Three York magicians have achieved the ultimate magical honour.
Adrian Salamon, Bethan Grice-Sims, and Brendan Cafferty have all entered the prestigious Magic Circle in London, after auditioning and being accepted at the same time.
The trio travelled down to London last month to get their certificates officially presented to them by the President of the Magic Circle, Marvin Berglas.
“The application process is pretty rigorous.” Adrian told YorkMix. “First you have to be recommended by two existing members, pass a zoom interview, and then perform a 8-12 minute audition in front of three judges and a live audience of magic circle members at the groups headquarters in London.”
The timing for the audition is strict – with one second under or over meaning automatic failure. Performers are assessed on both technical skill and presentation before final approval by the Inner Council.
“For me, the process was terrifying! Standing in front of about 50 of my magical peers, some of them big names in the magic world.
“You normally have to wait a month or so to find out if you are in, but after two weeks I was shopping with my son in town when my phone rang,” Adrian said.
“It was the admission secretary with a congratulations. I actually asked him if he was joking, as I couldn’t believe it. I was planning what to do on my retake!”
The three magicians have now joined a club that includes King Charles, Dynamo and David Copperfield in its worldwide membership of only 1,700.
Brendan achieved the even rarer honour of Associate Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star, a distinction awarded to only a small number via examination.
“It was also extra special for Bethan,” Adrian explained, as female membership is still not that high at 5% – women were only first admitted to become members in 1991!
“I think the Magic Circle thought it was quite nice that three members from the same local magic club all came down together, auditioned together, and passed together,” said Adrian.
