Boyd by magic

The name Boyd means ‘yellow gold’ and the allusion is an apt one for someone who deals with an ancient art that includes alchemy as one of it’s stocks in trades.

This article is about one of ‘the Boyd’s’, magician and illusionist Michael Boyd who was in Tasmania earlier this year as part of the ‘ Viva Las Vegas’ production. At that time Michael fell in love with the Theatre Royal and this month he returns for his own complete show, ‘Mystique’ which played at the Athenaeum in Melbourne last year. Michael has a busy schedule touring around Tasmania, to reacquaint himself with the Theatre Royal and to the Princess Theatre in Launceston of which he is already familiar having performed there on previous occasions. Michael is looking forward to returning to Tasmania and hopefully between performances having the opportunity to sample some of the renowned Tasmania food. If anyone can create that spare time Michael as a master of magic is the one to do it!

It seems Michael was destined to be a magician with both his grandfather and great-grandfather before him being magicians. Michael believes like the circus being in the blood of it’s performers, so it is for magicians. Although his grandfather and great grandfather performed with much older style props compared to Michaels $7,000 set from Las Vegas which uses state of the art technology. However it is dressed up, magic is magic and as Michael says the actual ‘trick’ or illusion plays a very small part in the overall presentation. Skill and showmanship are what makes a magician/illusionist. As Michael explains, magic and illusion are a visual medium where new ideas and twists on old combine with perfection in lighting, excellence in equipment and timing to pull of a seemingly impossible effect.

I wonder if there ever a chance Michael would have had another career and he tells me that for a time a career as a production assistant was a possibility. I can see that such a job would require some of the skills of the magician based as it is on creating illusion.

So many elements come together to create an illusion, what does Michael think of the ‘debunkers’ of recent times that seek to take the mystery out of a well honed illusion? Michael believes ironically that these magicians have helped in generating new interest in magic. Although he doesn’t advocate telling all he doesn’t believe this demystifying has done any harm in getting new recruits. Michael counts magician Consentino among one of those he has advised and he also has a young magician as well as 3 dancers accompanying him on this tour.

Michael is inspiration for up and coming magicians, who then are his inspiration? Michael’s heroes in the world of magic are David Copperfield and Siegfried and Roy. Roy was badly injured in a misunderstanding when he fell and the tiger attempted to rescue him not realising pulling him by the neck, although the method employed with tiger cubs, would cause bad injury to a human. What ensued left Roy with some paralysis. The incident reminds Michael that in his performance he must be aware of ever present and unforeseen dangers.

Michael is always keen to make people realise that what he does his very skilled illusion. In admitting that, I ask does Michael believe that perhaps there is a possibility of something otherworldly involved in his or other magicians alchemy and the mystery of Houdini and his destroyed notebooks.

Michael talks about Houdini’s attempts to contact the other world and code words but says even through all Houdini’s exhaustive attempts there is still no documentation of contact between the two worlds and perhaps there should be this mystery. Philosophically Michael says yes there is something inexplicable about magic but there is also something very clear about it and the real magic is what we see on the faces of the children and the young of heart that see his show.

What does he consider his most difficult act? Well he nominates the death chamber which includes a cabinet of spikes being roped in and fire!

You can see how Michael escapes from this difficult situation in ‘Mystique Magic and Illusion Spectacular’ at:

Launceston Country Club Show Room
Friday 4 January 2013 – 2.00pm
Friday 4 January 2013 – 8.00pm

Hobart Theatre Royal
Saturday 5 January 2013 – 2:00pm
Saturday 5 January 2013 – 8:00pm
Sunday 6 January 2013 – 2:00pm

Devonport Entertainment and Convention Centre
Tuesday 8 January 2013
Paula Xiberras