circle's headquarters in London.
Nick Fitzherbert, from The Magic Circle, said: "He only had eight minutes, but he did a fantastic act built around a modern twist of the linking rings routine. It was the most visually spectacular thing.
"Then he went into a storytelling routine making cards appear from all over the place before making them disappear all together in a puff of smoke."
Having been chosen by The Magic Society for the final of the competition Matthew was up against six other experts and performed to a real audience as well judges.
He said: "It means a great deal to win, it's the main professional competition in the country.
"I have not done a competition for 12 years so it was a surprise, too.
"Really what I wanted to do was show the other members my tricks and what I do, and anything more than that was a bonus."
Having joined The Magic Circle when he was 22 years old, Matthew has honed his close-up and stage magic after first discovering his passion for it when he was young.
He said: "I was always interested in magic, I just started out playing around with the magic sets, the difference is when other people got bored of them I didn't and wanted to get more, so started going to magic shops and clubs.
"I do a mix of everything. Even though I won the close-up magic prize my main interest is actually in stage magic, it's what I enjoy most and I do a lot of manipulation work."
Matthew is both a member of The Magic Circle, the world's premier magical society, and an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle – the highest level that members can reach through examination.
For more information about his shows visit www.professionalmagic.com
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Friday 25 May 2012
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