After last night's fruitless trek all the way to Angel, I was glad to be going to something closer to home. Mind you, when I checked today I discovered it was round the other side of Hyde Park, not the side I'm used to. Still, I could get a Tube straight to Bayswater, which is a short walk away.
I ate at home again, and since Google Maps said the journey would only take 16 minutes altogether, I left it quite late to leave. Bayswater is a terribly posh station, all white-painted railings and flower boxes. And I probably should have availed of the zebra crossing right in front of the station - I wasn't expecting one so convenient. Anyway, there wasn't much traffic, and I crossed safely, and was glad I was as close as I was - the wind was bitter again tonight!
Arrived about 10 minutes early, which wasn't really enough time to avail of the free cocktail they promised us. I wasn't that pushed anyway. I preferred to stay outside and admire the gorgeous lobby of the Grand Royale!
In due course, we were shown into the lounge, just to the right of the entrance, where an assistant stood at the door with a bowl of choccies. I refrained, admirably.
The lounge was just the setting for an evening of Victorian prestidigitation. Among other things..
In this shot, you can see the aforementioned assistant, who performed magic tricks at the interval to tempt us to buy merchandise. Funnily enough, a couple of photos I took of the other side of the room didn't come out. Weird, huh?
The room was full, and some had seen him before, I overheard. The magician came on in a frock coat, appropriate for the period, as he said. And he had a tale about a magician of the olden days, whose paraphernalia he bought at auction for a large sum, and which was contained in a trunk he had there tonight. So the contents of this trunk formed the basis for the show.
It runs for an hour and a half, including a 15-minute interval. Some tricks I'd seen before - after all, this is based on old-fashioned magic shows, and some of the tricks are familiar. Some were extremely good, and I'd be hard-pushed to explain a couple. One he revealed the secret of to us, and in one case I got a hint of how he did it, which was down to keen observation on my part. But I won't give it away!
The second half has a scéance, for which the room is darkened and takes on a suitably eerie demeanour. We had great fun, and he involved practically everyone in the audience in some way. I'm sure a certain magician of my acquaintance would pick holes all through it, but it was performed with a flourish, and was a great evening's entertainment. Definitely different. Runs Thursdays and Fridays for the rest of the month - the 30th is sold out though.
Back to Ireland tomorrow - hope the winds die down. Back here on Sunday, and on Monday I've booked for a play called Pig Girl at the Finborough Theatre. It's the local one, and so small that booking is always advisable.
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