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ARTISTRY

Popular Magician
Producer, TV Presenter & Actor
ROBIN FOX
(UK)
“A life of adventure is a life of Magic”

British professional magician, independent producer, TV presenter, actor and story-teller Robin Fox, comes from a singular lineage which includes artists, a Lord Mayor, a band of Gypsies and a gang of cannonball makers. This colorful mix is probably what accounts for his varied talents and natural charms.

When he was only 14, young Robin already let his thirst of adventure drive him away from home, with plans to join the Circus.

Having travelled to many countries around the world and toured the UK several times, Robin has kept doing what he likes the most, entertaining audiences and bringing a smile to people’s faces.

Robin has a soft spot for charitable projects and it is very usual to find him helping both people’s and animal’s associations from varied countries.

As a magician, his superbly fast hand moves and his ability to captivate the public, make him a very sought-after professional in an area where amateurs proliferate like in few others.

A particular interest in the History of the Victorian era and the Middle ages is something he has reflected in one of his latest projects: "The Top Hat Tales".

Adventurous and infinitely curious, Robin has a knack for communicating with people of all backgrounds and from all walks of life, which makes his short documentaries as fun as they are authentic and unique.

We are very lucky to be able to interview Robin, a multi-talented and popular local personality, in the month of July, for this is probably his busiest season when it comes to Magic gigs and TV production.

MDM_ Thank you Robin, we truly appreciate you finding the time for this interview.

1. MDM_ In your biography you shared that, since you were little, you already felt very attracted to unusual professions and characters. When did you discover that you had a special ability for magic tricks?

1. ROBIN_ Yes that's right, when people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up at four years old my answer was always distinctly, "Either a Tramp or a Clown!" My influences were Charlie Chaplin, Tommy Cooper, Paul Daniels, Sooty, Worzel Gummage and my Parents. They bought me a Paul Daniels Magic set when I was 4 and I remember doing some of the tricks to them in our flat in Wimbledon. This is actually one of my happiest and earliest memories. It was an amazing feeling to play with magic and illusion although I knew then, as I do now, that Magic (Real or Trickery) is nothing without Belief.

2. MDM_ In your opinion, what does a TV or film production benefit the most from: a very detailed script with plenty of guidelines and instructions or a cast/presenter with a natural capacity to improvise?

2. ROBIN_ Most film and TV programs are scripted. It really depends on the type of production. I personally really enjoy improvisation and find I can get footage and interviews that I would not have been able to do with a script. I think some form of script is important though, even if only used as a guideline. If there is no script at all then things can wander a little or a lot as some of my projects have done in the past!

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3. MDM_ The scariest moment out of one of your international travels would be…:

3. ROBIN_ In September 2007 whilst on my Third Charity tour to Russia. I was performing in a school in South Ossetia with two Spanish clowns and an American sponsor who we had incorporated into the show. We had drifted out of our safety zone and even our safe zone was out of the British Governments control. In other words, if you get into trouble, you are on your own. The area we were in was near Chechenya and has a history of kidnappings and murders of international journalists.

As we were leaving the school we were approached by the local police who wanted to see passports and papers... but really the police just wanted some back hand money. My vote was to give them some cash, jump in our van and flee back to the hotel for crumpets and tea but the two Spanish clowns were having none of it and refused to pay. To cut a long story short we ended up being held in the headmasters office for 5 hours by armed police and then members of the KGB arrived who wanted to put us in separate vans and thought we were Mi6 Spies.

I was thus banned from Russia and had to appoint a solicitor in Moscow to go to court in my absence thus allowing me back in. Luckily we managed to get out! Not to mention the Mafia who expressed their aggressive hospitality and internal flight that almost didn't make it!

4. MDM_ Your funniest magic gig to date:

4. ROBIN_ That's a hard one to pin down as there have been some truly magical moments. A couple of years ago I was doing a show to loads of kids who were sat in front of my magic table that was covered with a big sheet. As I started the show a gust of wind got under the sheet and it flew up into the air and landed on top of their heads.

Everyone was in hysterics!

5. MDM_ Please, tells us about an embarrassing/hillarious moment that turned out appearing as if “rehearsed” on camera:

5. ROBIN_ Again there have been many as I rarely rehearse anything! I was working in a TV studio years ago and I had planned to throw a cream pie in the presenters face when he revealed how a trick had been done. When I got the cream out onto the paper plate it was all runny and not how I had imagined it would be. We only had one take and no one knew how it would look but we knew it would make a mess... Well, it really did make a massive mess all over the studio, he had to buy new contact lenses and I never filmed there again... they put me on the roof instead!

6. MDM_ You could easily be pictured as one of Tim Burton’s characters from “Big Fish”, maybe the protagonist, played by Ewan McGregor. A role that you wish to have the chance to play some day, as an actor, for a broad audience, would be…:

6. ROBIN_ I've always wanted to play the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist although in more recent years people have suggested that Fagin would be more fitting! I am hoping that someone will write a modern day Oliver Twist with grown ups instead of kids and consider me for the role of Dodger!

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7. MDM_ For you, magic is an art, a science or a skill? A true magician is born or the more he/she practices the better magician he/she becomes?

7. ROBIN_ HaHa, I could write a book on this question! All of the above are true. Yes practice is very important and we are always learning through new experiences, both good and bad. You can find Magic in everything if you know where to look. The word Magic is Massive, like the word Love or God. People use these words to try to define the indefinable. There are infinite variations and everyone's definition is slightly, or massively, different.

For me Magic is a way of life, an Art, a Philosophy and an Understanding that everyone has the capability of seeing and doing. Of course there is the Magic Trick side to the art which requires a true belief in Magic in order to perform well. The Great Al. Koran writes in his book Bring out the Magic of your Mind, "Belief is the most important thing to anyone who wants to work Magic".

8. MDM_ What kind of tales do you share in "The Top Hat Tales" and where can the public watch these?

8. ROBIN_ The Top Hat Tales are a conceptual idea that I am still working on. I did put up the very first one we made on thetophattales.com.

It all came about when we drove through a village full of Scarecrows last Summer. We filmed there for a couple of hours and I couldn't find ONE local to interview... It was very strange indeed and I hope that one day I will make lots more. I did do a Halloween one and started filming some stuff on the moors but that's all for now. There will be more at some stage so join the Twitter or YouTube if you want to know when they will be!

9. MDM_ What are your current/future projects and what areas do they span?

9. ROBIN_ My current projects include a Penny Farthing Race on the Moors, Working on lots new ideas with Green Festivals for next year. Lots of Presenting work in the pipeline and over the next two months I'll be working with an eccentric Gin company, going up to the Edinburgh Festival and doing various other Magic gigs all over the UK.
Right now, I'm in Devon with my train to Leeds leaving in an hour for work tonight. Tomorrow I'm in Central London and on Sunday I'm planning a Pic-Nic!

MDM_ Robin, may you have a great summer filled with the joy that your art fills others with.

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