Animal Magic at Douglas Youth Centre

GASPS of amazement were heard coming from Douglas Youth Centre in Kensington Road on Sunday afternoon.

The Young Magicians of Mann were performing in ‘Animal Magic’, their latest magic show for the Department of Education Youth Service’s Youth Events Committee.

Every seat in the centre’s theatre was filled for the show, organised by Paul Martin and Mike Clague.

Mike, the Department's Youth and Community Adviser, said: 'The family audience were wonderfu and definitely helped our nine young magicians to entertain and, hopefully, amaze. Feedback from the audience has been very positive.'

Daisy the panto cow showed off her dance steps and linked the acts together. Castle Rushen High School pupil Juan Corrin was bamboozled by bottles and performed the classic ‘egg bag’ trick with audience member T. J. Schofield.

Youngest members Daniel Quayle from Onchan and Chris Corlett from St Johns showed how to levitate and make Daisy’s milk go a long way.

Melissa Dove worked wonders with a rather unusual holiday souvenir - Count Dracula’s lunch box.

The sophisticated sleight of hand of Michael Goddard resulted in an appreciative audience response, as did Richard Betteridge’s ‘smelly’ act.

The many children present joined in to help Richard Goddard find a missing wolf and Philip Morrison to do some magical painting.

Mike said: 'The magic was interspersed with a ghost hunt, but the ghost escaped to appear in future shows. The show ended with a sequence of illusions, leaving everyone spellbound and with lots to talk about for weeks to come.'

He added: 'The Youth Events Committee are very grateful for the support given by Paul Ellison and Martin MacFarlane from Manx Lighting, who supervised our young technical team of Joseph Callister and Jake Burns. They did a great job, and the lighting and sound was brilliant.'

The Young Magicians of Mann intend to tour the show around some primary schools later in the year. They can also be seen at summer fairs and welcome other opportunities to perform.