Événement

A Night of Magic at the Strand

Magic is Coming to the Strand

On Saturday, August 31 the Strand Theatre in downtown Vicksburg will present a night of magic. The evening will begin with a live performance by Joe M. Turner, a native Mississippian and professional magician/mentalist for the past 24 years. Joe will share some of the world-class magic that has taken him to 50 countries on six continents: from the Hollywood Magic Castle to the London Palladium.

After Joe's performance, there will be a screening of Lost in the Shuffle, a new documentary set in the world of card magic that recently enjoyed its world premiere at Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. Featuring five of the world's top sleight-of-hand artists, it looks at the seemingly endless amount of inspiration that magicians can draw from a simple deck of cards and explores a tantalizing theory from two-time world champion Shawn Farquhar that hidden in the art of every standard deck are the clues to a cold case murder.

Shawn has been surrounded by cards for as long as he can remember, but after a trip to France, he learned some interesting history that caused him to wonder why the court cards look the way they do. Of particular interest was the King of Hearts, also known as the Suicide King, because he appears to be stabbing himself in the head.

Shawn believes there is a much more sinister story: that an actual medieval French king was assassinated at the hand of his own wife. Now Shawn is out to see if his theory is true - will the greatest illusion of all prove to be that an ancient cold-case murder has been hiding under our noses all this time?

And when the truth is discovered, Shawn proceeds to do the only logical thing about it: he sets out to construct a card trick that tells the story. But he wants it to be perfect, so he travels, not only to France, but around the world to consult with four of his mentors/peers. After explaining his theory about the secret hidden in every deck of playing cards, each of the four magicians advises Shawn on what they feel should be included in his trick; each reflecting his/her philosophy of magic.

Along the way we learn many secrets of magic, but knowing how it's done does not mean you will not be amazed repeatedly.

The Strand Theatre is located at 717 Clay Street. The event will begin at 7 PM.