The Magic Menagerie by Todd Landman

Dr. Todd Landman’s books are not only some of the top selling books at Stevens Magic, they are also the most revered by both his peers and our esteemed customers.  I know this for a fact as I see the orders that come in and they are from the most prestigious names in the industry as well as people who are serious about upping their game.  Naturally we at Stevens Magic Emporium are honored to be the exclusive distributor.

In The Magic Menagerie, Todd Landman offers a fully scripted parlor show that explores the idea of a ‘memory play’; a reconstruction of his magical past that is part fact and part fiction, or what he calls ‘truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.’ The book includes discussion of the setting, context, patter, and handlings of a variety of routines, which combine close-up magic, mentalism and bizarre magic with an academic twist. The collection includes book tests, gambling stories, a disappearing show girl, Odd Fellows coming to the rescue, the power of icons, Tarot and Dante, and the power of memory. The bonus section includes the design and delivery of a 90-minute stage show that Todd Landman was commissioned to do to celebrate 50 years of the University of Essex. The show includes stage presentations of theatrical mentalism that explore politics, history, mathematics, philosophy and literature, all with dynamic audience interaction and meaningful impact.

‘Todd Landman has the remarkable ability to take his audience where he wants them to go. His magic is delicate. It whispers mystery to the room. He mystifies, to be sure, but the most striking feature of his show is his uncanny knack of placing an entire audience into a dream state, or, more accurately, he walks us through daydreams: his daydreams, our daydreams. You are about to see how he accomplishes this alchemy, for the book before you is amongst the very best pieces of performance writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading.’  From the Foreword by Professor BC

Contents include:

• Foreword by Professor BC

• A Memory Play

• A Conjurer’s Bag

• Le Bateleur & The Strange Case of Lola McGuire

• Icons

• Salud, Diñero, y Amor

• A Memory Box

• Bonus Material

About the author:  Dr. Todd Landman is Professor of Government and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Essex. He has published numerous books, articles, and chapters on the politics of development, democracy and human rights. He has travelled to over 35 countries working on a variety of training and capacity building projects for national and international public and private organisations. He appears regularly in the media, at public events, and as an entertainer. He combines his interest in philosophy, history, politics, science, magic and the unknown to provide a unique form of mystery entertainment. He is Founder of the British Society of Mystery Entertainers, Associate Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star (AIMC), Member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and Visiting Professor of Performance Magic at the University of Huddersfield. He is author of Metaphysical Magic, The Bequeathment, and Épistémentalogie, and editor of The Magiculum – Also available at Stevens Magic Emporium – (see bottom of page).