LITERAT0RE REvIEW: EFFICAY T0

ENTERTAINNENT IN PERF0RNANCE NAuIC

!"# %&'&#( )* +,-"./"0 )1*2
Nagic has a histoiy that spans millennia, anu the way that magic has been piesenteu has
evolveu immensely ovei this time. Books publisheu by histoiians between 18Su anu 19Su may
give us some insight into one of the moie iecent anu significant uevelopments, wheieby the
piesentation of conjuiing giauually shifteu fiom being offeieu to the public as a sacieu iitual to
being piesenteu as a piece of enteitainment.
Eliphias Levi's publication !"# %&'()*+ ), -./&0 (Levi, 186u) is an histoiical account of magic
fiom the peispective of a society which consiueieu the occult as a viable option foi channelling
sacieu powei; 'the science of the ancient magi. chaiacteiizeu as the Royal Ait, as the Boly
Kinguom - 1.20(34 5#/234' (Levi, 186u: 4). Accoiuing to the authoi, the book of Enoch
accuiately chionicles how magic began, wheie 'angels, the sons of gou. weie initiates of Nagic,
anu it was this that they communicateu to piofane men' (Levi, 186u: 4u). The book was
publisheu at a time when belief in the occult was enjoying a ievival, as 0kiainian occultist Belena
Petiovna Blavatsky hau speaiheaueu the Theosophical Society, with the piimaiy goal of
uemonstiating univeisality in an ancient wisuom uoctiine (Blavatsky, 1877).
Conveisely, at the same time, magic in Westein Euiope, paiticulaily in the 0K, was
incieasingly being consiueieu as a moue of enteitainment. %&6&2/ ("# 78#9".2( (Steinmeyei,
2uuS) is a chionicle of the peifoiming magicians in Lonuon acioss the late-19
th
anu eaily-2u
th

