Mentalism Competition

2 May 2004

Paul Bromley presented a solidly crafted set from start to finish. He told an intriguing story which had some funny moments and his routine had a logical, cohesive structure. It involved a Sherlock Holmes Whodunit, and there was a prediction which revealed that the correct murderer and motive had been uncovered. Then followed a cleverly scripted anagram addendum which gave the routine a nice exclamation mark.

Kevin Morton offered a nascent notion of a 'character act' with the help of Max. There was a gem of an idea here and I think, with some polishing, an act with huge potential. Part of the appeal however was in the unscripted haphazardness of things. There was a colour prediction, card divination and in a rare turn of events, Matt Parro took to the stage and didn't end up with egg on his face!!!

Simon Treserden performed an assortment of effects which revolved around a Victorian theme. There was some really strong mentalism here which included predictions, coincidences and divinations. Although the performance was slightly hurried it will morph into an engaging,  compelling and atmospheric routine when not restricted by time.

A sincere congratulation to all competitors, the quality of all three acts was extremely high and the overall scoring was extremely close. This was mirrored on my scorecard as I had Paul ahead with his immaculate presentation, Simon edging it with the strength of his magical content and Kevin scoring high with the naturalness of his entertainment. Paul Bromley claimed the trophy.

Giles

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