Frankfurt – Audiences have to look very closely to catch the trick as magician Peter Boner unveils what seems to be a normal bunch of flowers standing in front of a mirror.
The unusual thing about these flowers is that they don’t seem to cast a reflection in the glass. Then – abracadabra, the flowers gradually take on form in the mirror.
Boner’s trick was inspired by none other than Harry Potter, the hero of the books penned by writer Joanne K. Rowling.
The owner of a magic mail order firm called Magic of Peter Pan, Boner spends much of his time thinking up new tricks. The Potter novels are a major source of inspiration.
Of course, he can only borrow so much from fiction: “We cannot perform real miracles as such,” he admits, “we can only create illusions.”
Much as Boner might like to fly through the air on a Nimbus 2000, he has to make do with floating a broom in thin air before his audience’s very eyes. “That trick’s been going for 30 years and it still draws in the crowds,” he says.
The would-be wizard is not only a source of ideas but also the best advertising the company could hope for. “The success of the books has made society, and especially youngsters, more aware of our profession,” says Wilfried Possin, the chairman of the Frankfurt- based German Magic Circle.
The books have also had an effect on magicians’ performances, with those from Frankfurt particularly in demand for events linked with the German launch of the fourth Harry Potter instalment, The Goblet of Fire.
However, there has been no comparable increase in the number of applications received for membership of the German Circle. The tally of members has remained constant at around 2,300, spread across some 80 districts.
“That is because we only accept adults who are already well- practised magicians,” Possin explains. Young Harry Potter wannabes have to be content to learn their trade from books, or at night school.
The “magic bug” tends to strike youngsters around the age of 12, according to Harold Voit, the headmaster of the one and only European magicians’ college, which is based in Munich but also operates in Nuremberg and Leipzig.
To coincide with Harry Potter fever, Voit offers several introductory courses for children. Some respondents he hopes to meet again in a few years time as students of the college.
Training lasts two years in all. Entrants need show no previous knowledge of magic but must be over 18 years of age. “They have to be old enough to grasp the acting and psychological elements of the course,” he explains.
The college currently boasts 60 students of magic. Graduation guarantees automatic entry into the Magic Circle.
Recently, as the fourth Potter book went on sale in Germany, all 17 members of Voit’s teaching staff were employed as part of the launch drive.
“We didn’t try to imitate Harry Potter,” he reveals, “rather we developed new tricks using themes in the book.” Of course, he too dreams of turning the laws of nature on their head and flying about on a broomstick, “but that is sadly just not possible.”
Markus Schoener, a professional magician from Dachau near Munich, has mixed feelings about his fictional rival Potter.
Although his talents are sought after like never before, the standards expected by his audience are similarly not what they once were: “Often at children’s birthday parties you’ll hear a child complaining: ‘Harry Potter can do real magic, you can only do tricks’.”