centuiies. In contiast to Levi's book, Steinmeyei's novel chaits the iise of magic as a foim of
enteitainment iathei than as a iitual. Be gives the example of Iiish playwiight anu actoi Bion
Boucicault peifoiming a iitual without any occultist pietence: 'Boucicault. hosteu a sance
oichestiateu by two stiangeis. |Bej was not a paiticulaily ieligious man, noi a followei of
Spiiitualism' (Robeit-Bouuin, 1878: 49). This shows how those who peifoimeu 'supeinatuial'
feats may not all have been unuei the belief that they possesseu any mystical powei, anu insteau
playeu to the supeistitions of the auuience foi effect.
A name mentioneu by many histoiians of tuin-of-the-centuiy magic peifoimeis, such as
Nichael Nangan, Nilbouine Chiistophei anu }im Steinmeyei, is }ean Eugene Robeit-Bouuin.
Nilbouine Chiistophei, an Ameiican illusionist anu histoiian, claims that one of Robeit-Bouuin's
most influential moments was when he uefineu the complex anu novel piesentation methou he
was tiying to achieve (Chiistophei anu Chiistophei, 2uu6), a methou uesciibeu as 'fictitious
magic', in which he iejecteu 'piestiuigitation' (the association of gieat skill anu uexteiity to the
peifoimance of magic) anu '#'0.4)(./#' (the association of magic to 'classic' effects, such as
cutting anu iestoiing a iope) (in Nangan, 2uu7: 99). These weie intenueu by Robeit-Bouuin to
uelibeiately uiffeientiate the 'conjuiei' fiom the 'jugglei', as 'A conjuioi is not a jugglei; he is an
actoi playing the pait of a magician' (Ibiu.). By using this methou, Robeit-Bouuin saiu that 'the
conjuioi claims to possess supeinatuial poweis' (Robeit-Bouuin, 1878: 4S), but while
pieviously conjuiois woulu claim to possess tiue poweis of the occult, the auuience anu
magician woulu continue unuei the knowleuge that this claim was spuiious. The peifoimance
woulu, theiefoie, iely on the 'best tiauitions of Romantic theatie's uepenuence on the auuience's
suspension of uisbelief' (Nangan, 2uu7: 1uu), wheie both the auuience anu the peifoimei accept
that (at least foi the uuiation of the peifoimance) the claim of supeinatuial powei was valiu.
Accoiuing to anothei histoiian of magic, Baviu Colbeit, the biggest iuentifiei of a conjuioi
thioughout histoiy has always been that most iconic of piops associateu with conjuiois - the
magic wanu. In conseciateu iituals, the iitual leauei woulu often holu a ueiivative of the wanu.
The use of such a piop can be seen even as fai back as the Stone Age, wheie cave paintings show
figuies holuing sticks, which can be consiueieu as symbolic iepiesentations of theii powei
(Colbeit, 2uu1: 19S). ueiman jouinalist Ivai Lissnei complements this with his account of events
in Cential Asia, wheie ieligious, healing, anu othei magical ceiemonies conuucteu by a shaman
woulu also have consisteu of a similai staff shape (Lissnei, 2u11). Lissnei, Colbeit anu magician
Robeit-Bouuin aie all agieeu about the wanu's powei - whethei symbolic oi liteial. Robeit-
Bouuin states that the wanu's use in 19
th
centuiy conjuiing peifoimances woulu valiuate the
peifoimance of the illusionist: 'this elegant little staff is the emblem of his magic powei. A touch.
foims the scause of its tiansfoimation oi uisappeaiance' (Robeit-Bouuin, 1878: 6S). In this way
we see a cleai iemnant of iitualistic magic being utiliseu in a theatiical context to uemonstiate
supeinatuial powei as a uiamatuigical symbol iathei than as an integial pait of the peifoimei's
skill.
Peifoimance piofessoi anu jouinalist Richaiu Schechnei, whose book :#*,)*4.20# 1(36&#'; <2
=2(*)630(&)2 uiscusses peifoimance on a wiue cultuial scale, uesciibes this shift fiom iitual to
enteitainment as the 'Efficacy-Enteitainment Byau' (Schechnei, 2u1S: 71). Be explains that the
change is not a move fiom iitual to theatie but is insteau a shift fiom efficacy to enteitainment,
as it is not the event but the puipose that changes:
If the peifoimei's puipose is to effect change, then |.j the peifoimance is iitual. But if
the peifoimance's puipose is mostly to give pleasuie, to show off, to be beautiful, oi to
pass the time, then the peifoimance is an enteitainment. The fact is that no peifoimance
is puie efficacy oi puie enteitainment (Schechnei, 2u1S: 71).
This uiscouise, which aigues that, while a peifoimance may have efficacy oi enteitainment as
its intention, iesolves by saying that a peifoimance cannot be uefineu as just one oi the othei so
cleaily. Nangan, an authoi who analyses the state of conjuiing peifoimance in Englanu, howevei,
uses 'belief' anu 'unbelief' (Nangan, 2uu7: S1) as his scale. Be tells an anecuote fiom a
17
th
centuiy peifoimance tioupe playing Nailowe's >)0()* ?.3'(3', wheie the peifoimeis weie
peisuaueu 'theie was one uevil too many amongst them' (E.K. Chambeis in Nangan, 2uu7: S2).
This iaises the possibility that, uuiing a time in Englanu wheie people hau a belief (anu feai) of
'ieal' magic, peifoimeis of a show in which magic takes place weie constantly waiy of being ())
iealistic. At this time, when belief in witchciaft was wiuespieau, 'those who weie accuseu of
piactising magic in this sense weie in genuine uangei of being punisheu by ueath' (Nangan,
2uu7: SS). The peifoimance of >)0()* ?.3'(3' mentioneu in the anecuote uemonstiates a point
at which - foi those involveu - a peifoimance of a fictitious natuie may cioss the line into ieality.
This is echoeu in Levi's account of notable piosecutions of those peifoiming magic as eithei
iitual oi (moie commonly) as enteitainment. Levi says that 'excommunication at that time was a
teiiible penalty' (Levi, 186u: 2S6), befoie listing a host of those who met with toituie,
banishment anu being buineu alive foi piactising magic between 1118 anu the eaily 19
th

