Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2006 | Page 62
Magic moments for
grown-ups...
Say the name ‘Randini’ and most
people think of party tricks for
kids – but there’s a lot more to this
Island entertainer, as we found out.
It had been “one of those” weeks for Marks
and Spencer department manager Nick
Pointing, so when he arrived home to the
sight of a fully-laid dinner table and the
unexpected sound of guests in the sitting
room, his heart sank with the thought that
he must have forgotten something.
But no – this was to be a very special
40th birthday treat, as he soon
realised when the sitting room
doors flew open to a resounding
chorus of “Surprise!”
And as if the dinner party wasn’t
enough of a surprise – there was
more intrigue to come when, at
the coffee and mints stage of the
proceedings, a knock at the front
door signalled the arrival of the
entertainment, in the shape of local
magician David Randini.
Randini is, of course, known
Island-wide as a children’s magical
entertainer and a road safety
presenter – but it’s a lesser-known
fact that almost half his time is
spent performing close-up table
magic at parties for grown-ups.
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Says David, who followed in the
magical footsteps of his father the
Great Randini: “I’m perceived here
very much as a children’s entertainer
because that kind of work is much
more visible, but the fact is that
half of what I do is at adult parties.
That’s an unfortunate term with all
sorts of connotations but my shows
definitely do not involve anything
blue, rude, filthy or dirty – most of it
is close-up table magic and because
it goes on mainly behind closed
doors at private parties, it remains
unknown to a lot of people”.
Randini, who reckons he’s
performed at no less than 10,000
dinner tables since he began the
grown-up party circuit, is popular
for weddings and corporate events
as well as small, intimate dinner
party gatherings.
Apart from know-how about
magical tricks, he says another vital
skill is in being able to suss out a
table of people and then home in
on the ones who are most open to
playing along.
“I try to concentrate on magic that
I can do in people’s own hands or
which is personalised to them,” he
says. “With adults, you often get
people who say that they know
how all the tricks are done, but they
still enjoy them”.
Perhaps one of Randini’s str [