arguably more mysterious realm of personal and romantic relationships. The young magician’s father is also a magician, but unlike his son, he performs at a tawdry casino, where he barely earns a living by performing the same act day after day. The Magic Play contrasts these two performers, offering rare insight into an often insular world. (Magicians like it that way: they have secrets to keep.) Magic as performance predates historical records, emerging from religious rituals in most of the world’s civilizations. Its development in the West was tied closely with the occult and with a belief in witchcraft; in much of Europe, Christian “respectable” citizens eschewed magic performances until the 18th and 19th centuries, when perception favorably shifted. It was during this period that magic moved from streets and fairs to theaters, where audiences paid to see a formal performance. A major pacesetter in this shift was Frenchman Jean Eugene As a young man, Robert-Houdin took up magic after purchasing a set of books on clock-making but finding that the shopkeeper had given him books on magic instead. Teaching himself tricks, he attained gigs at private parties among the wealthy, dressing in formal wear to fit in with his audiences. When he opened his own theater in 1845, he insisted its interior be as grand as the houses where he previously performed: he had it painted Continued on page 41 with gold trim, chandeliers hung and the stage decorated with showy furniture in the style of Louis XV, who had reigned a century
arguably more mysterious realm of personal and romantic relationships. The young magician’s father is also a magician, but unlike his son, he performs at a tawdry casino, where he barely earns a living by performing the same act day after day. The Magic Play contrasts these two performers, offering rare insight into an often insular world. (Magicians like it that way: they have secrets to keep.) Magic as performance predates historical records, emerging from religious rituals in most of the world’s civilizations. Its development in the West was tied closely with the occult and with a belief in witchcraft; in much of Europe, “respectable” Christian citizens eschewed magic performances until the 18th and 19th centuries, when perception favorably shifted. It was during this period that magic moved from streets and fairs to theaters, where audiences paid to see a formal performance. A major pacesetter in this shift was Frenchman Jean Eugene As a young man, Robert-Houdin took up magic after purchasing a set of books on clock-making but finding that the shopkeeper had given him books on magic instead. Teaching himself tricks, he attained gigs at private parties among the wealthy, dressing in formal wear to fit in with his audiences. When he opened his own theater in 1845, he insisted its interior be as grand as the houses where he previously performed: he had it painted Continued on page 41 with gold trim, chandeliers hung and the stage decorated with showy furniture in the style of Louis XV, who had reigned a century