A live magic show followed by a film about magic
Saturday, August 31 at 7 PM
On Saturday, August 31 the Strand Theatre in downtown Vicksburg will present a night of magic.
The evening will begin with a live performance by Joe M. Turner, a native Mississippian and professional magician/mentalist for the past 24 years. Joe will share some of the world-class magic
that has taken him to 50 countries on six continents: from the Hollywood Magic Castle to the London Palladium. Joe moved from Brandon to the Atlanta area over thirty years ago, and has recently relocated to Tennessee. "Now that we've moved closer to home, I'm especially excited to plug back in to events in my home state,” Turner said.
The occasion of this upcoming appearance? After Joe’s performance there will be a screening of "Lost in the Shuffle," a new film by Jon Ornoy, which tells a story revolving around magic and magicians, including prominent Canadian magician Shawn Farquhar. Shawn and Joe met in 2001 and have been colleagues and friends ever since. In 2015, Joe Became International President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians -- succeeding Farquhar.
The film, which recently enjoyed its world premiere at Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, features five of the world's top sleight-of-hand artists. It looks at the seemingly endless amount of inspiration that magicians can draw from a simple deck of cards and explores a tantalizing theory from two-time world champion Shawn Farquhar that hidden in the art of every standard deck are the clues to a cold case
murder.
Shawn has been surrounded by cards for as long as he can remember, but after a trip to France, he learned some interesting history that caused him to wonder why the court cards look the way they do. Of particular interest was the King of Hearts, also known as the Suicide King, because he appears to be stabbing himself in the head.
Shawn believes there is a much more sinister story: that an actual medieval French king was assassinated at the hand of his own wife. Now Shawn is out to see if his theory is true - will the greatest illusion of all prove to be that an ancient cold-case murder has been hiding under our noses all this time?
When the truth is discovered, Shawn proceeds to do the only logical thing about it: he sets out to construct a card trick that tells the story. But he wants it to be perfect, so he travels, not only to France, but around the world to consult with four of his mentors/peers. After explaining his theory about the secret hidden in every deck of playing cards, each of the four magicians advises Shawn on what they feel should be included in his trick; each reflecting his/her philosophy of magic.
Along the way we learn many secrets of magic, but
knowing how it's done does not mean the audience will not be amazed repeatedly.
According to Turner "Shawn and Jon Ornoy are the
masterminds behind this film, but I've had the opportunity to meet and work with all of the people featured over the years. Juan Tamariz is a legend from Spain whose work I've studied for most of my career. Richard Turner has been a prominent figure in magic for almost as long as Juan. I was on an international virtual show with Michael Vincent
earlier this year, and I just saw Shawn, Michael, and Alexandra Duvivier at a conference in Tacoma in July. It was an honor to be invited to help add a live element to the screening of this film, especially since so many of the people involved are friends. Their trust in bringing me in means a lot."
Tickets are $20 at Highway 61 Coffeehouse and at the door. Also available online at
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When? |
Saturday, August 31 at 7 PM