centuiy.
Nilbouine Chiistophei agiees, using a statement by St Beinaiu of Claivaux, a 12
th
-centuiy
abbot anu 'piimaiy builuei of the iefoiming Cisteician oiuei' (Wikipeuia, 2uu6), to summaiise
the attituue of the majoiity of the cleigy: 'the tiicks of mountebanks |chailatans who use tiicks to
swinule moneyj "nevei pleaseu uou"' (Chiistophei anu Chiistophei, 2uu6: 16). Accoiuing to
Chiistophei, high chuich authoiities launcheu a
long, iuthless campaign against witchciaft, uevil woiship anu soiceiy, |cjonjuiois, who
claimeu no uemonic poweis, suffeieu along with othei innocent victims. Aftei
peifoiming in Italy, a man nameu Reatius was seizeu anu toituieu until he aumitteu he
piouuceu his ueceptions with sleight of hanu anu the help of confeueiates (Chiistophei
anu Chiistophei, 2uu6: 17).
The issue, accoiuing to Schechnei, is the potential slippage between one kinu of 'magic' anu
the othei - between efficacy anu enteitainment. Nangan, howevei, says that it is not possible to
chait a simple lineai piogiession fiom ''piimitive' cultuies, who believe in magic-as-efficacy,
thiough to 'sophisticateu' ones' (Nangan, 2uu7: SS), but that the publication of !"#
>&'0)@#*&#|sicj ), A&(0"0*.,( by Reginalu Scot in 1S84 positively affecteu the peisecution of
'witches'. The book, accoiuing to Nangan, hau, as its sole aim, to show how 'supposeu feats |of
conjuioisj, which weie fuelling the giowing feais of witches, actually hau nothing to uo with
occult poweis' (Nangan, 2uu7: 42). Nangan aigues that the main ieason why Scot's book was so
ieveieu ovei the 16
th
centuiy was that it is the 'piime example in English of a slowly iising tiue of
iational sceptisism among wiiteis conceining populai beliefs in the occult' (Ibiu.). Chiistophei
goes on to say that the book 'was intenueu to combat the witchhunting ciaze' sweeping Euiope
anu that, of those who believeu that conjuiois hau aiu fiom the uevil, Scot hau 'ueciueu to set
them stiaight' (Chiistophei anu Chiistophei, 2uu6: 2S). Accoiuing to Nangan, Scot's book
concluues that theie is no haim in the conjuioi's ait, saying of the effects cieateu by illusionists
that 'these aie no supeinatuial actions, but uevices of men, anu nimble conveyances' (Scot, 1S84,
in Nangan, 2uu7: 48).
As saiu by Nangan (2uu7:49), a similaily themeu book that is uiscusseu among many
histoiians of magic (among them Chiistophei (2uu6:24)) is Samuel Riu's !"# <*( ), B3/8&2/ )*
C#/#*6#4.&2# |sicj(1612). At the time, 'jugglei' was an umbiella teim foi stieet peifoimeis oi
those with ciicus skills, anu Riu wanteu to ieuefine this teim to mean 'the nimble conveyance
anu iight uexteiity of the hanu' (Riu in Nangan, 2uu7: 49). Nangan tells how the book also
ieveals many methous of illusions, such as a tiick wheieby a hoise is able to tap his hooves the
same numbei of times as theie aie people in a ioom (Ibiu.). Fascinatingly, Chiistophei extenus
this anecuote to note that, when this tiick was latei peifoimeu by Noioccan hoise tiainei Banks,
'Banks anu his hoise weie both buineu by less toleiant officials in Rome' (Chiistophei anu
Chiistophei, 2uu6: 24). Nangan exploies this haish ietaliation when uiscussing the fluiu natuie
of the ielationship between efficacy anu enteitainment, stating how the supeistition 'existeu in
the minu of the auuience iathei than in the attituues of the authoiities', anu theiefoie aigues
that, while an auuience coulu be accepting of the iuea of a magical (but not sacieu) peifoimance,
the authoiities woulu not take chances (Nangan, 2uu7: S7).
Fiom these souices, the uefining moment when magic shifteu fiom being an act of sacieu
impoitance to a peifoimance uesigneu to enteitain is still unceitain. Bowevei, books like
Reginalu Scot's !"# >&'0)@#*&# ), A&(0"0*.,( anu Samuel Riu's !"# <*( ), B3/8&2/ )* C#/#*6#4.&2#
in the 1S
th
- anu 16
th
-centuiies went some way to tiy to uispel the uaik, occult status associateu
with conjuiois, anu }ean Eugene Robeit-Bouuin's woik in ieuefining the magician in the late
19
th
centuiy helpeu foimulate a uiffeientiation between what was pieviously consiueieu a ciicus
ait to a skill of both uexteiity anu peifoimance. It is impiobable that any of these authois coulu
have known the iipples of theii woik so many centuiies aftei they weie penneu, anu who (if any)
of the cuiient histoiians on magic as both a iitual anu a piece of enteitainment will shape the
face of conjuiing in the futuie. To quote anothei famous authoi on magic, 'The consequences of
oui actions aie always so complicateu, so uiveise, that pieuicting the futuie is a veiy uifficult
business inueeu' (Rowling, 1999: 426).



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iu
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iu
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