Magician following in famous family footsteps brings 'pure escapism' show to Banbury

James wrote and dedicated the show in honour of his uncle, the legendary magician and host of the long-running TV series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, who inspired him to take up magic.

The show has taken James five years of blood, sweat, and tears to create, and he is currently midway through a year long 150-venue tour of Britain.

James said: "Someone described the show to me as Joel Dommett meets Derren Brown, and I think that’s quite a nice description of it. It’s a couple of hours of pure escapism and features stunts like making people forget their own names, producing a block of ice in the middle of the stage, and much more.

"I named it 'The Greatest Magician' because it's a love letter to my uncle Paul, who I worked alongside in creating the show for a number of years. I have been touring it pretty much nonstop since he passed away in 2016, and now I’m selling out venues across the country, which is amazing."

James describes his youth as ‘growing up on a diet of Paul Daniel’s VHS tapes’ and says he fell in love with magic and performing from an early age and often used it to overcome problematic experiences as a child.

James added: "I didn’t have the easiest ride growing up; certainly at primary school there was a lot of jelousy, and being the popular guy was never really my bag.

"For me, magic was always the way to cut past the negativity in that I could entertain the other students. So it was always something I was in love with, and I enjoyed the way it made other people feel."

James describes the show as not a typical magician’s performance but more about releasing endorphins for the audience and taking their minds away from the constraints of day to day life with joy and escapism.

The five-star-rated show will be performing at Banbury’s The Mill Arts Centre on Thursday June 1 at 7.30 pm.

For more information, visit themillartscentre.co.uk/shows/greatest-magician-2023/