TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Sav aka Deceptionist plays his cards right Photo by Craig Bruce

Deceptionist, the Dorking-based illusionist counts Keira Knightley and Chris Moyles among his clients. John Thynne is entranced
You dont want something going wrong on stage because youve got everybody watching you at the same time. But if youre doing a mix and mingle party you can always breeze over it because they dont know whats going to happen next. Sav fell in love with magic at an early age. When I was nine or 10, I went to a holiday park and there was a magician there called Malcolm Norton who inspired me, he says. But before that, my gran used to like magic on TV and we used to watch the Paul Daniels show together. Shed also do this one trick where shed make a key move by itself. So that kind of got me into it. So, at 38, how many tricks can he do? Ive no idea, he says. Ive probably forgotten more than I know and I still know quite a lot! Growing up near Dudley in the Midlands he found that magic helped him to be popular at school. People would go, Oh yeah theres the magic kid, he says. But it wasnt until he was studying for his degree in fine art at De Montfort University in Leicester that he discovered that

can read peoples minds, I can pick peoples pockets, I can cheat at cards, I can perform conjuring tricks and I can do psychological-based illusions. All that stuff would encompass that word - Deceptionist. So says Ian Saville he prefers to be known as Deceptionist or by his nickname, Sav, so as to avoid confusion with another magician of the same name. He is the consummate entertainer. Take a look at his website deceptionist.co.uk and youll find a host of testimonials from the likes of actress Keira Knightley (Thanks for the marvellous show for my 21st you made the night even more special), Radio 1s Chris Moyles, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sir Terence Conran, all of whom have been beguiled by the Dorking illusionist. He explains the thinking behind his unusual stage name: I wanted a word I could sell as a brand that explained what I did. When you say magic to somebody they can sometimes have preconceived ideas of pulling rabbits out of hats and of kids parties. I thought, Deceptionist

thats quite a good word. Its magic with a bit of wit it sounds a bit naughty. And it has negative connotations which I quite like because magic is all about pulling the wool over your eyes... Exciting as it sounds, you dont get as good as Sav without a lot of hard graft. When I call him at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon hes just finished practising for a show hes putting on the next day at Londons Hospital Club. If Ive got a new routine, Ill practise it for five hours a day, he says. Id never buy an Xbox because if I played it Id feel guilty for not doing anything. And when hes not spending time with his wife and young daughter (I like to make her dummy disappear), doing admin or attending to his website, hes working out or doing martial arts. When youre working late at night and weird hours it does actually take it out of you. You have to stay focused and to stay focused you have to be quite fit, he says. All that preparation means he seldom makes mistakes - even when he does slip up, he usually has an escape route. You can normally cover mistakes, he says.

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trickery could potentially earn him some money. Id work in bars and restaurants and entertain people between their courses, he says. He furthered his journey into the world of magic on a road trip across America, stopping to perform along the way. I was a bit like The Littlest Hobo, he laughs. I wanted to meet loads of really famous magicians on route.

When you say magic people have preconceived ideas

Despite the fact that Deceptionists act is decidedly modern look at clips of him performing sleights of hand and you can see why he appeals at stylish, corporate events and parties it is interesting to note that most of his magical heroes have departed this world. Most of the magicians I read about are dead. There was a bloke I looked up to called Dai Vernon (a much-respected Canadian entertainer known as The Professor who died in 1992 aged 98) and a guy called Theo Annemann who was a mind-reader. In fact Sav, a member of the legendary

Magic Circle, reads a lot he has a library of some 2,000 magic books at home, including one dating from the late 1800s entitled Fools of Fortune by John Philip Quinn. Its probably the earliest book on how to cheat at cards, he says. A keen student of the art, Sav has also turned to teaching as a source of additional income. Budding magicians can visit his website (sleightclub.co.uk) and sign up to receive the secrets of three top magical effects if you like what you see you can subscribe to a longer course. He was also recently approached by Dorking-based publisher, Templar, to be a consultant on one of its childrens books. Aimed at eight-year-olds upwards, Illusionology, by Emily Hawkins, reveals the secrets behind famous tricks and explores some of the scientific principles behind them. It also includes step-by-step instructions and accessories designed to help beginners show off their own magic. I made sure the tricks were written up correctly and that kind of thing, says Sav. I think theres a picture of me in there somewhere too. Sav decided to become a full-time entertainer when he was made redundant from his job as a graphic designer in 1998 and he has since made a decent living

through performances at weddings, corporate parties, hospitality functions and private house parties. He admits that magic has allowed him to visit extraordinary places (One of my clients has a huge house in Dubai) and meet numerous influential and famous people. Another browse of his website reveals pictures of him mingling with the likes of Stephen Fry, Jarvis Cocker, Ray Winstone, Annie Lennox and a group of Saudi princes. He still has time for smaller, local shows, though, and has occasionally been seen bewitching regulars at The Star pub in Dorking. I ask him whether hes ever seen a trick he could not explain. Generally I can always work something out in the end if I need to, he says. There are a few things that Paul Daniels did which I loved and I could probably find out how he did them but... I dont want to do those because theyre his tricks. Ill just leave it as a mystery. Its nice to have mysteries, you know?

n To find out more about Deceptionist visit: deceptionist.co.uk n Illusionology, by Emily Hawkins and published by Templar, is available in cased hardback for 17.99

surreydownsmagazine.co.uk

June 11