Matthew Wright Lecture 2011
South Staffordshire Society of Magicians
A Review by Damon Conlan

On what seemed to be a regular, unremarkable Monday evening, the South Staffordshire Society of Magicians arrived at their habitual magic meeting venue of choice to see a lecture by a gentleman named Matthew Wright.

The clue to how marvellous an evening we were going to be treated to should have been the fact that Matthew is the 2008 Magic Circle Close-up Magician of the Year, the 2010 International Close-up Magician of the Year and achieved 2nd place in Parlour at FISM Europe 2011 - but we’re not a magic society that likes to pre-judge.

Matthew demonstrated quite a few card effects, treating us to how he performs in many different environments, from walk-around and parlour to even how he opens his stage show. 
Matthew’s three-fly was also a real delight to watch. In particular, his take on solving the problem of the last coin in your standard three-fly routine was more than a little inspired - making it both funny and miraculous all at the same time.  At the break, he instructed members to try some sleights he had taught just before the interval, keeping everyone busy, occupied and engaged.

Presentation was certainly king in this lecture, and each routine certainly encapsulated the importance of creativity as well as documenting Mr Wright’s wonderful ability to entertain.  His transformation into character (which he accurately describes as an autistic Doctor Who) when he dons his top hat is wonderful; he is clearly a performer who has worked hard on character development and whose performing experience shines through.

Mr Wright’s minty variation on a Derren Brown effect was most delightful, and he certainly took the ambitious card in an interesting direction, avoiding the common magical trap of coming across as potentially egotistical and arrogant to spectators by having the magic happen around and seemingly unbeknownst to him.

As his finale, Matthew offered us an interesting magical trio. He performed the same effect with three different presentations, each differing greatly and having their own merits – a perfect demonstration of how presentation can dramatically alter a magic trick, be shifted to suit a different performance environment or serve to elevate an effect to new heights.

He emphasised that as well as buying new tricks, we should take existing effects we already perform and see how we can perform them differently. The evidence of why presentation is key to making you a better magician was clear for all to see in Matthew’s extremely polished routines, and his message that character development shouldn’t be something to be afraid of will no doubt motivate all that were present.  It was a pleasure to watch as much as it was to learn, and we will certainly all be better magicians for having seen Matthew Wright perform and lecture.